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Hi Guys and Gals,
I finally got time to make a hole in the garage, errr Lutherie Workshop and have cobbled together a work surface. I had to use up half of my birthday to get the time...
The top is particle board so will need a covering. It seems in most visuals of Luthiers at work there is a cloth covering over the bench - to protect delicate timbers I suppose.
What types of coverings are in use in the workshops and warehouses of the PBG faithful?
My workbench has a variety of old bath towels for covering (but not when soldering!) also some sort of old lavender herbal heat pack for human neck that works well supporting the guitar neck.
hey Andrew, bath towels or old sheets folded on mine as well!
I built TWO kits on an old freezer, I just put an old towel over it, easy fix! I still use the towel on my new proper workbench anyway, to tell the story of all my builds, repairs and mods. For the neck I use a scrap bit of wood that is cut to support the neck (like the StewMac neck supports!)
hey Rabbitz, I have mine covered in carpet offcuts. I have seen a few you tube videos that mention keeping your guitar body on carpet while sanding, so that's the direction I went. Those rubber floor mats are also a good choice, and you can cut some off to put in the bottom of your p90 pickup cavities when you need to ;).
cheers,
Gav.
Cheapo yoga / sleep mats from wherever you can find them. Couple of bucks and throw it when it's cactus. I add a $4 offcut from Clark Rubber to give a bit more softness and some flexibility in setup.
I have the old towel same as most by the sounds, and a cork sanding block to support the neck as necessary, I have some car interior carpet (an offcut from when I retrimmed a parcel shelf, so softer and shorter pile than regular carpet) which I was going to cover the top of the bench with, but somehow it ended up being used to sit my amp on instead of straight on the concrete floor lol
I have a stack of old blankets on my wobbly (but stable) old picnic table. Tried using that rubber anti slip matting, but it bit into a freshly polished clear coat, so I only use that for sanding now.
have experienced exactly the same thing with those....Quote:
Originally Posted by pablopepper
Oooooh... Thanks for the heads up on the anti slip matting.
I have a big roll of the stuff that I was contemplating using...
I will stick to my $10 yoga mats from kmart and the old bath towels...
Hey Rabbitz I use the rubber matts and then once the guitar has stain and clear coats rest the body/neck on clean rags to protect the finish.
Old towels will work fine, but not when soldering as Andrew mentioned !
Thanks for all the ideas.
Looks like a trip to KMart to get some mats and to the Op Shop for some old towels.
I have to ask...
What are you guys doing with your soldering irons that you need to uncover your work bench?
I have a workbench that I use for "hot work" anyway but I am concerned about how you guys are flicking solder around the joint!
Here is a hot tip when soldering - throw out the old damp sponge that everyone used to use on their soldering stand. It cools the iron and is a PITA to keep damp and clean.
Next time you are at the super market grab a metal wool scourer - the ones that are gold in colour and feel soft and pliable. to clean the tip of your iron, simply jab it into the scourer et voilą the tip is clean.
Hi Rabbitz,
think its more a safety precaution sometimes solder may drip off the tip.
I recently bought a temperature controlled soldering station and love it. It's got the gold scouring pad to clean the tip
I use the towel for protecting the freezer from the solder, I had a bit of solder drip onto the towel but it was fine!
Ha, yes I'm over cautious with soldering around towels, managed to catch one on fire once when my soldering was more of a make ball bearings effort... Nice tip on the scourer I'll pick one up tomorrow.
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I use a square of that rubbery camp matting from BCF with a towel over the top and it works great for me.
As for the soldering iron, Jaycar have a brass wool unit you can buy but you can also use the stainless steel scourers you buy from the supermarket. You just ram the tip into it between uses and it cleans the tip without cooling it. And, as Wokka noted, if you can afford a temperature controlled iron your components and wire will thank you because you will get constant heat (not too hot as to vapourise the solder and not so cool that you get poor flow and dry joints).
But if you can't afford one, I find 60W to be great for the price! Heats solder fast but not to hot that it destroys your components in a puff of smoke!
I use bath towels over some foam gear from Clark Rubber. I just got a new bench so will be getting some construction poly sheeting to lay down.
60 Watts?????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!Quote:
Originally Posted by keloooe
Crickey. Planning on soldering the mud guards back onto your car? :)
I can't remember using anything over 25W in the last 30 or 40 years.
60W might be useful if you are edge soldering your shields but personally, I would think twice about putting it near components. (Having said that, if it works for you then who am I to judge?)
I use copper alligator clips to act as a heatsink Rabbitz, I haven't had a broken component (so far)
As I said... Who am I to judge? :)Quote:
Originally Posted by keloooe
LOL. Yep. I'm with you on that one, RabbitzQuote:
Originally Posted by Rabbitz
Well it seems to work for me! I'm due for an upgrade anyway
What, to 100 Watts ??? hahaQuote:
Originally Posted by keloooe
Yes Stan hahaha!Quote:
Originally Posted by stan
60 watts lets you get in quicker, heat the joint quicker, solder quicker and get out. There is actually less chance of damaging components than with a 25 or 30 watt iron. Added bonus, they have some chance of being able to solder on to the back or pots - I have never managed that with a 25 watt iron.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rabbitz
Yep, mine is 60watt.
It does have temp control though which is very handy.