Q: Bench Cleaning Time vs. Work??

[K1JJ]

My combination office/shack/workroom is extremely crowded. Much like living in a trailor or boat. Everything works and has it's place, but I need more room.


I'll have to divide the workbench into two areas.... 

The eight foot table is 6' of tools  and 2' of actual work space.

It's a "3" for the tools/test gear area and a "7" for the two foot workspace... :-)


It doesn't take long to clean up 2' of workspace -  so it's  97% work time and 3% clean up.


I usually do one project at a time until it's completed. 

Looking for and deciding on parts in the beginning is a major part of my project time.  That's the drawback of being unorganized parts-wise. 

I agree... neat people scare me too....


T

[N3DRB The Derb]

I'm gonna shoot a pix and have you guys judge me. I dont think I'm neat, but I do spend a lot of time setting up a bench in the beginning because doing so leads to massive time savings later. I am getting ready to put new labels on all my parts drawers, which is no mean feat considering I probably have close to 600 bins now....and the bench is only considered  done after those bins are stocked.......

[WA1GFZ]

I'll let recent visitors rate my junk yard.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Heh, it was a tight squeeze when MrMike and I visited last fall, Frank. But your toys are big, right down to the tuning network in the back room. And you seemed to know where everything was and what it was, which is a step in the right direction.

You know it's bad when your friends visit and remark about the Viking KW desk and ask when you got it. This happened to me last fall at the pre-NEAR-Fest gathering. There's no easy way to say '1994, it's just been covered with CRAP everytime you've been here before'. Roger 'MBX has an interesting story about that.

The radio area is in a constant state of flux between Stage 2 and maybe 7 or 8, depending how optimistic one is. Maybe 60/40 work vs clean up time, which would explain a lot. I still don't really have a workbench, per say. Any area from the operating position to kitchen table has done duty as a work surface. KAQ South (to borrow your term, Frank) has a separate workshop building, so that will help.

Just like nature abhors a vacuum, horizontal surfaces seem to abhor emptiness. Clean an area off, a few days later it's attracted more 'stuff'. That's my excuse, at least.

To paraphrase an old office saying 'If a cluttered workbench is the sign of a cluttered mind, what's an empty workbench the sign of?'

[WBear2GCR]

I'll 'fess up, my bench is a constant source of frustration.

Not because there's no organization, but because perpetually it is impossible to complete any real project before the end of the "day" or the "weekend" or whatever time is alloted for the job - and inevitably before that job can be finished, taken off the bench and the process reversed (all that stuff put back where it belongs) ANOTHER thing comes along and then THAT has to go onto some part of the bench, and on and and on and on, until there is no open bench space left!!

I have a dedicated space that has two rows of modular Steelcase industrial style and color units each of which are about 4 modules long end to end, the aisle is between the two, lights above. The entire length of the darn thing is ALWAYS FULL no matter how friggin hard I work at cleaning it, it stays clear for exactly ONE project, then the s**t hits the fan...

It's starting to look like what I need is a bench that is about 100 feet long, and a crew working from the rear end cleaning it as I go along?? (the one I have is about 30 linear feet now!! So maybe 100 feet is not enough??  )

Either that or an assistant that I have looked in vain for, that happens to be compulsive about putting little parts into little drawers, and keeping surfaces clean and tidy!!

I'm not gonna spill the beans on the % of time I spend on cleaning my bench yet because I really want to hear from some folks who actually keeping a clear bench!! And, see what they are doing to get that done!

Any clean bench's out there??

                    _-_-Woobly Bear Two Gleaming Chromium Robot

[WA1GFZ]

A clean bench is a new bench

[WQ9E]

Bear,

At least your question has motivated me to straighten up the bench after I stop each day.  Unfortunately this won't last long I am sure but it is nice to work in a clean space.  It looks like with my current project in addition to replacing around 50 black beauty caps I am also going to be replacing a lot of carbon resistors.  Doing a quick pseudo-random sample 12 out of 20 checked were at least 30% high, most were over 40% high, and a couple of the larger wattage units were about double their marked value which means that in addition to being way out of spec on resistance the deterioration would likely continue at an increased rate since they are probably now also over their dissipation rating.  The good new is what I was afraid was some sort of undocumented modification is actually just lengthened connecting wires to the 2'nd converter sub-chassis.  I guess the original owner wanted to do some testing with the converter removed from the main chassis but still functional.  I plan to return the connections to the correct length AFTER I make sure the receiver is working properly as they probably are very handy during troubleshooting; I guess this is the point-to-point version of extender cards.

