REVOLVING FOUR-SIDED TOOL CADDY

It’s probably fair to say there are a number of farm shops with wrenches missing from “lots of different sets, sockets from odd sets lying around in a pail, and tools picked up at auctions piling up in a drawer.” That’s how Stephen Bathista of Southampton, Massachusetts, describes his shop tool situation before he built what he calls his four-sided lazy Susan.  

The rotary base is from an old tandem axle manure spreader wheel and hub with a stub shaft pointing upward. “I welded a sturdy 20-inch-square plate to the shaft. The metal sides are bolted to the plate to form an A-frame, which is bolted together at the top with a handle. With that handle, I can lift the whole thing with a chain or forks,” he says.   

Including the handle, the entire stand is about 66 inches tall.

HOLDS IT ALL

The two ¾-inch plywood sides hold sockets; 1-inch angle iron rail acts as bracing for the plywood panels. They are predrilled at 15° for 16D finish nails to hold small sockets. Bashista used 7-inch-long heavy-duty wood screws for larger pegs that hold multiple sockets of the same size. 

One side is for SEA tools, he says, and the other holds metric-size wrenches and sockets with extensions and breaker bars. These two sides are covered in ³∕16-inch steel plate. All four surfaces are 20 inches wide at the base. 

Wrench cups are formed by 2½- to 3-inch thin-wall square tubing 3½ to 10 inches long. These organize and separate his open-end, combination, and box-end wrenches.

There are troughs welded in between the wrench cups that hold wrenches in ¹∕16-inch sizes.

Open spaces approximately 3∕8 inch wide at the bottom of each square tubing cup let dirt and debris fall through. 

Bathista points out that at the bottom of the tool rack is a piece of metal that holds extra tools. 

He says he’s collected a lot of tools over the years. Bashista and his son, Ron, maintain all their farm equipment. Throughout his career, he’s performed welding and equipment repairs for his farm and also for neighbors. He says people still bring him things to work on. 

MORE ABOUT STEPHEN BASHISTA

Home Farm: Rolling Acres in Southampton, Massachusetts, is where Bashista was born and raised. He and son Ron now grow harvest hay for silage for others.   

Farm Attraction: In the fall, the Bashistas grow corn for a maze. At this family attraction, there is also a jumping pillow feature and zombie paint ball. 

Family: Bashista and his wife, Christine, have three children. He also has a business selling corn and pellet stoves.