Turn a Mint Tin Into a Belt Holster for Screwdrivers

Intro: Turn a Mint Tin Into a Belt Holster for Screwdrivers

It seems like the moment you put down a screwdriver it disappears. You put it beside whatever you're working on, switch tools, and two minutes later when you need to switch back the screwdriver has jumped through a portal to another dimension. I hate misplacing tools, so I decided to come up with a way to keep them close at hand. I used a mint tin because they're made of such light, easy to work with metal. As a bonus, the lid forms a convenient little tray for screws!

STEP 1: What You Need:

- Mint tin

- Rotary tool

- Sanding attachment & wire wheel attachment for rotary tool

- Super glue

- Belt clip (mine came off a tape measure)

- Small machine screw and nut; mine was 3/8" long and had a diameter of 1/8"

- Magnets

- Drill or drill press; I highly recommend you use a drill press if it is available to you

STEP 2: Drilling the Holes

- First you have to figure out what size drill bit to use. I did this by inserting my screwdrivers into the spaces that hold the bits in my drill set until I found a bit size that allowed the screwdrivers to slip in and out easily.

- Measure the diameter of the screwdriver handles. Mine were about 15/16" across.

- Mark where you plan to drill, making sure that you have appropriate spacing between each hole. Since the diameter of the handles of my screwdrivers was about 15/16" I made the holes about 1 1/16" apart.

- Drill the holes; if possible drill through both sides of the tin at once.

- Make sure your screwdrivers slide in and out of the holes fairly easily.

- Now you have to drill a hole for the machine screw. Drill a hole near the top of the side opposite the hinges, beside where the screwdriver in the center rests (image 5).

STEP 3: Cleaning It Up

- Use the rotary tool with the sanding attachment to clean up the jagged edges of the holes.

- Switch to the wire wheel attachment to give the tin a nice brushed finish.

STEP 4: Attaching the Clip & Magnets

- Use the machine screw to attach the clip to the back of the tin.

- Superglue the magnets behind the holes on the side of the tin with the hinges. This will prevent the screwdrivers from slipping out accidentally.

Comments

[fzumrk]

Nice design.

How about this for an added feature: Add a sheet of self stick magnet to the inside of the lid to hold the screws in the tray. You may want to try it to see if it is strong enough to prevent screws from spilling out of it. If that isn't strong enough, you could add some thin rare earth magnets to the inside of the lid. I don't know if the screw drivers would tend to stick to them when putting them in and taking them out of the holder. Old hard drives are a good source for thin, flat rare earth magnets.

[M3G]

That's a great idea, thanks a lot! I'll try to get my hands on some magnets.

[mr_chuon]

Awesome, great idea ! Maybe I'll try to get one

[Devilkill4]

Do you know why most tool carriers that are mounted on the worker or made of flexible material? because if you are working you Are going to hit stuff/run into stuff with it. perhaps reinforce the design? that wouldn't make it 2 days carrying it even on light duty projects , perhaps coat it in a absorbant material like gorilla glue or some kind of rubberization

[M3G]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[Devilkill4]

You have a great collection of ibles by the way !

[M3G]

Thank you so much!

[Devilkill4]

Also the magnets are a great ide perhaps some on the bottom aswell to help hold screwdrivers in place while moving jumping stooping bending

[seamster]

Ha! Nicely done and very unique!

[M3G]

Thank you!