Almost every wood working operation (or step), such as cutting and joining, is preceded by measuring and marking. And no wood working project is ever possible without measuring and marking.
I've had my share of frustration and wasted time because I misplaced a marking tool. Except for a square and T-squares, marking tools are comparatively small and are simply set aside during the cutting operation. The solution is to organize them in such a way that it becomes easy to retrieve them when needed and returned to the same place each time they needed to be set aside.
Common pine from the scrap heap is all that's needed.
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| Customizing the slots is easy. Plan their location and cut them before glue up. |
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| I added the four corner legs like so but not necessarily in this fashion. The legs though allow for clearance underneath for some of the tools. |
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| This piece will be glued to the side to contain a rubber eraser and extra pencil leads. |
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| A chisel cleaned up the router bit marks |
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| I drilled the holes for the various tools - pencils, awl, spring loaded punch and chalk, before glue up. |
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| The black walnut handle with finger hole allows for the caddie to be picked up so it can be moved from one work area to the next, i.e. from near the table saw to the work bench to the router table or even away from the workshop to inside the house. |
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| The rare earth magnet is perfect for attaching the measuring tapes |
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| It is clear how easily one could misplace any of the above marking tools |
The caddie's "footprint" is a mere 5-1/2 by 8-1/2 inch but it can store the tools in a space smaller than but with the portability of a tool box. More importantly, each tool is visible to a quick glance and can easily be picked up and returned.
After some disciplined practice I've made it a habit to return each tool after each use. It is a time saver and each tool is kept safely away.
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