After moving from the United Kingdom to Japan, there were some obvious compromises to be made on what to ship over or not. Test equipment and tools were one thing I would keep and send over.
Having a decent work desk and chair was priority number one.
Searching for the "perfect" desk, I came across a bench made out of 4040 aluminium extrude profiles. Further research, I found it's very popular with the camper van community. I could see the benefit of modular construction. Almost anything can be changed and it's not fixed to one single configuration.
The obvious negative point might be the cost. The profiles can get quite expensive and if you have to use custom cut sizes, the cost increases further.
But the great benefit was that I could purchase more profiles later and extend or expand the desk if needed.
So I went ahead and designed the desk in FreeCAD, to better visualize the frame and try to use only standard (pre-cut) off the shelf sizes. That worked out quite well and I have also included a pair of slim drawers, where I can keep all my small tools.
Considering Japan does experience quite a few earthquakes, having heavy (or expensive) test equipment on a taller shelf at the back side of the table was a definite no.
This is when I got lucky and managed to score a used Agilent 1184A Testmobile cart. Have paid ¥550 for it, but the postage was about ¥8000!
That cart is one heavy bugger, it weighs around 48kg empty and can support up to 136kg. The thing is built like a tank.
Last finishing touches were a 30mm thick hardwood work top and ESD mat on top.
Can't wait to start and mainly finish some projects now!