It seems to be a guarded secret amoung tech's what they use and what their work area layout looks like. I'm guessing it's probably cause of the mess and clutter. I've been given $30K to upgrade and stock my tech room. I'm mostly focusing on tube amp repair though FX pedals and some solid state does seem attractive. this is some of what i'm currently using feel free to give me feedback and suggestions. my current room is 12 x 9 x 8. I'm in the process of remodeling the garage 46 x 22 x 12 half tech room / Protools mixing / editing suite, all Bitching!
Weller digital soldering iron
Fluke 867b graphical meter
HP201c tone generator
I've got a counter too but i'm drawing a blank on it
HP 20mhz O'scope dual ch
(military) distortion meter not sure what make
Weber dummy load 2/4/8/16 w/ scope and meter out's
Eico 1078 variac w/ huge general radio analog meters for Volts and Amps
Sola constant voltage transformer wired for the room all AC steady 120v
GFI's
a weber transformer isolation AC outlets
Maxi Matcher
VTV small character w/ custom speaker and headphone monitoring
Amplitrex AT1000 w/ computer for printing curves
Tektronix 570
Hickok 536c
Maxi Burner
and full chest of handtools screwdrivers, pliers, snips, dikes, grips, etc.
I want an in circuit capacitor tester, sencore 103?
I was also thinking about the huntron 2500 tracker for solid state?
a function/ tone audio generator
a couple bench meters ( fluke 8060B) ?
Weller rework station
I need a good Bench Power supply i'd like to get weber to build the one in his tech section that has been pending for 3 years and a nice DC for effect building
does anyone know of a computer controled variac something i can form caps with out having to manually do it? same with discharging, no resistor to ground stick or screwdriver - pops
What Equipment do you use?
any other key/ or trick pieces i'm missing out on?
What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal
What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
My Daughter Build Stone Henge
Re: What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
Beer Fridge 
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Luthierwnc
- Posts: 998
- Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:59 am
- Location: Asheville, NC
Re: What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
guitar? sh
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Luthierwnc
- Posts: 998
- Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:59 am
- Location: Asheville, NC
Re: What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
Oh yeah, get a comfortable chair and a rubber mat for your feet -- pay attention to the ergonomics. I like a combination of both fluorescent and incandescent lighting. One of them is a magnifying swivel lamp. It is coming to me now:
2x power visor,
small fan to blow the solder fumes away from the workpiece/nose,
bar or pole for coils of wire,
wooden furniture clamp (2 screw) for holding small pieces firmly,
fire extinguisher and smoke detector,
bolt, nut, washer, tube, weird stuff you''ll need immediately if you throw it away bins,
resistor and cap bin,
every kind of fuse,
series lights for the soldering iron and variac so you can tell if they on when you close the shop,
cheesy pin-up calendar (depending on domestic relations),
phone,
clips or push pins in front of the work area to display schematics and layout diagrams,
oven mitt for tube removal (unless you are really patient),
resistor on a wire with clip for discharging caps,
blocks or preferably a clamped swivel frame for holding chassis at the correct angle,
if you use teflon wire a lot get one of those heated strippers,
luthiers lighted flexible mirror (or dental mirror),
coax feed for computer (if you aren't wireless),
guitar stand or wall hanger,
reference 1X12 speaker cab that can handle lots of watts.
There must be more. Post a pic when you are set-up. Skip
2x power visor,
small fan to blow the solder fumes away from the workpiece/nose,
bar or pole for coils of wire,
wooden furniture clamp (2 screw) for holding small pieces firmly,
fire extinguisher and smoke detector,
bolt, nut, washer, tube, weird stuff you''ll need immediately if you throw it away bins,
resistor and cap bin,
every kind of fuse,
series lights for the soldering iron and variac so you can tell if they on when you close the shop,
cheesy pin-up calendar (depending on domestic relations),
phone,
clips or push pins in front of the work area to display schematics and layout diagrams,
oven mitt for tube removal (unless you are really patient),
resistor on a wire with clip for discharging caps,
blocks or preferably a clamped swivel frame for holding chassis at the correct angle,
if you use teflon wire a lot get one of those heated strippers,
luthiers lighted flexible mirror (or dental mirror),
coax feed for computer (if you aren't wireless),
guitar stand or wall hanger,
reference 1X12 speaker cab that can handle lots of watts.
