Roll Your Own

Working on a large project (like the dining room table I’m currently building) is a great way to shake out new methods of work and new shop arrangements. While my current arrangement is the best I’ve come up with yet, I still have a list of changes I want to make once my current project is complete.

Big on my list are a traditional tool chest, a sharpening bench, and some better organization for my clamps. To go with the tool chest, I want some cotton tool rolls for efficient storage.

Most of that list can wait, but I had to do something about my brad point bits. The block of wood I stored them in was tippy, and they were always in the way.

So Tuesday night, I decided to make a proof-of-concept tool roll for my brad point bits, borrowing my daughter’s sewing machine to do it. (Hey, she borrows my table saw, so it’s only fair, right?) I had some old khaki pants I needed to upcycle, so it seemed like a low-risk proposition.

This turned out to be a great side project, solving a shop problem and providing the sort of immediate gratification to keep me energized for my longer project.

Best yet, it worked out well as a proof-of-concept project. I have plenty of fabric on hand for more tool rolls. With something as utilitarian as this, I can’t see a reason to buy what I could make in a couple of hours.