I was going to use a Formica counter top 25 x 72". They are pretty cheap, and very durable.
Last week I had to replace a built in aluminium fuel tank in a boat. Guess what size it was? 25x72.
I cut the bottom off the tank, left a 2" lip for the edge, and it fit like a champ. I still have to build the backing board, install the sink, and
make the cut out underneath for the stirrer but I have the top skin done.
I have some beautiful 200 yo Asian teak wood that I plan to install as a back splash, and a laminated Formica display cabinet that I will dis-assemble
for the back wall of my fume hood, and glass drying rack (pegs on the wall sort of deal).
i intend to buy a camera so I can post picts. of this. I'm actually just excited to have something closer to completion.
Sooo many projects, and soo little time.j_sum1 - 18-6-2015 at 14:54
Congratulations Zombie.
It sounds like you are going to have a nicely equipped lab in the process of time.
Can't wait to see pix.Pyro - 18-6-2015 at 16:02
Very nice Zombie!
If I were you I'd keep the teak as good quality teak is becoming very rare... you won't believe the trouble and expense we went to getting Burma teak
for this boat! Zombie - 18-6-2015 at 17:43
Is that your boat on the bike forum? Red?
I know how hard it is to get this wood. I bought a trailer 1/2 full 3 years ago. I actually split it with another boat fiend/friend.
I've sold most of it at $30.00 a board foot. It's the most beautiful teak I have ever seen, and working it is a nightmare. It takes 4-5 new blades to
cut 20'x4". Forget cross cutting this stuff. One blade per 6"x4".
That's why I want it in the lab. You all will see when I get it going.
I'm laying out the fiberglass this week to make the panels for my fume hood/laminar flow cabinet.
It will be some weeks before I buy the squirrel cage fan but I will have the body assembled soon.
Sorry no picts yet. There will be. I promise.Pumukli - 18-6-2015 at 21:30
Please, take some pictures if you can and show us your work, even if in progress! I love to see how people solve the bench-fumehood-shelves-etc.
problem.Zombie - 18-6-2015 at 23:19
Absolutely I will. I intend to make it like a step by step "build thread".
I've been planing this for months, and gathering bits along the way so I can build it all quickly, and document it all here.
Building/fabricating, and designing things is what I do, and I hope to be able to help others get some ideas on different ways to approach all this.
Bottom line is Lab Gear is expensive. I would never spend 7, 8. 9, 10 grand on a bench, hood, and laminar cabinet. I had to figure out how to build
the same quality components for well under a grand. Maybe closer to four hundred bucks all in. Actually the Lexan sheeting ( fume hood enclosure) will
be the most expensive part.
It's getting close, and I figure within the next 4 weeks it should all come together.Pyro - 19-6-2015 at 05:14
Why not just use stainless steel or something?
Do you have much left? I am interested!
[Edited on 19-6-2015 by Pyro]Loptr - 19-6-2015 at 06:49
I understand how difficult things can be when you have a lot of other things going on at the same time. It's hard to keep focus and drive, and every
small step forward can be a tremendous victory!
My garage is currently a mess with boxes from my hobby-related purchases, and so much so, that I had temporarily lost access to my bench. Anyway, last
night I finally made it back out to the garage to check out the properties of nitrogen trichloride, that I was forming intentionally. This was the
first time I have ever intentionally worked with an energetic material, other than pyrotechic mixtures, and I must say this stuff is very impressive.
Even when it was forming in milligram quantities, when it decided to explode, it did so with a fearsome pop! I was surprised with how loud it was
given the small amount. I liked it.
The NCl3 was way too unstable to make any observation of it, though. I did notice it would hydrolyze if too much 10% ammonia was added. Typically
it go off multiple times as I was adding an ammonia solution to the ground up TCCA. It even popped after I had stopped adding the ammonia, and had
stepped back to my bench to prepare a saturated solution of ammonia/ammonium nitrate, with my back turned. It was almost as if it wasn't going to let
me forget it was there...
I might have to get out there tonight and attempt a preparation of picric acid.Zombie - 19-6-2015 at 10:39
Why not just use stainless steel or something?
Do you have much left? I am interested!
[Edited on 19-6-2015 by Pyro]
It's simply because I have the teak, and it is beautiful.
I realize that not many lab benches have a 200 yo teak back splash on a polished aluminium work surface but it's my Home as well so I'd like to keep
one step ahead of the Jones-s.
I considered using the top section of the fuel tank as the back wall behind the bench. It would have been very functional, ie: fire proof but I'm not
planning on too many fire, and blow up experiments.
I think you all will approve once I get the ideas into pictures.
You're interested in the teak Pyro?
I have about 12 boards around 20' long each. They vary in thickness from 1" - 3.5" thick, and 4' - 12" wide. They are all rough hewn. All are milled
just as the day the were harvested. We're talking two centuries ago. They didn't have quite the same mills as we have today.
