Progress of a sort - Storage/Toolbox
As mentioned near the end of my previous post, I wanted to find some form of storage/toolbox/something to hold al the track-laying equipment. I think I've got a good first-approximation answer to this, and I'm posting various photos and thoughts here in case this is something you might consider at some point. I'm going to work my way backwards, to a certain extent, because if this doesn't look interesting or useful you can move on without wading through all my comments and so forth.
A picture of what I bought today, all closed up, from one of the major home improvement chains:
I've got some tinkering to do to optimize it for the track stuff which is why some things are just set as a "placeholder" and not completely loaded into the box. I would characterize it as sort of a combination of toolbox and fishing tacklebox.
There's a magic dimension in the Fast Tracks world, at least as far as I've seen: 18", since for shipping purposes they like to send rail in 18" lengths. Everything I've gotten (so far) has been that or smaller, so it was a good starting point for my search.
18" objects fit into this particular box nicely, both the top and the bottom, I took a list of dimensions of tools and supplies with me when SWMBO and I went to the home improvement store for items to satisfy her to-do list today. This particular box is on sale right now in Nashvegas for approximately $20 +, (your milage may vary) and at the end of this post, I will offer some conjecture as to why I think it might be on sale and also summarize some drawbacks that might or might not be relevant to you.
Goal: hold all the track tools and most supplies in one place, including some tools that already have a permanent home in a rolling mechanics toolbox I have all my other electronics tools in. (This rolling mechanics toolbox has been repurposed several times, and was bought used to hold "full size" tools for a 1:1 project that I'm done with.
I had the track-building tools and supplies in there, but in multiple drawers; and, although the mechanics box is fine rolling around in my basement, it's definitely not portable).
Here's a picture of the top tray with stuff placed in there as a first trial to see if the box will do:
The top tray has a dedicated full length pocket in the front, in this photo holding toothbrushes, the FT wire brush, rail, and the mill file. I have other tools and supplies arranged to show there's room to hold quite a large number of goodies.
Note the back 2/3rds or so of the top tray has grey rearrangeable bins, sort of a tackle box crossed with one of those 4x4 puzzles where you have one free space. Here's the top tray with all those bins in place, and the two larger ones have a removable divider (not relevant I think to my usage):
These bins are not simply sitting flat, there's an arrangement in the top tray to hold them in place. Here's a photo of one of them upside down, so you can see what I discovered, locating bumps that keep the trays organized:
Obviously, not enough to lock everything in place over rough terrain with the box open, but if the open spaces are filled with other tools and such it seems like this will keep them from wandering. Closed, I think the lid will hold them and prevent small stuff from migrating (although I'm a believer in sub-containers for things like PC ties, as you can see, a tall pill bottle holds full-length switch ties nicely)
Next, all the other stuff, which needs to fit in the bottom. Again, a rough placement so I can see if most/everything is going to have a place:
Two fixtures, my little multimeter on the right, my solder station, tip cleaner, iron holder, solder, and the jeweler's saw. Yep, it'll all fit. Not much room for more, maybe another fixture if/when I get to that point (assuming it'll fit, the largest one here is 16" x 6").
The bottom is deep enough for the fixtures to sit on edge, which means I won't have a bunch of stuff stacked on them that has be taken out to get at them. This is a definite bonus from my examination in the store, nice!
For those of you who might own Weller soldering stations (I own several, long story), yes, they fit fine instead of the Metcal:
So the next thought was, it'd be nice to have dividers to hold the jigs and such upright. I went through several mental evolutions, tried something, evolved it again, and came up with this:
I think I can mount the two bookends to the sides and they'll keep things seperated at a minimal reduction of space, and a minimum of fabrication and such. Sweet!
So, I think it's a keeper. Now for some other things that might matter to you:
First, this toolbox is, in all probability, not "sealed" as such against water, so I would be cautious about where I placed it. Here's why I think this is the case:
The way the box is made, it's designed to snap together, and the latches are at the bottom sides of the toolbox. May matter to you, may not.
Here's another interesting thing:
yes, the top has legs. They're up against the box when everything is closed up, but support the top when the box is open. Good if there's heavy stuff in there, bad when you're trying to open it and there's something behind it (in this case, my shipping scale LOL).
I've noticed that when the handle is up, the tackle-box mechanism locks. I don't know if it's strong enough to hold 30 lbs of tools in that arrangement, but I did notice that when everything's closed up and the handle is up, the toolbox stays shut when you pick it up, even without the front latches properly closed. Some weight testing is in order before I trust this, but if weight doesn't faze the box, then that's nice too.
I'm guessing it might be on sale because of the legs, the unusual nature of the box, and the snap-together openings on the bottom. Or, maybe there's an improved model coming out. Or maybe I'm just randomly lucky it's on sale!
I was hoping to figure out a good place to hold switches under construction, horizontally, and I don't think that's in the cards unless I make a tray of some kind that would fit in over the soldering iron. Maybe. I also may run into other stuff that needs to get into the box that I've forgotten in the testing and photography (flux and microbrushes and pliobond just came to mind... nothing that's a show-stopper yet)
In conclusion: this box looks like a winner for my search, and satisfies something I've learned the hard way over and over again: if you don't get organized at the outset or as soon as you've identified the need, it just gets tougher later because there's always something more pressing on your mind by the time you get around to it.
Happy Rails to you... :o)
John