DIY Glue Caddy

I'M CHEAP!

You may think it strange to start out a post with those words.  For me, they are almost a badge of honor.


I don't use traditional glue bottles that you might find at your local home improvement store or at a specialty wood shop store.  You know the ones I'm talking about.  The kind that are always ready to pour despite the fact they have been stored upright.

No, no, I use something a little more utilitarian.

An old barbecue sauce bottle.  Two of them in fact.  I like to joke that my favorite BBQ joint gives me a free glue bottle with every purchase of sauce.

I do have a third one but I didn't buy it either.  It was given to me by one of my neighbors as part of some supplies they had bought for me to build a project for them.  After the project was complete I just kept refilling it.

When I reach for glue, I reach for whatever one happens to be nearest or fullest.

I usually keep them up on my cordless tool charging station for easy access.  However, they tend to tip over or get buried behind several other items I keep on the same shelf.

Since two of them are just BBQ bottles they have no cap.  When they tip over, sometimes the glue will drip out and onto the floor.  It's not the easiest thing to get dried wood glue off of concrete.

Time to DIY some shop organization.

DIY Glue Caddy

Materials

53" of scrap 1x4s (any lumber you have laying around will do)

Wood Glue

Silicon Glue Brushes

 

Cut List

1 Base Piece @ 11.5" x 10.5" (Thickness isn't too important.  I planed down a few boards for my project build and after I was done doing that they came out to about 9/16")

2 Vertical Side Pieces @ 3.5" x 3.5"

1 Top Piece @ 11.5" x 3.5"

1 Pencil Holder Piece @ 3" x 8"  (This one I used a 3/4" piece of stock because I knew I was going to be cutting a cove into the face.)

Step 1

Depending on the material you have chosen you may be able to just skip to step 2.

I however, had some work to do as you can see in the video above.  After completing the jointing and planing process I then edge glued the three boards together.

After the glue up was dried I removed it from the clamps and cut it to the size listed above on the table saw.

Step 2

This being a shop project I felt no need to make it any more complicated or time consuming than it needed to be.  So I broke out my ninety degree clamps and placed a side piece in one side.

Slap some wood glue on the adjoining sides and clamp them to the base piece.  Come back when the glue is dry.

Step 3

The top gets several holes drilled in it to hold glue bottles and brushes.  I had three bottles to accommodate and two brushes so it was a fairly straight forward process.

I recommend you lay out whatever items you want to be place in this section of the glue caddy and simply trace a rough layout line.  Then have at it with forstner bits or hole saws, whatever you happen to have handy.

Step 4

The pencil holder is a simple cove cut in a piece of 1x4.  You can refer to the video for the trick I used to make this cut.

Then glue it in place on the base piece.

Final Thoughts

A glue caddy is something that is highly personal.  If you have larger glue bottles then drill larger holes.  If you have smaller glue bottles then drill smaller ones.  More if you have more and less if you have less.

Want to be able to carry it from one place to another easily?  Not a problem, simply add a handle in the center and tote away.

It's simple.  It's easy.  It's always DIY.

Have fun and be safe.