There must be more. Post a pic when you are set-up. Skip
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Luthierwnc
- Posts: 998
- Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:59 am
- Location: Asheville, NC
Re: What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
Couldn't sleep:
0.1 600v cap on a wire with a clip on the other end for hum checking,
coffee cup heater,
CD player, iPod and/other entertainment,
shielded jumper (3 clips, one on either end and ground) for bypassing stages without rf hassles,
Sharpies,
Scotchbrite pads for cleaning oxidation (not steel wool), sandpaper,
GE clear silicone II for insulating and vibration control,
lots of wire ties,
dedicated, fused ammeter for bias setting (if you use shunt method),
Dremels seem to come in handy for guitars and amps,
safety goggles (when using your Dremel),
extra tube sockets,
Deoxit (sp?) pot cleaner,
it is a luxury but compressed air for blowing out little conductive bits,
shrink tube assortment,
bunch o' UF4007's, LED's, mebbe a 130v MOV,
I'm slowing down. Good luck, Skip
0.1 600v cap on a wire with a clip on the other end for hum checking,
coffee cup heater,
CD player, iPod and/other entertainment,
shielded jumper (3 clips, one on either end and ground) for bypassing stages without rf hassles,
Sharpies,
Scotchbrite pads for cleaning oxidation (not steel wool), sandpaper,
GE clear silicone II for insulating and vibration control,
lots of wire ties,
dedicated, fused ammeter for bias setting (if you use shunt method),
Dremels seem to come in handy for guitars and amps,
safety goggles (when using your Dremel),
extra tube sockets,
Deoxit (sp?) pot cleaner,
it is a luxury but compressed air for blowing out little conductive bits,
shrink tube assortment,
bunch o' UF4007's, LED's, mebbe a 130v MOV,
I'm slowing down. Good luck, Skip
Re: What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
speak to your financial adviser... 
We are possibly heading for a recession...
We are possibly heading for a recession...
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Andy Le Blanc
- Posts: 2582
- Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2007 1:16 am
- Location: central Maine
Re: What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
if your gonna have a Keg-O-Lator in you shop make sure you install a really
good exhaust fan...... one good beer fart can make work impossible......
other than that...... you might be surprised by how little it takes to run a shop
the best advice.... if you really are getting a wad of cash..... pay off any and
all depts first...... then see whats left over for capital.....
a business without a clientel is risky..... and most take a long time to grow...
do you have enough of a customer base to justify the investment?
good exhaust fan...... one good beer fart can make work impossible......
other than that...... you might be surprised by how little it takes to run a shop
the best advice.... if you really are getting a wad of cash..... pay off any and
all depts first...... then see whats left over for capital.....
a business without a clientel is risky..... and most take a long time to grow...
do you have enough of a customer base to justify the investment?
lazymaryamps
Re: What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
Someone gave you $30K to buy stuff?
Whoa!
I wish somebody would give me $30K!
I'd buy a Dumble!
Whoa!
I wish somebody would give me $30K!
I'd buy a Dumble!
Tom
Don't let that smoke out!
Don't let that smoke out!
Re: What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
well, you should make sure you have a diamond encrusted soldering iron if you don't have one. You might not have enough money, but I would just start getting it encrusted with really small diamonds at one end of the handle and keep going until you run out of money. Once that is finished, you can start working your way down the rest of your priority list; but make sure you do this first!
Re: What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
No! Wait!
Use the money to completely fund a group build for everyone on this forum that is interested!
Why needlessly stock one room when you have the opportunity to leave a LEGACY!?!?!?
Use the money to completely fund a group build for everyone on this forum that is interested!
Why needlessly stock one room when you have the opportunity to leave a LEGACY!?!?!?
Woah now
Well if I were you I'd slow down with that $30k. You have selected some really expensive options in some cases and you have missed some important pieces as well like parts. The Weller rework station for instance. No need to spend that kind of money when you can get a perfectly good solder/desolder station for lots less:
http://www.howardelectronics.com/xytronic/lf8000tp.html
You're not going to need the desolder unit unless you're working on a lot of solid state stuff where the components are so tight you can't get your solder sucker in there.
