How often have I been working on a project somewhere around the house or garden, and needed a box of screws, a few bolts and washers and some small tools.
During the project I invariably need a few smaller tools, but I only have two hands. So I make several journeys to the workshop or the tool cupboard to get the bits I need.
When it comes to tidying up, I don’t want to cart my entire toolbox to where I was working, but I end up making five journeys back and forth to tidy up.
What I need is a small tool-caddy. Like this:
- Cost: zero. It’s made of 15mm ply because I have some. Plus a wooden batten for the handle, some wood glue, and two screws.
- Tools used to build: hand saws, a cordless drill, and a band clamp.
- Time taken: an hour here, an hour there, over a few evenings.
The lessons I learned here are about squareness. I didn’t really make much of an effort to cut the ends of the side pieces square … and the caddy is slightly wonky. Next time I will take more care to mark and cut square.
The base was cut to be oversize – about 3mm each size, then it was glued on and left to set overnight. I trimmed the base using a Japanese Pull-Saw and cleaned up the edges and corners with sandpaper.
Is it worth oiling it or painting it? Probably not. I’ve already found that it isn’t long enough for my hammer.