Champagne Microscopy Lab Benches on a beer budget - How To

[ebenbildmicroscopy]

I'm a thrift store addict and office furniture is high on the list of things that get donated to them. Just about the only thing that's as ubiquitous is coffee mugs!

In this post, I'm going to demonstrate how I turned a $20 conference table into 2 very practical laboratory benches for microscopy.

These conference tables are everywhere because, after industry has depreciated and replaced them (to honor the tax man), they end up as surplus nobody wants because they're so huge. After you cut them in half, they're not so huge anymore and they're just the right depth to use as lab benches... look at my pics...

I actually paid $20 for this table that had probably originally cost a business $400 or $500. It's high density particle board but clad completely in wood-grained formica. I'm going to eventually add a 3/4" luan plywood backing and shelf to the cut edge of both halves to improve rigidity and add a finished look to the back side of each "bench" as-well-as hold dry supplies and microscope transformers.

If you attempt this, I would recommend, as I did, running a layer of painter's tape over the underside of the circular saw cut line to prevent the formica from splintering or splitting out... worked like a charm - the proof is in the pudding!

[rnabholz]

Nicely done!

They look perfect for the job, and at a bargain basement price.

Great idea.

[Crater Eddie]

Great idea, and nice execution. Kudos!
CE

[billbillt]

Love you idea and ingenuity... Thanks for sharing!..
BillT

[einman]

Wow! What a deal for 2 nice benches!

[ebenbildmicroscopy]

THANKS for the comments guys! I'm going to be using these as peripheral lab benches in a YouTube microscopy studio in the next year or so... more to come!

JeffO