If you're going to have a scope you sure don't need that $1k graphical fluke meter. A scope with a large screen is easier to read than a handheld meter/scope combo unit. I would purchase two digital RMS meters like the Extech mp530 or the like in place of the Fluke. Two meters are really handy for biasing if you don't get a bias king or compu-bias meter or for reading voltages in multiple areas at once. These are the items I use the most in my shop:
Amp Cradle
Magnifying visor
Radio shack digital soldering station
2 extech 22-816 meters from Radio Shack
1 BK precision 878 Universal LCR meter
2 compu-bias quad probe bias meters (for testing 4 tube power amps)
Several 200 watt dummy load resistors of varying ohms from weber
Heatkit IP-2717 Power supply
Heathkit IT-12 Signal Tracer
Heathkit IG-5218 Sine/square wave generator
Eico 214 VTVM
Clarostat 240-C power resistor decade box
Sprague Tel-Ohmike TO-5 capacitor checker
Hickok Model 750 Tube tester
Maximatcher tube matcher
Mercury model 501 component substitution box
Hitachi V-209 20mhz dual channel O'scope
A good 8 ohm and 2 ohm test cabinet setup
Lots of Greenlee punches
A virtual plethora of hand tools
A nice Dremel with lots of attachments
Various step drill bits
Cordless drill with extra batteries
Electric drill
Air compressor with blast nozzle
a wall mounted shop vacuum with long hose
a drilling mess making bench
a separate soldering clean area bench
Parts, parts, parts, and more parts ( or the customer will wait a long time)
Shelving to put all of the big parts (transformers, speakers, reverb pans etc)
rolling drawer units to put all of the small parts ( resistors, capacitors switches, fuses, lamps, tubes etc)
Lots of snap lid fishing tackle multi-compartment boxes for the small parts which go into the rolling drawer units
A filing cabinet for schematics and layout drawings
A computer and printer for record keeping and invoicing
An LLC for protecting personal assets.
Stereo system to keep you entertained
The Weber dummy load unit you have will be fine for most amps but if you work on any big bass amps 200 watts isn't going to cut it. This is why I use the aluminum housing 200 watt resistors he sells as I can parallel two to get 400 watts when needed. You can buy 10 of them for the price of his assembled unit and that is much more versatile. Notice I didn't list my Xytonics 988 as most used. I hate SS PCB work with a passion and rarely do it so I don't use that unit often. I am working on a red face SWR Bass 350 at the moment and so I am using it along with the scope, signal generator and dummy load resistors to bias the power section.
As one poster stated we are heading for a major down turn in the economy and who knows how long it will last. You may want to wait on this unless you aren't expecting an immediate return on the investment.
There is an old adage, "How do you make a million bucks in the amp business? Start with 2 million" To succeed in the amp service business you need to be in a huge market with alot of volume. Repair volume will vary with the economy unless your market is professionals who have to have their amp to make a living. Don't make a move without alot of thought. There is alot of opportunity in the stock market at the moment and it will be getting better soon as the market bottoms out.
http://www.howardelectronics.com/xytronic/lf8000tp.html
You're not going to need the desolder unit unless you're working on a lot of solid state stuff where the components are so tight you can't get your solder sucker in there.
