Shop Tweezers Storage Box

Dust protection and such

August 2009

Explanation

On a recent trip to Harbor Freight, I was suckered in by one of the sale items they have in those baskets right by the door. This item was a set of metal tweezers, in various shapes that I know will be useful in the shop.

I wanted to keep these tweezers in a cup on the work bench so they'd always be handy, but didn't want them to get covered in the dust that collects on everything that's down in the basement.

My solution was another quickie project: to make a little flip-front box for the workbench that the cup could sit in. When I need tweezers, I just need to flip the box open and grab the one I want. When I'm done tweezing, I put the tweezer back in the cup and slip the box closed. Careful placement of an elastic band both keeps the front flipped down when open, and down when closed. The box is screwed down to the bench so it won't shift, but the cup is just placed there and can be replaced with a large cup if this one starts getting crowded.

I love making little quicky projects like this with scrap wood and leftover hardware. When you don't really care how something looks, you're free to play with design and function. When you can go down in the basement and just make something, make *anything*, in a short period of time it feels good.

Materials

The top and bottom of the box are 1/2" plywood left over from the Toy Chest project.

The sides 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.