Thinking about 1st order of retrievability… wouldn’t it be nice to have custom storage for your most necessary tools?
I try to keep my tools put away, but it constantly causes me to have to get up and go searching for tools that I use on a consistent daily basis. Worse off, they end up in 2 places… on my desk and where I have decided to store them (in a small box in the office closet).
I was thinking that it would be a good solution to have a well designed custom storage solution that could sit on my desktop and hold all of my daily used tools.
The screwdriver gets complicated because so many designers now have moved over to hex, requiring that you keep 3-4 different size bits on hand as well as the usual phillips head. My iFixit kit is pretty compact, so I could probably just keep the entire case on the desk.
Which tools do you find yourself constantly bringing out immediately after you just put them away?
What would be a nice way to store these on the desk? Perhaps someone already has a design they’re using?
I’m thinking a stand of some sort (perhaps just 3d printed for a prototype). Most of the tools could fit in a slot standing up or hanging, and there could be an underneath area for the screwdriver kit.
So I’m constantly going through home office reconfigurations trying to perfect everything to my tastes and needs. Because of this it seems like every day I’m trying to hunt down my favorite keycap puller. We’ve all accrued a few of them, but there’s always that one that just performs better and keeps it’s shape after multiple uses. On any given day I couldn’t tell you where it is!
Anyway, I currently have the IKEA Karlby with Alex drawers setup, but now that I’ve converted my Karlby desk to a standing desk solution, I’m looking into ditching the drawers because I think they look tacky when the desk is in a standing position. Which means…. I’m losing my drawer access. But I see this as an opportunity to establish a consistent on-desk solution to store these common tools that I need:
Keycap puller
Scissors
205g0 syringe
A couple of pens
iFixit kit (maybe pared down somehow?)
Folding knife
I guess I could just use a coffee mug for all that, but I would like something a little more… svelte.
I ended up just getting a big desk to get around this issue. My soldering iron and screwdriver set have permanent spots on the desk. Lubing supplies, calipers, 3rd hand tool, switch opener, and keycaps pullers stay on a shelf behind the desk.
I got one of these little office desk organizer things, and it’s been pretty useful so far. I wouldn’t mind a couple more slots for tools;
Cap pullers
Titanium switch puller (so worth the 15 bucks)
Small drivers with the spinny bits on top
PTFE tape (now that I use it, can’t live without it)
OKLB’s washers (these too, holy shiz why does everyone not sell these)
Various tweezers
Flush cutters
Needle-nose pliers
Dust brushes
Spudger / pry tools
That’s some 106 that happens to be sitting there, but I generally use industrial syringes these days and I have those in a little plastic drawer elsewhere for now.
