Bins for your pins are good, too
In addition to the new table and drawer unit, I added one other small but wonderful detail: a portable caddy for my tools!
If you don’t “do” the drop-down flaps on your Perfect Caddy, there are options for a number of bins that you can attach to the outside of your caddy. Now, I have been using a 99-cent white plastic cutlery caddy from the local drug store to hold things like my seam ripper, brush (for cleaning lint), ruler, skewer, etc. You can see the corner of the caddy on the top left corner of the photo above. I knock it off the table WAY too often, spilling the contents that then roll hither and yon, leading to much swearing on my part while crawling on the dusty floor looking for errant sharp things. Ahem.
When I saw the Large Portable bin, I realized I had a solution, and one that looks really nice! I called up The Perfect Caddy folks to add the bin, and yes, they could indeed sell me a second mounting strip:
To the right of where I sit at my new tables, I used some “L” brackets to secure this wood mounting strip to the edge of my table. Notice those two “U” shaped things? That’s where these well-designed, secure pegs go; they stick out from the back of the portable bin (also with customizable inserts, just like the drawers) and fit snugly into the slots. I can then MOVE the caddy depending on where I am sitting/which machine I use! I can take the caddy over to the other machine (the one that I’ll buy next year), or set the caddy on my work table or by my spot on the sofa. Perfect!
Well…almost perfect. The Small Portable bin is too shallow to hold pencils, the large is so deep that they go down to be almost hidden. I’m going to make inserts for some of the compartments for shorter items like the seam ripper so that they are above the surface, not down in the hole. I’ve asked if they will make a “medium” bin which is a height between the two currently available. They are thinking about it, but no plans. Yet. When they DO make a medium portable bin, I’ll buy one, re-assign the large one to paintbrush duty, and use the medium with the machine tools. NICE!
September 8th, 2010 at 11:47 am
Oh my goodness, it feels like Christmas at your house! I may have to put these on my wish list for Christmas! Seems like you have a great system working for you! I’m sure it’s made a big difference in your proficiency with your work!