Tidy those alligator leads!

Like any true electronics geek, I tend to have a decent pile of alligator clip leads (or "Croc clips" as they're known in .au) lying around the bench. They are incredibly useful for quickly hooking up connections without having to warm up the iron. Unfortunately they tend to end up in a pile, and tangle-free but accessible storage is always a challenge.

A few head scratchings didn't give me any real ideas for how to solve the problem. Bags and boxes end up tangled, hanging them off the shelves obscures access, and anything else was just too far to reach - I'm a firm believer that all frequently used bits should be in easy reach.





I remained stuck for a while, until beer came to the rescue! "Beer?" you say? Yep. It wasn't so much the drink itself, but the ritual of having a beer.

I was fetching a beer from the fridge, and reached for my bottle opener in the drawer. As I watched the drawer slide open smoothly on the ball bearing runners,  I knew I had my solution. Drawer runners! They sit conveniently under a bench, and bring the drawer out 50cm or so, before returning out of sight again.

Off to the local Bunnings I went. A pair of smooth ball bearing runners set me back only about $35, and as a bonus, the ones I picked up were push open. It was a breeze to screw them under the bench, and attach a length of angle aluminium for the croc clips to attach to.

I've now got a much cleaner bench, and all my croc clips are instantly accessible, sliding out with a light touch. Now what to do with the second slide rail?