Who here hasn’t put off soldering up a project because pulling out and setting up all your soldering gear is a pain? A lot of hobbyists don’t have a dedicated workbench for such activities and their gear may even be packed away somewhere inconvenient. [laxap] has come up with a solution using a plastic toolbox as a base for his Mobile Soldering Workstation.
[laxap] started with a regular off the shelf toolbox that has a lid and three drawers on the bottom. Although the Weller soldering iron base fit nicely in the bottom drawer, it did necessitate ditching the middle drawer for clearance. The compartmentalized top drawer is unmodified and holds parts and supplies in an orderly fashion.
Lifting up the lid of the box reveals a removable tray, which as intended, is a great spot to store tools such as a multimeter and wire strippers. The area under the removable tray is reserved for a power strip and power cord storage. A hole drilled in the side of the toolbox allows quick access to the power strip’s plug, a quick pull out and plug in is all that is necessary to get this workstation powered up.
That front flip up panel was made specifically for this project. Not only does it help keep the drawers from sliding open during transport, it also holds a lamp to aid in seeing what you’re doing! A bent aluminum strip acts as a latch to keep the panel in position.
It’s a pretty simple idea but it certainly gets the job done and makes soldering a whole bunch more convenient. If you like mobile workbenches, you may want to check out this all-wooden shelf style or one that features integrated solderless breadboards.
Nice!
I always enjoy seeing how people modify stuff up to fit their work space or style.
Very cool!
Maybe another cutout right there where the soldering iron will most assuredly contact and melt the front of the drawer by accident as you go in to hit the sponge, or alternately just a little piece of tin foil or a piece of scrap aluminum bent to fit right there would act as a shield against incidents, accidents, hints and allegations. (With all due respect to Paul Simon.)
Shall I call you Al? ;)
Good song! Paul Simon is a genius, and it’s a pity he and Garfunkel broke up… amazing stuff, the lot of it.
My Dad’s name was Al and mom’s is Betty
You could probably keep the middle drawer if you used LED tape on that lid.
But then, the solder station wouldn’t fit there. Might have to put that in the top.
The more I look at it, the more I like it. Very nice build.
One question. Assuming you have to pack up quickly and while the iron’s still hot, how do you secure it so that it doesn’t burn plastic? Maybe it fits in the holder, laid on its side, snugly enough that it can’t fall out; but I’m not sure from looking at it.
You would have to let the iron cool, for sake of safety. What’s the rush? ;-)
anyone have a source of lots of these sort of projects? I like it and want more ideas!
Reddit has a workbenches subreddit – tons of inspiration there :)
A search for portable solder station probably would get you a long ways. There are a few stories in this site’s archives too.
Here’s my current favorite portable eletronics lab:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Soundwave-Portable-Electronics-Workstaion/
(was featured on HaD recently)
> A lot of hobbyists don’t have a dedicated workbench for such activities
> and their gear may even be packed away somewhere inconvenient.
So true! This simple sentence shows that Hackaday writers really, truly understand their audience. Thank you.
Very nice build. My grandfather (TV-technician) had one, the solderiron was placed in a simple metal tube attached to the box, which cooled down the tip instantly when it touched it. That seemed to have done the job over the decades he used it.
Literally inspired me to make this one http://tinylittlelife.org/?p=326
is that a weller 2002m solder base station with a hakko 907 iron? ** i did not now it is possible **