 Even when my bench is messy I do put all of the tools back where they belong because I despise wasting time looking for tools.

Rodger WQ9E

[WA1GFZ]

a clean spot on the bench means you need to start another project.

[k4kyv]

Just as nature abhors a vacuum, nature abhors a flat surface.

[WBear2GCR]

Bummer...

I was hoping that someone who has a clean bench would post.

Apparently there is a relationship between clean benches and posting on AMfone??

                 _-_-

[Ed - N3LHB]

I once had a fairly clean bench.... A few years back that is....

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Where's the transmitter?

[Ed - N3LHB]

And then it happened!

[Ed - N3LHB]

The HB rig is behind the Racals above and the T3 is below... Other low level rigs are hiding elsewhere...

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Nice!

[N3DRB The Derb]

ed's part of the collector goon squad again! a paid up member of the racal rascals biker club! a marked member of the modulation mafia!

[The Slab Bacon]

And......er........Furthermore...............now we know where all of the surplus r-390s ended up!!

[WD8BIL]

You got some big EARS there ED !

[Ed - N3LHB]

And......er........Furthermore...............now we know where all of the surplus r-390s ended up!!

In addition to the table, I have a few r-390's on the floor and some SP-600's ready to go! The guy on the right second to the top is a R-725....

[Ed - N3LHB]

And......er........Furthermore...............now we know where all of the surplus r-390s ended up!!

And then there's a stack awaiting restoration on the other side. Some Collins stuff is stacked behind this one... (couple of A4's, a 310, A1, etc) 

[N3DRB The Derb]

damn I feel overwhelmed getting all my stuff in good shape to where it will work every-time i flip the switch and give me no trouble.  I cant imagine having dozens of rigs to restore like i used to back in the day.

ed, thats a primo crop of radios you got there. Impeccable taste OM. Not a s19 sky champion in the bunch.

[WBear2GCR]

Ed, A disgusting display of Amerikan excess and materializm!

If you feel like having some of the "working class" and downtrodden come and "liberate" that gross excess and decadence, I am sure that I can arrange to help you - and mend the errors of your ways.  After all, how many of those receivers can you listen to at the same time??   

                       _-_-bear

[Ed - N3LHB]

Ed, A disgusting display of Amerikan excess and materializm!

If you feel like having some of the "working class" and downtrodden come and "liberate" that gross excess and decadence, I am sure that I can arrange to help you - and mend the errors of your ways.  After all, how many of those receivers can you listen to at the same time??   

                       _-_-bear

Bear, ahhh, but I am just a "working class" person myself, struggling in this petro-based-economy world. Having had the chance to own many rigs in my former life back in Pa (before my divorce from that wench) I developed a like for a certain class of radio equipment. The divorce and subsequent move precipitated the sale of most everything, many hams were made happy with my dispersal of said gear.

Being somewhat more liberated myself these days, I have come to re-acquire radios that I once had and enjoyed, but with greater abundance this time around (the new xyl is very understanding). I have also taken the thrill of building to the next level by buying my radios in pieces, restoring, putting them together, troubleshooting, aligning, etc. The R-390 is a wonderful example of this, as it is modular. The Racal is very similar and presents a somewhat more difficult challenge than the R-390.   

Sure, I may exhibit some excessiveness and materialism, but damn, it sho is fun!

PS - here's a shot of another table in the shack, OM. It's a sickness I can dig... 

[N3DRB The Derb]

Ed, I'm glad to se you back in clover. We sho had some good times. 

I'm re arming and by the time late summer rolls in I should be done an ready to roll with all the gear fixed and working better than new. I got the other side of the old antenna down and rescued the wire and rope. Bought another hank of dacron offa ebay.  Now I have to get a recurve bow about 40# pull to shoot the W7FG antenna in place.

is the HB rig ready to roll on your end?

[Ed - N3LHB]

Derb, yes we sho did bro... 

I recently purchased some new chassis's for the HB rig, as I am not satisfied with the current design/performance of the audio chain. It just doesn't seem to have enough BA's, I think that the low level stages just don't have enough gain. So, it will be redesign time for that. Also, I may elect to redo the RF deck a bit also.

The T3 is ready to go, I have dropped the main blower speed so that it is a little bit more bearable noise wise. I don't get on to much anymore, but I listen whenever condx are ho-ho-hi-fb-om.

Look forward to talking to you again sometime soon Derb...