Yesterday I mentioned that I had to do some impromptu remodeling in "Dexter's Lab" but I didn't have any pictures handy when I created that post. Since I am working from home today (due to the fact that it is currently snowing sideways in beautiful metropolitan Arvada, CO), and since I once again have a fully functioning home office at my disposal, I thought I'd go ahead an share a couple of the before and after snaps with you (while it's still fairly clean).
Demo-time (note that the wood trim and cleats are all that is left of Workstation #1).
I think we found some of Saddam's WMDs in my basement.
Presenting the new and improved PC Workstation in "Dexter's Lab" (disregarding the fact that there is no flooring done yet). Note to self: replace colored tape with real labels on the main power panel:
The PC menagerie consists of the following (from left to right): Domain Controller (white-box; old-ass AMD K6-2 running at a blistering 450 mhz), Web and File Server (with green LEDs; self-built, AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+, 4GB RAM, 2 TerraBytes of storage space), the "Deathstar" (blue LEDs; my hotrod - also self-built, Q6600 quad core, 4 GB RAM, 1.5 TB storage, dual 8600GTS SLI graphics cards, and much much more), and on the cart is my trusty Toshiba laptop (Satellite P105-S9339, T7200 dual core, 2GB RAM, 200GB HDD, 17" display).
The desktop is 40 inches high (so I can stand and work if I tire of sitting), 10 feet wide, 2 feet deep, with an additional 2 foot return on the right-hand side. It is constructed entirely of select-pine, and finished with MinWax Puritan Pine stain and two coats of Tung Oil. The work surface itself is made from three separate 4 feet by 2 feet by 1 inch edge glued pine panels (think butcher-block). The PCs are situated on a similarly constructed 18" deep wheeled platform that keeps them from having to be directly on the floor, and also allows for easy access to the back panels. The whole thing is constructed in a fashion that will allow me to easily remove it without having to totally destroy the thing (this was done knowing that I'll have to eventually put some flooring under it). The support legs are actually stair balusters, and serve to prevent any sagging in the middle (like the old surface wound up doing). The legs are removable so I can pull out the PC platform (just remove a couple of thumb screws on each one), and have adjustable levelers in the bottom to compensate for any irregularities in floor height (assuming I ever get around to installing one).
In my effort to both declutter and maximize the free space on my work surface, I placed all of the cables, power bricks, etc into a recessed plenum area located at the back of the desktop that I then covered with a removable shelf to keep them hidden but still be easily accessed. I also mounted my cable modem, router, ethernet switch, external floppy drive, and the VOIP and USB hubs to piece of pegboard attached to the bottom right-hand corner of the desktop where it is all completely out of sight unless you are sitting on the floor (zip-ties ROCK). Warning, folks suffering from OCD should probably avoid looking at the next photo, but the wire mess eventually had to surface somewhere, mmmKay?). The trash can and portable drawers fit in this corner and serve to conceal the 2 UPS units and an auxilliary power strip quite nicely too.
As I said before, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out and there's still quite a bit of work to do before I can officially call this project "done," but at least I've managed to get far enough along to be back in business!