Blade Holder Ready

Stuff wears out. Then we face this choice: do we repair or replace? I’ve repaired and returned to service countless items, but when my favorite cook explained that her food chopper-upper was falling on hard times I knew I had latched onto the perfect Christmas gift. “Pick the one you want and send me the link!” Young people, as your years together add up you may find that replacing household items and funding home improvement projects become the gifts for special occasions. Our 2020 Christmas season included replacing my defunct router in the wood shop, purchasing a snazzy Cuisinart food processor for Shawn’s kitchen, and replacing our home heating/cooling system (a big $OUCH$).

Shawn unpacked her new tool, read the instructions, and gave me a tutorial on safe handling of the food processor blades, wicked-looking digit separators that they are. We devised a method for running them through the dishwasher so the “unloader”, aka me, will know they are to be handled with care. Now, how do we store these diabolical blades safely when they are not in use?

Blade Holder (2)

We have no kitchen drawer with enough open space to house two 6 inch metal disks in isolation from other items. Quite frankly our “rummage around in the drawer till you find what you need” methodology would not mix well with razor-sharp blades. Shawn mentioned that there may be off-the-shelf solutions but asked if I could design something instead.

She asks for so little. What kind of man would I be to ignore her request? I moved that design to the top of my get-it-done list.

Blade Holder (1)

As ideas popped into my head I sketched diagrams of solutions and refined them until I had a winner. Many items coming from our shop start as scribbles on paper. Using scrap lumber and a 7/16” dowel rod (which I had to purchase) I created the Blade Holder.

Blade Holder Loaded

The upright pairs are spaced at 7/8” to hold the blades mostly upright. Slots chiseled into the base serve as stop blocks to prevent roll-a-way. Non-skid bumper pads on the base give another level of stability. Shawn placed the unit behind one of her canisters so the blades are accessible but mostly hidden. She is happy with the result.

And we have another problem/solution pair in the record books.