Ok Fellow Modelers . What’s your experience with a Desktop Tool and Pant Holder or Caddy?
What would you suggest? What would you like to have? Have you built one yourself?
We will start out with a Classic:
The Testors
Nice but kinda flimsy and doesn’t hold tools.
So what is out there that’s better???
I have something similar (modified tackle box)… and it is used ONLY for the kit I am working on. Once I am done I empty it out. I put all the paints and tools away where they belong and stow the holder away. When I start a new project out it comes. Handy when you need to keep all your stuff in one place specially if you want to move around from room to room.
Good idea!. Do ever have to “dig” for stuff using that?
this is interesting:
or maybe
That’s what it looks like in the catalog.
!http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6071/6046480675_465eb6035c.jpg
Here’s what it looks like in real life:
I built this, mostly for paint bottles, to go on a deep drafting table that I use as a work bench
Full build article here:
http://www.ipms-phoenix.org./articles/articles09.htm
Point taken LOL
Pretty cool . For some reason an image of “HERO Jr” keeps popping up in my mind[;)]
I use the same thing… Got it at Hobby Lobby, (40% off, naturally)… The only real difference is that mine has the bottom tray fulla kit Greeblies…
This is nice! but cost nearly $38 US dollars
My current tool caddy, not quite up to the challenge. Wish i had a drill press
I had something similar to your current set up years ago. I went with the Testors caddy and found that I filled it up quickly. That will happen no matter which way you go. Still, anything beats what you’re using right now. I used my old wood organizer as firewood on a camping trip.
OldNoob - just bought one of those over the weekend from Hobby Lobby.
My bench is my tool caddy:
In all seriousness, though, I really just suck at putting things away. But when I do, it’s VERY organized.
From left to right…
Cheap Target 4-drawer cart thingy (seriously about $20): One drawer for airbrush stuff. One for pigments, a few washes, oil tubes, etc. One for metal and plastic and spares. And another as an emergency drop for laundering new kits into the stash or hiding any gifts for the wife. It sucks and it wobbles when you open a drawer, but it gets the job done.
Paint rack: Two crappy shelves my wife bought somewhere. Linens and Things maybe? Been in our garage for five years, so I stole them. Used empty Diet Dr. Pepper cans and PVC tees as supports. Holds all my Tamiya, Gunze and Alclad paint beautifully.
Chest of many small drawers thing (cheap, from Lowe’s): Holds Model Master enamels organized by color (blues, browns, metallics, etc). Use the empty bins for spare PE, or as temporary holding bins for WIPs
Main bench, bench-level - three gray storage dealies from Target I think - one holds glues and adhesives. Another is primers, putty, silly putty, white-tac and such. And the last is decals, foam applicators, and so forth.
To the right of that and off-frame, I have a little two-drawer desk organizer thing. Top drawer is knifes and cutting implements. Bottom is tweezers and pliers. A little flip-up storage area on the top holds extra blades.
Going vertical, I’ve installed some elfa shelving that we had leftover from consolidating rooms as kids arrived. Going up one level, bins for Vallejo paints (which are just too tall to fit in that red chest thing). Above that, more bins. One is dedicated to sanding sticks and files. Another to things like my circle cutter, digital caliper, etc. And the last to masking materials.
I’ve found, for me at least, organizing around task works really well as far as finding things, with a few of those super-common tools easy-to-hand.
Doogs, THAT is awesome! As “the new guy” myself I have been wondering what others use for this type of thing. Seems like “whatever you can find that works for you” is the best suggestion. lol. I am starting from scratch. I am starting with a door for a work bench and going from there. I think some sort of lazy susan is in order too…and lamp/magnifying glass is in order (harbor freight maybe?)
I’d recommend a sheet of 1/4" glass as a main work surface. I have found nothing better!
My desk is all built in, along with the shelves and paint rack.
No pics of my actual bench available right now since I’m at work, but I did want to mention something that works well for me -
On the wall above my desk/work surface, I hung some pegboard. There are a ton of different types of plastic organizers that are made to hang on pegboard. I use a couple of those, along with the usual metal pegboard hooks where they’re useful.
This is a random google image search picture of the same type of tool racks that I have:
It’s easy to fill the different sized holes with things used for hobbies - paint pipettes, pin vice, tiny trowels for putty, soldering iron, etc. - and the longer slots in the front are awesome for sprue cutters & pliers. There are two large round holes in the back corners - I have my cordless dremel in one, and a can of compressed air in the other.
I’ll try to remember to post a picture of my workbench area so you can see some of the other things that work for me - a couple of spinning organizers and like that.
When I first started I had all of my supplies in the box with the model I was working on. Now though I have a dedicated area in my basement with a ton of room so I have spread out. I have never liked the all-in-one approach to organizers so I actually use four different approaches. I will also add that I fail miserably at organizing anything. My WB looks like a small explosive was detonated most of the time…
First paints. My workbench is an office desk that I got from an office supply store on sale (Office Depot). I modified the keyboard tray so it now has sides and a front and back. It is the perfect height for paint bottles. It also conveniently slides out of the way under the desk.
Second pointy objects. If its sharp it gets placed pointy bit down in a block of Styrofoam (I have a large supply 2-inch thick pieces from the desks). I cut the foam into about 8" squares and just jab knives and alike into it. When its done I make a new one.
Third, tweezers, paint brushes, etc. For them I use a commercial holder like this one:
Lastly are Clamps, Pliers and similar. Those I have a rolling cart like this one:
http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/3-drawer-rolling-mesh-cart
I like this cart because the drawers are a great place for storing tubs of static grass & other bulky things, and I have added a small organizer on the top that holds epoxy, large bottles of thinner, extra tubes of putty, etc. Best of all it like the paint storage, it rolls under the desk and out of the way.
So in a very long drawn out way, I guess my answer is that I don’t really like any of the “caddys”.
For tools, the back of my bench is a piece of pegboard, and I use pegboard hooks to hold the tools, a very common arrangement. I use about three or four brands/lines of paint- each uses a different size/shape. This really complicates trying to make a paint rack. As a result, I keep unused paint in one of my workbench drawers, and take out which bottles I need when I start a new project. I just stick the bottles on the benchtop at the back. Crude, but it works till someone works out a universal bottle holder.