jonny round boy
Member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2007
- Messages
- 3,227
This is a project I've wanted to do for a while. I bought one of the limited edition black systainers to put this in originally (a sys2) but I just couldn't fit everything in that I wanted, so a couple of weeks ago I ordered a t-loc sys3 with attic lid.
I started the actual build on Tuesday, and finished it about an hour ago. I reckon I've spent 12-15 hours on it all told, but that includes most of the thinking about where things should go. I had a rough plan beforehand, but pretty much everything was worked out on the fly.
I originally planned this for my T12, but on Wednesday I went to a show & ended up buying the PDC 18/4, so I changed it to suit that part way through. The new, smaller charger really helped, as it was really tight before!
It holds the drill, spare battery, chucks, drill & driver bits etc, has the charger built-in (powered by a plug-it socket in the side), a charger for my phone, a spare USB port for charging additional stuff, and a built-in DAB/FM radio. The inside is lined with a 6mm thick dark grey foam of some kind - I'm not sure exactly what it is but it's used as carpet underlay; I got a large offcut that the fitters left on a job - I knew I'd find a use for it eventually!
Top View:
[attachimg=1]
Front:
[attachimg=2]
Side, showing plug-it and USB sockets:
[attachimg=3]
Inside:
[attachimg=4]
Same, with drill removed:
[attachimg=5]
Under there is my Festool forstner bit set, a small 120x60 box for miscellaneous bits & pieces, and the additional chucks (including space for any future chucks):
[attachimg=10]
[attachimg=11]
The PDC 18/4 comes with a side handle, but I haven't included this in the systainer as it takes up a lot of room, plus I don't think I'll ever really use it much.
The charger is fixed & wired in, powered by the plug-it. It's at a height whereby when a battery is attached, the lid can be closed far enough to access the attic storage, but cannot be closed completely. That was done deliberately as I didn't think charging batteries inside a closed & locked systainer was a good idea. There is also room to charge my phone via a flying lead:
[attachimg=6]
That space also doubles as a place to store a third battery:
[attachimg=9]
The radio is a cheap (£20/$30) DAB radio I picked up from a supermarket (Asda, for those interested!). I removed the innards & hacked the case up, and extended some cables to get it how I wanted. Here's the control panel:
[attachimg=7]
The function buttons aren't labelled yet - I don't know if I'll bother or not; the only ones I'm likely to need are the volume controls, and I know where they are! I made a new cover for the on/off switch from an old TS55R splinterguard, as I wanted it green! The speaker is behind a grille that I drilled out of the systainer using a piece of vero board as a drilling template:
[attachimg=8]
The only bit that's not finished yet is the attic - I believe Festool are going to be releasing some new drill and bit sets that are designed to fit the attic perfectly. I'd like to get some of those in there if I can buy the inserts separately.
Any comments (good and bad!) welcome!
I have some pics of the build if anyone is interested.
Jonathan
I started the actual build on Tuesday, and finished it about an hour ago. I reckon I've spent 12-15 hours on it all told, but that includes most of the thinking about where things should go. I had a rough plan beforehand, but pretty much everything was worked out on the fly.
I originally planned this for my T12, but on Wednesday I went to a show & ended up buying the PDC 18/4, so I changed it to suit that part way through. The new, smaller charger really helped, as it was really tight before!
It holds the drill, spare battery, chucks, drill & driver bits etc, has the charger built-in (powered by a plug-it socket in the side), a charger for my phone, a spare USB port for charging additional stuff, and a built-in DAB/FM radio. The inside is lined with a 6mm thick dark grey foam of some kind - I'm not sure exactly what it is but it's used as carpet underlay; I got a large offcut that the fitters left on a job - I knew I'd find a use for it eventually!
Top View:
[attachimg=1]
Front:
[attachimg=2]
Side, showing plug-it and USB sockets:
[attachimg=3]
Inside:
[attachimg=4]
Same, with drill removed:
[attachimg=5]
Under there is my Festool forstner bit set, a small 120x60 box for miscellaneous bits & pieces, and the additional chucks (including space for any future chucks):
[attachimg=10]
[attachimg=11]
The PDC 18/4 comes with a side handle, but I haven't included this in the systainer as it takes up a lot of room, plus I don't think I'll ever really use it much.
The charger is fixed & wired in, powered by the plug-it. It's at a height whereby when a battery is attached, the lid can be closed far enough to access the attic storage, but cannot be closed completely. That was done deliberately as I didn't think charging batteries inside a closed & locked systainer was a good idea. There is also room to charge my phone via a flying lead:
[attachimg=6]
That space also doubles as a place to store a third battery:
[attachimg=9]
The radio is a cheap (£20/$30) DAB radio I picked up from a supermarket (Asda, for those interested!). I removed the innards & hacked the case up, and extended some cables to get it how I wanted. Here's the control panel:
[attachimg=7]
The function buttons aren't labelled yet - I don't know if I'll bother or not; the only ones I'm likely to need are the volume controls, and I know where they are! I made a new cover for the on/off switch from an old TS55R splinterguard, as I wanted it green! The speaker is behind a grille that I drilled out of the systainer using a piece of vero board as a drilling template:
[attachimg=8]
The only bit that's not finished yet is the attic - I believe Festool are going to be releasing some new drill and bit sets that are designed to fit the attic perfectly. I'd like to get some of those in there if I can buy the inserts separately.
Any comments (good and bad!) welcome!
I have some pics of the build if anyone is interested.
Jonathan