If you're going to have a scope you sure don't need that $1k graphical fluke meter. A scope with a large screen is easier to read than a handheld meter/scope combo unit. I would purchase two digital RMS meters like the Extech mp530 or the like in place of the Fluke. Two meters are really handy for biasing if you don't get a bias king or compu-bias meter or for reading voltages in multiple areas at once. These are the items I use the most in my shop:
Amp Cradle
Magnifying visor
Radio shack digital soldering station
2 extech 22-816 meters from Radio Shack
1 BK precision 878 Universal LCR meter
2 compu-bias quad probe bias meters (for testing 4 tube power amps)
Several 200 watt dummy load resistors of varying ohms from weber
Heatkit IP-2717 Power supply
Heathkit IT-12 Signal Tracer
Heathkit IG-5218 Sine/square wave generator
Eico 214 VTVM
Clarostat 240-C power resistor decade box
Sprague Tel-Ohmike TO-5 capacitor checker
Hickok Model 750 Tube tester
Maximatcher tube matcher
Mercury model 501 component substitution box
Hitachi V-209 20mhz dual channel O'scope
A good 8 ohm and 2 ohm test cabinet setup
Lots of Greenlee punches
A virtual plethora of hand tools
A nice Dremel with lots of attachments
Various step drill bits
Cordless drill with extra batteries
Electric drill
Air compressor with blast nozzle
a wall mounted shop vacuum with long hose
a drilling mess making bench
a separate soldering clean area bench
Parts, parts, parts, and more parts ( or the customer will wait a long time)
Shelving to put all of the big parts (transformers, speakers, reverb pans etc)
rolling drawer units to put all of the small parts ( resistors, capacitors switches, fuses, lamps, tubes etc)
Lots of snap lid fishing tackle multi-compartment boxes for the small parts which go into the rolling drawer units
A filing cabinet for schematics and layout drawings
A computer and printer for record keeping and invoicing
An LLC for protecting personal assets.
Stereo system to keep you entertained
The Weber dummy load unit you have will be fine for most amps but if you work on any big bass amps 200 watts isn't going to cut it. This is why I use the aluminum housing 200 watt resistors he sells as I can parallel two to get 400 watts when needed. You can buy 10 of them for the price of his assembled unit and that is much more versatile. Notice I didn't list my Xytonics 988 as most used. I hate SS PCB work with a passion and rarely do it so I don't use that unit often. I am working on a red face SWR Bass 350 at the moment and so I am using it along with the scope, signal generator and dummy load resistors to bias the power section.
As one poster stated we are heading for a major down turn in the economy and who knows how long it will last. You may want to wait on this unless you aren't expecting an immediate return on the investment.
There is an old adage, "How do you make a million bucks in the amp business? Start with 2 million" To succeed in the amp service business you need to be in a huge market with alot of volume. Repair volume will vary with the economy unless your market is professionals who have to have their amp to make a living. Don't make a move without alot of thought. There is alot of opportunity in the stock market at the moment and it will be getting better soon as the market bottoms out.
Great things happen in a vacuum
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CaseyJones
- Posts: 856
- Joined: Fri Mar 17, 2006 1:29 pm
Re: What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
That sounds like a pretty bitchin' bench to begin with. Don't stop at the mini-fridge fer beer, that's low rent. I'm thinkin' mini-bar wif a keg on tap. $30k will buy ya quite a few upscale kegs and if ya go wif Guinness ya don't have to keep it cold. Then stock the bar wif scotch, bourbon, rum, gin, tequila and a few other choice bottles o' booze. Here comes the good part...selloutrr wrote:It seems to be a guarded secret amoung tech's what they use and what their work area layout looks like. I'm guessing it's probably cause of the mess and clutter. I've been given $30K to upgrade and stock my tech room. I'm mostly focusing on tube amp repair though FX pedals and some solid state does seem attractive. this is some of what i'm currently using feel free to give me feedback and suggestions. my current room is 12 x 9 x 8. I'm in the process of remodeling the garage 46 x 22 x 12 half tech room / Protools mixing / editing suite, all Bitching!
Weller digital soldering iron
Fluke 867b graphical meter
HP201c tone generator
I've got a counter too but i'm drawing a blank on it
HP 20mhz O'scope dual ch
(military) distortion meter not sure what make
Weber dummy load 2/4/8/16 w/ scope and meter out's
Eico 1078 variac w/ huge general radio analog meters for Volts and Amps
Sola constant voltage transformer wired for the room all AC steady 120v
GFI's
a weber transformer isolation AC outlets
Maxi Matcher
VTV small character w/ custom speaker and headphone monitoring
Amplitrex AT1000 w/ computer for printing curves
Tektronix 570
Hickok 536c
Maxi Burner
and full chest of handtools screwdrivers, pliers, snips, dikes, grips, etc.
