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Shop Benches, Bombarder and other.

Posted By: Mike Muldowney
Date: Friday, 20 March 2015, at 6:25 p.m.


Good afternoon folks!

I'm starting to plan out my shop/bench layout and have a couple questions...

I see on videos and such that many folks set up the processing area next to the manifold with a bunch of clear tubes laid out as a bed for the unit being worked on. I get that it's to insulate the hot unit from the bench top, but I feel like it looks kind of messy.

Has anybody used alternate surfaces for their processing bench? Straight wood would be suceptible to fire/burning/death/etc, but what about say...ceramic tile? Fire-proof board? Any other ideas?

As this is a hobby setup, I'd like to keep a minimum footprint. While I still want a separate bending bench vs my processing area, I don't want to take up a whole ton of space. Is anyone willing to share their small footprint layout ideas/pictures so I can get some ideas?

On the technical side....

My bombarder is a 10kVa....in what ways will that limit the units I make? Length/diameter/etc. I won't say that I would be unwilling to upgrade in the future....but I don't want to get all good/adequate at bending just to find out my bombarder doesn't have the oomph. Knowing what it can do will let me start with stuff I won't have any issues, other than the learning curve.

Is a trolley setup absolutely necessary for the leads? Again, would I be limiting myself in any way without it?

The Jacob's ladder that came with my setup is kinda beat up. It was made out of pretty thick wire. About 10ga. Should I just re-make it? Or is there another length/gauge combo that others have found to be ideal?

I'm still a ways away from turning anything on, but a couple operation questions:

My diffusion pump didn't come with the little fan to blow over the condensing area. I'm thinking I should set it up with one. Good choice? Is the answer to my question as simple as "there's a reason they sell them with the fan now-a-days..."

Again, due to hobby setup....the vacuum pump and diffusion pump won't be on 24/7 or anything. Should I expect, on a day I plan to do processing, to turn the diffusion pump and vacuum pump on the night before and let them go overnight?

I got zero literature regarding the operation of the actual equipment. I have a good Daco video and plenty of books on bending and stuff, but nothing about the actual stuff itself. Sure, the blower and vacuum pump and what not is pretty much just on/off switches....but still...Any literature available anywhere on things like the mixers? Burners? Diffusion Pump? Bombarder/Choke?

I know I can get all my answers here...but never hurts to have manufacturer documentation...

Thanks again all!

Mike


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