Router Bit Storage Box

Dust protection and such

August 2009

Explanation

I had a few router bits sitting around that were in their original packaging. This was sub-optimal, but buying a box to store these in always seems like a waste of money. There were only four orphans, and the other 8 bits I have came in their own storage case. Why buy when you can make?

My solution was a quicky project made from scrap wood and extra materials, put together in the workshop in an hour or so. It's just a hinge-top box, but the bottom is thick enough that holes deep enough to hold router bit shanks securely don't go all the way through.

Materials

• The bottom of the box is a piece of scrap 2-by-4 that's been in the basement for at least five years.
• The top of the box is 1/2" plywood left over from the Toy Chest project.
• The ends of the box are square pieces of scrap cedar from the Shoji project.
• The front and back are 3/16" plywood probably left over from the Karabitsu project.
• I can't even remember when or why I got the package of small brass hinges.

The Process

1. First, I drilled the holes in the 2x4. The holes are staggered down either side of the center, and in each line they are 2 inches apart, so the box should be able to accommodate some quite large bits.
2. I put a piece of masking tape down the center of the 2x4 to write labels for the router bits.
3. Then, I glued and nailed the scrap squares to the ends of the 2x4.
4. Next used the 2x4 plus cedar to mark off the necessary dimensions on the scrap plywood. No measuring for this project!
5. These long rectangles were then glued and nail to the front and back of the 2x4 and end caps to make a box shape.
6. Inverting the box, I marked out the required size for the lid, then cut the piece to size.
7. Holding the whole thing together with clamps, I put the hinges in place and drove the mounting screws by hand.
8. Lastly, I wrote "Router Bits" on top with a Sharpie so that visitors from the future would know what the strange metal items in this box were once called by primitive man.