Most people who have a use for a bench supply should also be able to figure out how to make this box for $2 instead of $45.
Then I spent a whopping $200 on a real lab power supply with adjustable current limiting and variable 0-30 volts and I've been using it for the last 15 years. Sure is nice to be able to set a comfortable 50mA when bringing up new hardware knowing that you can't blow anything up! That alone is worth the price.
It's a nice project, but $45 for something you could build from $10 in parts in literally less than 10 minutes? Really?
Only $80. I was shocked. (By the price, not by lack of proper grounding :-) It is even fully isolated, something I figured would have been cut for cost savings. Mastech HY1803D if you are curious. Working great so far, my only complaint is 0.1V thermal drift over a few hours.
Edit: I mean a variable voltage variable current bench/lab power supply.
Instead of this box you could just clip the appropriate wires for the same effect.
What I really want is a variable voltage supply easily made from any old ATX PSU. As an amateur that would be an invaluable tool.
http://hackaday.com/2010/12/09/atx-psu-turned-into-an-adjust...
It might be a good starting point for a kit which doesn't require a modification of the power supply itself.
Posted my thoughts regarding this supply elsewhere in the thread. Good reviews on Amazon too.
I can't recommend any specifically simply because I have never seen a bad product come out of hp's Test & Instrumentation division. They're all good.
That seems totally impossible to me.