Home workshop where I plan on working on stereo equipment, primarily.
Will a natural fiber runner (carpet) work well for me as a benchtop
surface or are the anti-static mats a must? If so, are there any DIY
or cheaper alternatives to the expensive kind the electronic supply
stores sell?

hath wroth:

Home workshop where I plan on working on stereo equipment, primarily.
Will a natural fiber runner (carpet) work well for me as a benchtop
surface or are the anti-static mats a must? If so, are there any DIY
or cheaper alternatives to the expensive kind the electronic supply
stores sell?

I don't think it matters much. Most synthetic fiber rugs already
include some form of anti-static protection (imbedded carbon fibers or
dust). If you search Google for "anti-static rug", you'll find plenty
of examples. I've been using random carpet samples for years and
don't recall every blowing anything up with one.

At one time, the topic came up at work. So I borrowed an
electrostatic volts guesser, and did some measuring at work. What I
found was:
1. The only rugs that showed a problem was the Persian wool rug in my
office. Also removing the wool fishermans hat I often wore was good
for a zap. Oops.
2. Grounding the chair had the biggest effect on reducing static
buildup as it gives the tech a place to discharge. Plastic seat
cushions are a bad idea.
3. Putting one hand on an oscilloscope screen and the other on the
circuit board generated more static electricity than I consider
acceptable.
4. Managers and salesmen in polyester clothes and boating shoes are
guaranteed to blow something up.
5. Clean formica table tops can hold quite a static charge. Filthy
formica does not. I used this as an official excuse to not clean up
my mess for many years. Grounding the aluminum strip at the edge of
the table did wonders for discharging the table top.
6. One of the other engineers decided that the table top carpet patch
needed a place for the static electricity to discharge. So, he glued
some aluminum foil to the bottom of the carpet and grounded the foil.
I never did figure out if this worked as I had to return to doing
something productive. I'm undecided if this arrangement is a
discharge path or part of a capacitor.
7. Some people simply generate more static electricity than others. I
generate very little. However, I know others that can blow up
sensitive circuitry without much effort. I have no clue how this
works.

Incidentally, if you're paranoid about static electricity, or just
cheap like me, you can make your own anti-static spray with:
http://www.recipegoldmine.com/house/house17.html
If the fabric softener doesn't remove the static, the ammonia will
empty the room of all the complainers.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Thanks Jeff, I was leaning towards a carpet top, seems more practical
and comfortable to work on. The spray is a good idea, the bench is in
the basement with somewhat higher humidity anyway.

hath wroth:

Thanks Jeff, I was leaning towards a carpet top, seems more practical
and comfortable to work on. The spray is a good idea, the bench is in
the basement with somewhat higher humidity anyway.

Well, there are a few problems I've found with carpeting.

1. Carpet needs to be fed. SMT parts seems to be its favorite food.
The carpet can be made to regurgitate the tiny parts at a later date,
but only after you've purchased replacement parts.

2. Laptops and carpets are mutually incompatible. Many laptops (i.e.
HP, Toshibah, Compaq, etc) have fan air intakes on the bottom of the
laptop. When placed on the carpeting, the air intake is obstructed
resulting in overtemp shutdown, meltdown, or both.

3. Carpet smells really bad after I leave my soldering iron sitting
on it.

4. When standing on the workbench to change a florescent light above,
the carpet tends to slip and slide on the formica top.

5. Carpet makes a terrible mouse pad.

6. The cat likes to watch what I'm doing in the shop. The carpet
patch is the most comfortable place to sit. I now have two carpet
remnant pieces on the workbench.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

wrote:
: Home workshop where I plan on working on stereo equipment, primarily.
: Will a natural fiber runner (carpet) work well for me as a benchtop
: surface or are the anti-static mats a must? If so, are there any DIY
: or cheaper alternatives to the expensive kind the electronic supply
: stores sell?

I'd opt for wood. Particle board. Solder and carpets don't mix. If
you need something soft, put an antistatic mat on the wood.

In the shops I worked in, we either used wood and it seemed to work
well. There is also no static risk with it. If one accidentally
hits it with a soldering iron, it's a bit more forgiving and doesn't
act as a "clipped lead magnet".

b.

In article s.com, wrote:
wrote:
: Home workshop where I plan on working on stereo equipment, primarily.
: Will a natural fiber runner (carpet) work well for me as a benchtop
: surface or are the anti-static mats a must? If so, are there any DIY
: or cheaper alternatives to the expensive kind the electronic supply
: stores sell?

I'd opt for wood. Particle board. Solder and carpets don't mix. If
you need something soft, put an antistatic mat on the wood.

In the shops I worked in, we either used wood and it seemed to work
well. There is also no static risk with it. If one accidentally
hits it with a soldering iron, it's a bit more forgiving and doesn't
act as a "clipped lead magnet".

Wood is cool. I have been using MCM anti-static mats I bought 20 years
ago, and probably don't sell the same material. Non burning type of
rubber or vinyl, and to top it off, has a slight curl which holds parts
inside the mat.

greg

In article , (GregS) wrote:
In article s.com,
wrote:
wrote:
: Home workshop where I plan on working on stereo equipment, primarily.
: Will a natural fiber runner (carpet) work well for me as a benchtop
: surface or are the anti-static mats a must? If so, are there any DIY
: or cheaper alternatives to the expensive kind the electronic supply
: stores sell?

I'd opt for wood. Particle board. Solder and carpets don't mix. If
you need something soft, put an antistatic mat on the wood.

In the shops I worked in, we either used wood and it seemed to work
well. There is also no static risk with it. If one accidentally
hits it with a soldering iron, it's a bit more forgiving and doesn't
act as a "clipped lead magnet".

Wood is cool. I have been using MCM anti-static mats I bought 20 years
ago, and probably don't sell the same material. Non burning type of
rubber or vinyl, and to top it off, has a slight curl which holds parts
inside the mat.

Proper terminology, anti-static work mat.

I see some floor mats you can cut up for special sizes.

greg