Specifically, I noticed I have fifty bazillion screws, connectors, fasteners, bits, adapters and whatnot. Searching for them in drawers very much sucked. So I decided to do some organizing. I selected all the wood from the finest selection of onhand scrap wood. I solely purchased some screws and the wheels for this project. Everything else was scrap wood. Including the steel rod stock that I hammered back to being mostly straight and bent into giant staples.
I ordered a bunch of "Stanley Removable Bin Compartment Deep Professional Organizer" off Amazon. It was the cheapest good removeable bin thingie on Amazon. I looked at the Harbor Freight version, but they sucked and weren't much cheaper. Measured everything and noticed I had room left over from a countertop, so I added shelves rather than do additional cutting. Because I'm always looking for excuses to fire up the forge, even if I'm not the world's best blacksmith, I did the staple thing instead of bungle cables or wood edges. The wheels from from Home Depot, I've since bought a bulk supply from China. 12 from China off eBay were cheaper than one from off the shelf at Home Depot.
The cases are very nice in that the bins can be removed, and mix'n'matched to make one "project" case with all the small stuff I'll need. Takes prep work down from 30 minutes to maybe two or three minutes. Keeps everything very securely, as the case lid have intends to keep everything in place. The bins slide in on 3/8th inch square dowel rods that I glued in place, and then attached with four screws per. There's about 3/8th inch vertical gap between the cases. The smaller cases, I left 2.5 inches between dowel rods. The big cases, 4 inches between the dowel rods. Width is about 17 inches. I'm going to add some iron rod stock in the back to keep everything from falling out. Probably twist it about decoratively. More for an excuse to beat metal with a hammer than practical reasons. The far side doesn't have anything on it, but I was thinking of mounting all of my measuring tools (and levels, and straight edges, etc) for ease of access. Maybe do something about the clamps.
Sortimo is very nice, but nosebleedingly expensive. My plumber uses Bosch LBOXX stacking locking boxes. I loved it, but again, a single large box was more expensive than this entire project. Nicer, but five times the price or higher. I paid $10 for the small bins, $15 for the large bins, and $24 for the wheels because I was in a rush. Maybe $6 for the screws. Call it $150 tops for the whole project. Which again, would get you two or three boxes from Sortimo or Bosch, with no rolling shelf unit.
Peep in the background is a fiberglass replica of the marshmellow candy. About six feet long, four ish feet high. I'm working on building him overhead cover. Still debating on the design. Maybe a Japanese or Shinto inspired mini temple. Suggestions?
