HI EVERYONE,

I'M GOING TO BE PUTTING A CONTROL PANEL TOGETHER SOON FOR MY ROUTER.

WOULD BE AWESOME TO SEE WHAT OTHERS HAVE DONE.

WHAT WORKED WELL ? / WHAT DIDN'T WORK WELL ETC ? / WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE IF YOU DID IT AGAIN ?

THANKS IN ADVANCE 

Heres mine, first is the Computurn ( big lathe) Next Beaver Mill, next Bridgeport Mill (but sold BP and this will be going on Chiron VMC) and last is from the Conect lathe I am doing at the moment.
Hood

Hi Hood,

Thanks for your post. Nice work on those panels.
Looks like you have some nice toys there.
I like those industrial keyboards. Are they hard to find? Do they cost much?

Cheers Al.

I just keep a look out on eBay for them, they are not cheap new ( £200 plus) but on eBay I think the most I have paid is about £60.
One thing I will say when building a panel is it is important to have the keyboard angled and the MPG low down on the panel as if you dont then it gets tiring very quickly when using them. The big lathes MPG looks high up but its actually not too bad as the panel sits quite low, it would however still have been better if it could have been at the side of the keyboard, sadly that one is too big for that. When I did my first machine, a Bridgeport I had the MPG on the side of the head, your arms ached after a few mins if using the MPG so I have made sure I dont make that mistake again.
Hood

Thanks Hood,

I'll keep an eye out on Ebay for one of those keyboards.
I did a quick search on Google images and there seems to be quite a selection available however $$$ would be the problem for me.

Cheers Al

These particular ones have no F-Keys or number pads, but still a good deal if you don't need those keys.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/STORM-2210-22NS03-04-01-USB-KEYBOARD-2200-SERIES-/330834684777?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item4d0748ab69
http://www.ebay.com/itm/STORM-2210-22NS03-0401-STORM-USB-KEYBOARD-2200-SERIES-/130704338995?pt=Mice&hash=item1e6e95f033

I have 4 or 5 Storm branded keyboards, and they are top notch. Never heard of any complaints from any of the other folks that use them, either. "storm" should be one of the keywords for the ebay searches, or you could be searching within a billion useless results.

Thanks Sam,

These don't look too bad and a good price too.
I use a hacked keyboard for extra inputs from the F-keys.
So not having them there to press accidentally would suit well.

Cheers Al.

The storm keyboards are definitely the top of the range, I have one (with stainless keys) and it is very nice. They are excellent for dirty.damp hands as well being IP65 (or maybe 67) rated, then again all of the keyboards I use are that anyway.
Hood

I thought all the boards you had were storm. Who is the maker of the other ones you have?

Ha ha now you are asking, will have to look up and see. Heading out for a while so will hopefully remember to reply with the info when I get back.
Hood