A quick project for the cleared bench

I received the new solderless breadboard purchased on Ebay (luckily they are sold out so I don't have to worry about buying a spare :).  It's nice but doesn't have a metal plate under the breadboard like the 3Ms have:

https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2025/02/3m-breadboard.html

So the first project is to to add a ground plane using "the thin stuff".  I happen to have a bunch of thin copper clad boards - one nice thing is that they are relatively easy to cut with scissors (that you don't care about!).

First, remove the board from the plastic backing plate, also take off the binding posts to make it easier to use as a hole template:

Second, scribe the copper clad using the breadboard to trace around:

Third, start punching holes in the top using the good old number 5 junior punch:

Fourth, cut off the excess copper clad to allow easier punching of the 6th hole as well as creating a connecting strip to the ground binding post:

Finally, put everything back together and it is done !  And at least for now, I cleared off the junk instead of letting it sit there !

Next step:  an actual project for the breadboard (along with some power cables to the supplies.

Best Regards,
Chuck, WB9KZY
http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm