[kuznetzvov]

Greetings, this will be a nice little thread about how to build a lab from scratch, charting my progress along the way.  This will inevitably require much money and effort, but I'm looking to spend more effort than money.  I intend to be able to experiment with basic nuclear transmutations among other processes, and I hope this to be a learning experience from start to finish.  When I have more information, in the form of plans or updates, I'll post again.  Feel free to leave your thoughts
~Van

[jdurg]

The only thing I could add to this is that you MUST make sure you have enough protective shielding to prevent un-neccesary exposure to radioactive materials.  I myself have a now sizeable sample of uranium metal, and while the radiation it gives off isn't anything that is 'Oh dear god get out of here now', any exposure should be limited.  As a result, the metal is well insulated in some lead sheeting in a lead lined box.  If you are going to make any type of 'lab', you must ensure that the walls of the reaction chambers are properly lined and that you have a proper waste disposal container.  You can't go around throwing contaminated material into the trash.  Doing so breaks numerous environmental laws.  

[constant thinker]

Make sure you keep the stuff locked up too. It would just suck if somebody stole it. Even more if a few weeks later there was an "incident". Hypothetically speaking.

Though if your going to being spending a lot of money I would make sure you keep everything locked up. It may be a good idea to check out any local/state laws.

[Mr. Pink]

If you want to have any stockpiles of radioactive materials locked up, buy one of those el cheapo safes from IKEA. Any one that has external hinges. Buy some thick cork gasket paper, and line the edges (which are made of 2mm steel sheet, but bended to make edges about half an inch wide). Seal up any cracks with sillycone. Then buy some RadMax radiation sheilding, and solder a few sheets onto the outside (leaving an uncovered area for the lock). Problem solved. That is, if you're keeping aerosol-prone radium salts.

[kuznetzvov]

    Well, the main issue at this time is basically location of the land and building to house the materials and equipment.  Although I have access to a decent sized area for work, the building is rather dilapidated and less than weatherproof.  The adjacent building is not as open to the elements but is frequently used and typically has high humidity and insect problems.  At this time, I'm looking into creating an extension of a garage or remodeling an existing storage shed to improve resistance to weather and such.  
    It will probably take at least a month to work out the issues related to a building and the construction and labor associated with it.  The structures were in worse condition than previously anticipated, and the experiments which I intend to conduct certainly can't be done safely in a bathroom.  I will check the thread every few days and post when I have more information or if a question is posed.  Thanks for all the feedback thus far, and I welcome more constructive criticism.

[constant thinker]

In your bathroom...

Hmmm radioactive expirements in your bathroom. I hope you don't grow a third eye.  

[kuznetzvov]

Yeah, I'm having tremendous problems with the structure in which I wish to perform the aformentioned activities.  It's been through several hurricanes and termite swarms; the structural integrity is nearly compromised.  The siding is peeling off at the frame, causing the contents inside to be exposed to the elements.  I've considered building a concrete structure around the original structure in order to preserve it, but this will require much labor and time.  I'm having difficulty finding materials and information related to this sort of thing.  It was built more than 20 years ago.  Anybody have any ideas?
~Van

[Mikez]

nuclear labs... carful not to hurt yourself. Messing around with radioactive material can cause serious health problems personally I prefer to stay on the safe side of things. The exact reason why I am going into microbiology  

[Mitch]

You think radionuclides like P32 are not a common sight in a microbio lab?

[billnotgatez]

Everyone who has a particle accelerator in their basement raise your hand.

[Borek]

Michio Kaku qualifies. He have made his own betatron.

[kuznetzvov]

Well folks, it appears that I've run out of time in my life to continue working on this project.  Working 40 hours a week while going to school 40 hours a week doesn't leave much time for anything else when you factor in family commitments and so forth.  In addition, I've been unable to find the materials or labor required to renovate the old building which was to serve as a makeshift lab/storage facility.  If time and money permits sometime in the future, I'll try this again one day.  Cheers.
~Van

[gippgig]

The Amateur Scientist column in the August 1971(!) issue of Scientific American explained how to build a Van de Graaff generator capable of performing simple nuclear reactions with proton & deuteron beams. "Although the accelerator is small and the potential of the Van de Graaff machine is relatively harmless, the proton beams and the products of the nuclear reactions are hazardous." Don't try this unless you understand what you're doing.
Along totally different lines, has anyone (Mitch?) considered building a serious lab capable of state-of-the-art experiments? This sort of thing is possible - there's a group called AMSAT that has been building their own communication satellites for ham radio operators for decades. They've shown that amateurs can build satellites for 1/30th the cost of an equivalent commercial satellite & the same factor of 30 cost reduction should apply elsewhere. We might be able to build the "Son of Omnitron" for several tens of millions of dollars. That's a lot, but note that several people have paid $20 million for a ride to the International Space Station on a Soyuz spacecraft. It's quite possible that someone would pay a similar amount if they would get the naming rights if we manage to make a new element!

[Mitch]

I fully support Enronium and Cocacolaium. I just can't convince anyone else to take their money.