DIY Racktainer

[Healeyjet]

A couple months ago I purchased a Tanos Racktainer through Lee Valley here in town.  When I received it I loved the Raaco removable "drawers" that it came with.  For me they are perfect for fasteners and all sorts of small item storage.  The issue was that the "bin" sizes in the drawers that it comes with were too small for what I had in mind.  I searched the internet and found that Raaco products weren't available in North America.  The search led me to a company in the UK that would ship to Canada so an order went in for a number of larger "bins".  I got a little carried away ordering the "bins" for the drawers but figured I would offer them up for sale if I had too many.  Turn the clock forward to two weeks ago.  I went by the local Lee Valley and they happened to have the Raaco drawers on sale as a final sale until stock is gone, so I bought 10 then went back the next day and bought 6 more (all they had).  Now I needed something to store the drawers in, similar to a Racktainer.  I am lucky in that I am just in the  of finishing up the interior of my new stand alone shop in the backyard.  This means I don't need to take my tools anywhere except around the shop.  I designed and build this DIY Racktainer to house the Raaco drawers.  When it was finished I put it on casters so I could have it close at hand when assembling.  I also needed a spot to safely store my Festool Parallel Guides and extensions.  I felt that the side of my new DIY Racktainer was a perfect spot.  I made two pockets to hold the end of the guide rails and a bracket to hold the extensions.  I removed the screw knobs from the extensions and inserted them into holes that I drilled into the bracket.  This serves two purposes as it keeps the extensions from being able to slide off the bracket and it is a spot so I don't misplace the screw knobs.

The actual Racktainer is just sitting on top of my DIY Racktainer for the photo.  Sitting up there puts too much weight up high and results in making it a bit "tippy".

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My original Racktainer came with the blue Tanos latches but I was able to purchase the Festool coloured ones from Dan Clermont at Clermont's Ultimate Tools.

I have restored houses and done all sorts of reno's but this was really only my second woodworking project, the first being the Kapex stand / Systainerport seen in some of the photos.  I am also working on a "desk" so I can work from the shop as I have a home office and would then be able to be out there all day.  I figured if I learned some woodworking skills with these projects for the shop it would only help me going forward.

Thanks for having a look.
Ward

 

[mac sparrow]

Wonderful, simple and well executed.  Well done.

I had something similar in mind but at the moment I've gone down the coloured boxes route inside Sys 1's.  They are great for boxes of screws, connectors, fixings etc but simply too big for little bits like washers, small screws or just odds and ends.

I have access to the Raaco stuff here in the UK, the cases are available in a few colours IIRC, I've seen Grey, Anthracite/Navy Blue, Green and I think Red as well.

Well done, you've got me thinking now.....

 

[mike_aa]

Very nice!  Great way to get things organized.  I'm sure it saves an enormous amount of time not having to search for things because they are all in one spot.

You mentioned that it was a bit "tippy."  Did you consider using a larger sheet of plywood at the bottom to attach your casters to so they would be outward a little?  Kind of like the way they are mounted on a Sys-Cart.  That may help with the "tippiness."

Thank you for sharing!

Mike A.

 

[Healeyjet]

Thanks Mac and Mike.  I had considered a larger base as a solution if I find the tippiness an issue.  The reason I made it this size was to try and keep the footprint as small as possible but it may not be as necessary as I think.  I have a pretty good size shop with lots of storage so a larger base may be in order.
I just have to find enough stuff to fill it yet.  I am sure it will come.

Ward