Shack Furniture

The m0xpd shack has always been a ramshackle arrangement (much like the rest of the qth) but things were coming to a head recently, with no room on either the workbench or the operating position. Too may bits of projects on the go, too much junk never packed away (not that everything has a place to be packed into), too much shack clutter.

You can see what passes for the workbench here...

and the adjacent operating position here...



Fortunately, some weeks ago, the XYL's place of employment was having a clear-out, which involved getting rid of some old shelves. They were to be taken to the tip - but the XYL recognized the "salvage" potential and brought them home as a gift (she knows how much I resent the price of timber). About 60 feet of 18mm mdf shelving, with no holes or marks, all nicely cut to uniform width (approx 1 foot) and length (approx 4 foot). What a find!

I decided to use a few lengths to do something about the shack - so I biscuit-jointed some of the lengths together to make wider panels, cut out the pieces (to a design which owes something to Ikea's "Billy" corner unit), routed some slots in the end-pieces to take the shelves and joined it all together with polyurethane glue. That was the assembly I was having trouble with at the weekend - I gave up dodging the showers in the end and did the glue-up on top of the table saw!

Here's the result (too excited to finish it off at this stage)...



You can see the "trusty, rusty" FT 101ZD on the bottom shelf, tuner, SWR meter and antenna switching next up, a converted Key PMR rig (just in case I ever fancy a little erudition on 2m HI HI) with the FT 817 nd (Blogs passim) atop and the Funster Plus aside. On the top of the unit are the Not-so-superhet (along with its inverter HT supply) and the Paraset (right).

Beneath, the h/b straight key, the Bencher Paddle and the Funky Keyer (still swollen with pride over its recent coverage on Soldersmoke) all find shelter.

I intend to face all the visible edges of the mdf with real timber and I might even paint it - but that will be another day - don't hold your breath!

...-.- de m0xpd