This is how I keep my bonsai tools protected and readily available to grasp on my cluttered bench top. The sharp, pointed tools go face down in the foam tubes and the blunt tools hang from the rim. It is made with a 4 inch (flat type) PVC cap fitting, a short piece of 4 inch PVC pipe and three pieces of foam swimming pool noodle. Foam pipe insulation can also be used. The weight of the PVC keeps it very stable.
I was getting frustrated storing the bulk of my bonsai wire in boxes so I spent some time contemplating a low cost solution and this is what I came up with:
The high capacity wire holder rotates, holds up to twelve 1Kg rolls of aluminum wire and is very easy to re-load.
I used a turntable that I had previously made that is attached to an inexpensive folding step platform. I mounted four plastic containers that are about 3 1/2″ in diameter on top of the round disks left over from the holes made in the floating spacers. One long wood screw and washer is used to mount the container lids and round disks to the turntable. The turntable is 15 1/2″ in diameter and the floating spacers are 15″ in diameter. The holes in the floating spacers are 4″ in diameter.
Any container of the right diameter for your wire rolls should work. Possibly PVC pipe could be used instead of the plastic containers but the PVC end caps may be too wide for this application. I didn’t have any at hand so I used pond fish food containers and a plastic sauce container.
I used a 4″ plumber’s hole saw drill bit to make the holes (a saber saw will also work).
Add eye screws and your done!
Pieces of closed cell foam 1/2″ or 3/4″ pipe insulation works very well to protect the sharp, polished cutting surfaces of my bonsai tools while in storage. If the tool roll pocket openings are the right size you can also insert the foam insulation into the pockets to protect the cutting ends of smaller tools.