This stuff is so dense that a single board foot weighs in around 10-12 lbs.
It would cost a fortune to ship but I am willing to if you are.
PM me, and I'll see what we can work out. I made a lot of money on this stuff so the boat builder/forum buddy discount goes into full effect.
Maybe I'll buy a camera today so I can start posting some picts...
Hey Loptr... Count your fingers mate. I believe there should be ten, at least.
[Edited on 6-19-2015 by Zombie]aga - 19-6-2015 at 12:00
Just in case you forget,
make sure that liquids can't get trapped between your ss worktop and the bottom of the wooden back,
in Malaysia where I lived for 20 years, teak is one of the few woods allowed for foundations/piling in moist soil,
but I guess that some of the condensed liquids from distillations etc.
may be aggressive enough to start the wood rotting,
which would be a shame.
P.S Carnauba wax + effort gives an excellent finish to hardwoods that is waterproof and easily maintained. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnauba_wax
(I made some loudspeaker cabinets, c5ft. tall with merbau wood,
a tropical hardwood but not as durable as teak,
I used carnauba wax on them, which is why I can recommend it)
[Edited on 19-6-2015 by Sulaiman]Loptr - 19-6-2015 at 14:32
Took me a second to get that... I'll see if I can find my Crayons, and make it manageable.
I guess I will have to draw the things I wish to express, and then take a picture of the drawing. From there I can have the pictures developed, buy a
walmart scanner, and post the images.
Do you think there will be any problems with pixel-ation? I hope not. These computers are sooo stupid.
P.S Carnauba wax + effort gives an excellent finish to hardwoods that is waterproof and easily maintained. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnauba_wax
(I made some loudspeaker cabinets, c5ft. tall with merbau wood,
a tropical hardwood but not as durable as teak,
I used carnauba wax on them, which is why I can recommend it)
[Edited on 19-6-2015 by Sulaiman]
For the join between the aluminium bench, and the teak back splash I plan to use 3-M 5200. It's an adhesive sealant similar to caulk.
Nothing on this planet can dissolve it.
Rather than carry it all the way across the bench, I will leave the teak out of the fume hood area, and use more of the Aluminium as the back splash
there. The total bench is 70 some inches, and the fume hood will only be about 30" or so with a removable Lexan enclosure.
Granted this is not an OSHA approved bench but within it's design limits it will be impressive.
By the way... The aluminium I am using is 4.5mm thick. It's no joke stuff.Magpie - 20-6-2015 at 10:26
You are probably aware of this: aluminum is subject to attack by caustic (NaOH, KOH, etc) solutions. My fume hood is constructed of aluminum but I
have a ss 304 removable pan in the hood as a work surface. It has 1" high sides to contain the spills.
I painted the inside of the hood with epoxy. This does a good job of protecting the aluminum (14 ga) from inadvertant caustic ejections.
This is not in any way meant to criticize your plan. It's just some information to consider. A good bench and fume hood is great to have!
You are probably aware of this: aluminum is subject to attack by caustic (NaOH, KOH, etc) solutions. My fume hood is constructed of aluminum but I
have a ss 304 removable pan in the hood as a work surface. It has 1" high sides to contain the spills.
I painted the inside of the hood with epoxy. This does a good job of protecting the aluminum (14 ga) from inadvertant caustic ejections.
This is not in any way meant to criticize your plan. It's just some information to consider. A good bench and fume hood is great to have!
I've thought about this a bit. I did consider sealing it w/ clear epoxy (the bench) but I like the idea of a tray in the fume hood better. Same for
the bench areas to. I kind of like the idea of working on/in a plastic tray.
Dollar store has quite a few to choose from.
Just checked the link... I LOVE that hood! I never thought about using a window/casement.
I wish I would have seen that earlier.
So Zomb, once the rig is all set up, what's the first experiment going to be ?
Crack! I have to pay for all of this somehow.
LOL, no. I actually have no idea. I guess one thing would be caffeine extraction. I'm kind of hooked on those iced coffee energy drinks w/ ginko
biloba, gin-sing,ect..., and I'd like to extract the compounds, and make those myself.
Maybe mix up my own vitamins... Other things I use around the house.
I'd also like to blend my own epoxies. I've got a couple ideas floating around for those hydrofoil boats, and some epoxy-glass fenders and fuel tanks
for motorcycles, custom body parts for scooters...
I guess just see where the mood takes me. Magpie - 20-6-2015 at 13:05
The key point in fume hood design is, IMO, is to have a constant flow of air into the hood. Air flow is what sweeps out the contaminants. Many have
the mistaken impression that the window should seal the hood!
By having a constant airflow matching the capability of your fan/ducting system you keep everything stable and at the air velocity that's optimum
(1-1.5 fps). You don't want the airflow so strong that it blows out your bunsen burner.
A sliding single sash gives you constant airflow and constant velocity.
