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O.K., so this is isn’t a super fancy project that will save you big bucks. But you might just have a collection of reagent bottles and test tubes lying around with no case. If you are like me, the cardboard box with the paper test tube rack that the “master” kit came with didn’t last too long. And have you checked out the price of a kit that comes with a plastic case? It’s like fifty bucks.! So I made my own out of materials lying around the house and a $2.99 small plastic tool box from Menards. |
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You will need a cheap, small plastic tool box, like the one pictured left from Menards. A short length of wood, either a 2X4 or 1X3 stud, a 1/2 inch spade bit and a drill, a chisel or rotary tool (ie:dremmel), a saw, and some Styrofoam. Since it is just after Christmas I am fortunate to have lots of Styrofoam packing laying around, and a quick rummage in the garage yields a 2 foot piece of wood. The goal is to drill a line of holes in the stud to make it a test tube rack, and have the holes spaced so that you can place the indicator cards in a groove behind them |
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Measure the inside length of the box, and cut the stud so that it fits comfortably inside. Not too snug, since you might want to lift it out and carry the test tubes around. Get your drill, a 1/2 inch spade bit, and the indicator cards for your reagents. Place the indicator cards on the wood, with a slight gap between them. Use a pencil to mark the edge of the cards so you know how far to space the holes, and put the cards away so they don’t get lost. You are going to drill a hole in the wood just to the side of this line, one for each indicator card. With my box, I can fit up to five tests on the wood rack, even though I currently only have four test tubes. When drilling with the spade bit, you can achieve a uniform depth by stopping just as the tip of the spade bit starts to poke out the other side. A half inch spade bit will make holes that the test tubes fit in very snuggly. A 5/8 inch spade bit is too big. Since I don’t have a 9/16 inch spade bit, I elect to enlarge the holes a little by wiggling the 1/2 inch bit around in it as I drill. |
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Using the rotary tool, cut a straight continuous groove behind the holes from end to end. If you don’t have a dremmel, use a chisel. It is actually easier to get a straight line with a chisel, but faster to use a rotary tool. The groove will hold the indicator cards in your new test tube rack. |
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Place the new wooden test tube rack in the plastic box. Now measure and cut a piece of foam to fill the remainder of the box. Again, you don’t want the foam too snug against the test tube rack in case you want to lift the test tube rack out later. Line up your reagent bottles on the foam, and trace out a line around them. You are going to cut out a space for the reagent bottles to fit in the foam. If you skip the foam, your bottles will tip over and rattle around in the box. After cutting out the space for the reagent bottles, put the foam in the box and place the reagent bottles in their new home. Indicator cards can be slipped into the gaps between the foam and the plastic box. See the picture below and at the top of the page for the final product. As an added feature, the red tray for the inside top of the box is flipped up side down, and the indents in the tray help keep things in place. This box can be flipped over without anything moving out of place. |