$30k will get ya some Asian chick in a French maid's outfit to tend yer little bar. Suit yerself, Hispanic, blonde, brunette, redhead, African-American or freakin' Eskimo fer that matter... whatever floats yer boat! $30k will get ya a good one fer a while. With the buzz you'll maintain it won't matter to ya if all yer amps hum.
If ya have a hard time sellin' that one to yer Missus tell 'er it's "just business!"
Re: What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
Awesome! Great suggestions!
All the equipment i listed above like te fluke and testers i already own. The additional funds are for other equipment and parts. You all have great ideas and i'm sure i'll put them all to use! Thank you f the tip on the rework station! I have a very steady clientel base, i'm averaging 12 amps a month and 60 tubes out of my office currently and my overhead is less then $35 a months after this loan it's only $300 a month so it's not a stress in anyway. I'm also becoming a groove tubes, ruby, sovtek, JJ/tesla and Svetlana tube dealer for Southern California. YES LOTS OF PARTS!!! 1200 parts bins on top of 12'x4'x28" of drawer and storage space. I'm really building this all for myself more then clientel but so many friends of friends of friends keep me busy doing repairs I decided to go for it. It'll still be my hobby, i'm a full time monitor engineer, with a huge amp habit. Wife says i can have a naughty calendar but i have to put stickers over the naughty bits cause someday my daughter will understand.
All the equipment i listed above like te fluke and testers i already own. The additional funds are for other equipment and parts. You all have great ideas and i'm sure i'll put them all to use! Thank you f the tip on the rework station! I have a very steady clientel base, i'm averaging 12 amps a month and 60 tubes out of my office currently and my overhead is less then $35 a months after this loan it's only $300 a month so it's not a stress in anyway. I'm also becoming a groove tubes, ruby, sovtek, JJ/tesla and Svetlana tube dealer for Southern California. YES LOTS OF PARTS!!! 1200 parts bins on top of 12'x4'x28" of drawer and storage space. I'm really building this all for myself more then clientel but so many friends of friends of friends keep me busy doing repairs I decided to go for it. It'll still be my hobby, i'm a full time monitor engineer, with a huge amp habit. Wife says i can have a naughty calendar but i have to put stickers over the naughty bits cause someday my daughter will understand.
My Daughter Build Stone Henge
Re: What should a Tech bench/ Room Have
Awesome! Great suggestions!
All the equipment i listed above like te fluke and testers i already own. The additional funds are for other equipment and parts. You all have great ideas and i'm sure i'll put them all to use! Thank you f the tip on the rework station! I have a very steady clientel base, i'm averaging 12 amps a month and 60 tubes out of my office currently and my overhead is less then $35 a months after this loan it's only $300 a month so it's not a stress in anyway. I'm also becoming a groove tubes, ruby, sovtek, JJ/tesla and Svetlana tube dealer for Southern California. YES LOTS OF PARTS!!! 1200 parts bins on top of 12'x4'x28" of drawer and storage space. I'm really building this all for myself more then clientel but so many friends of friends of friends keep me busy doing repairs I decided to go for it. It'll still be my hobby, i'm a full time monitor engineer, with a huge amp habit. Wife says i can have a naughty calendar but i have to put stickers over the naughty bits cause someday my daughter will understand.
All the equipment i listed above like te fluke and testers i already own. The additional funds are for other equipment and parts. You all have great ideas and i'm sure i'll put them all to use! Thank you f the tip on the rework station! I have a very steady clientel base, i'm averaging 12 amps a month and 60 tubes out of my office currently and my overhead is less then $35 a months after this loan it's only $300 a month so it's not a stress in anyway. I'm also becoming a groove tubes, ruby, sovtek, JJ/tesla and Svetlana tube dealer for Southern California. YES LOTS OF PARTS!!! 1200 parts bins on top of 12'x4'x28" of drawer and storage space. I'm really building this all for myself more then clientel but so many friends of friends of friends keep me busy doing repairs I decided to go for it. It'll still be my hobby, i'm a full time monitor engineer, with a huge amp habit. Wife says i can have a naughty calendar but i have to put stickers over the naughty bits cause someday my daughter will understand.
My Daughter Build Stone Henge