Monday, October 25, 2010

Adirondack Arcylic Dabber Storage

Here are some photos of a storage solution for Adirondack Acrylic Dabbers. I used 1" Schedule 40 PVC pipe cut into 1" lengths, which I then glued together. The Schedule 40 is pretty thick, but as you can see, it doesn't add too much room between each dabber. You can pick up 2 foot lengths of PVC at Home Depot. Normally it comes in 10 foot lengths. As you can see, I used hot melt to glue the tubes together. I have no idea if this is the idea adhesive, but it worked for me.
My cutting wasn't precise - I used a PVC blade cutter which tended to make some of the cuts uneven, but it didn't really affect the outcome. Hot glue helps cover up a lot of mistakes. As you can see, the dabber cap, the clear part, rests perfectly inside the tubes. I suppose if I had a mitre saw, and wanted to created a lot of white plastic dust, I could have used that.
I originally arranged my cut pipe in section of 12, and then glue each section together. The problem with this is you have to hit 12 spots which the glue gun pretty quickly. In adding my third row of 12, I worked in sections of 3. You can see the thickness of the PVC here.
I made up a triangular arrangement which has the advantage of not requiring a straight edge to assemble, and may possible be a bit more secure.

9 comments:

  1. Great idea, Ron. I'm going to have to give this a try. Mine keep falling all over the place as I have them stored now. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. What a great idea! I have mine in a Tim case but it is full so any new ones just get thrown here and there. This is a thrifty way to go and you could jazz them up with some alcohol ink or tim's tissue tape to make it a really great-looking display!

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  3. Love this. Hmmm, how did you know I need something to hold my Copics in this really cool alterable case with handle? So, do you know if they come any more narrow? I'll cut them somewhat longer and each will slide down into the "holder" inside my case. So excited. Thanks for your ingenuity!

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  4. Carolyn - pipe comes in all sorts of diameters. I've started looking for something with a smaller "wall thickness" so that it would be easier to cut. Schedule 40 is pretty thick, and if you have something that fits completely inside of it, you end up with a lot of extra space. The dabbers were ideal since only the cap fits inside. I'm trying to find an easy to find source for something with thinner walls.

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  5. Clever storage idea!
    I would love to feature this idea on our Dutch blog Deze is ook leuk if that's ok with you.

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  6. Cool idea! To Carolyn: I'm not sure where you live but if you can find Crystal Light containers, Copics fit perfectly in there, and the plastic container itself can be altered. Super cheap and it's recycling at its best!

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  7. Very Very cool Idea! I am using them all by themselves because as I work with them, I always am looking for a place to put the glue upside down!

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