Star Tech Journal

STAR*TEcH
Journal
December 1996
CD
Enzo's
Tech
Tips
"Hey Enzo, I can't find the self-test button on this Captain Fantastic!,,
Douglas 'Enzo' Mccallum • Shiawassee Technical Services • Lansing, Ml
SETTING UP A COIN-OP SERVICE BENCH (PART
1)
Unless you haul all your service needs to someone else, you must have a shop for
maintenance and repair of equipment. Depending upon your needs, the size of your,
and the thickness of your wallet, your shop could be anything from the garage to the
house on up to a huge professional facility. Whatever league you are in, the work bench is
an important part of the shop. Here are some considerations for setting up a service bench.
THE BENCH
It is not the size of your bench so
much as it is what you do with it.
The typical commercial bench is
30" deep, two and a half feet.
That's about right. Unless you are
tall, a three foot deep bench can
be a stretch to reach all the way
across. Ultimately it is up to you.
The length of the bench should
fit your space and needs. I have
six benches ranging from six to
ten feet in length. If all you use it
for is rebuilding coin acceptors
and the like, even a three foot
bench will do fine. Then we
would call it a table.
Any bench should provide room
for the items you work on, a
space for test equipment, room
for tools, and enough extra space
to open a schematic or manual.
The bench must also be strong
enough and well enough sup-
ported to hold the work and with-
stand the force of your efforts.
Weight is not much of a problem
in this industry, a big video moni-
tor is about the heaviest load, but
if you need to hammer on some-
thing, you need something
heavier than a sheet of plywood
as a bench top.
Rou. Y ouR OWN?
You can buy a bench from
WW Grainger or other industrial
supply house. You get a bench
top and legs. The tops come in
several choices of materials. Steel
might be good for service to laun-
dry equipment, but probably not
best for electronics.
Your other choices are wood or
plastic laminate. Press board and
particle board work OK, solid
maple is great but costs $ 100
more. You can also build your
own bench top.
I prefer to build my own tops, but
I buy commercial legs. You can
build your own legs or other base
if you prefer. Leave room for
your legs.
My standard benchtop is three
2x 12 or 2x 10 planks cut to length
and held together by 2x4 cross
beams underneath. I assemble it
all with drywall screws. (''All pur-
pose" screws) I cover the top with
a sheet of 1/4" or 3/8" plywood
for a smooth work surface. Stan-
dard 32" legs hold it up. Some of
my benches are carpeted since
we also work on consumer elec-
tronics. Carpet won't scratch the
work. You probably won't need
carpet.
While we are here, I have to
make a pitch for drywall screws.
You can get them at any hard-
ware, home center, or similar
place and they come in a wide
variety of lengths and diameters.
They are excellent for wood
work repairs, in particular the
sort of emergency repairs we do
in the field. The point is very
sharp, so it can pierce even the
formica covered panels. The
heads are flat, so if you use them