Fast Food Mishap Solutions

Not often, but I do occasionally pick up a burger and fries for lunch or dinner from any of the assorted establishments in my town.  I always set the sack of food on the passenger seat, and usually remember to hold it there when I'm braking or turning.  Last trip I was distracted with snowy street conditions and forgot to hold the sack when I braked at a corner. 

Thanks to Newton's first law the fries found a new home on the passenger side floor. 

Vowing never to have to worry about this again I've come up with two potential solutions.  The first is a simple cardboard box to place the food sack into.  Fast food sacks are usually 5" x 7" or 3.5" x 5".  This box is sized for the larger sack, but has a removable divider to partition it for smaller sacks. It also has a flap that tucks between seat and back which keeps the box in place and contents upright. 

 Another bug is that sacks often open up.  On cold days they will lose heat quicker if open.   This solution keeps the sack closed and hangs on for cornering and braking.  A 2" strap and a chip clip.  Held between seat back and head rest with a 1" dowel the strap wraps around.  I can adjust the strap length if needed. 

The best solution may be a combination of both ideas.  A smaller chip clip could be left in the box to use with each acquired meal. Pinch the top of the sack closed to retain any heat while also keeping the sack from tipping over or sliding off the seat. 

I noticed among my camera gear an old but fancy camera strap.  It has pivoting clips on both ends.  It wouldn't be hard to clip one end to a chip clip, and the built-in length adjustability would be useful.   I ordered a couple nice straps, and have another chip clip I can use.  The old tan strapping needs replacing and the new straps will class up the prototypes. 

 

I can confirm that the cardboard box idea works as intended.  Simply drop the sack of food into the box and it'll stay in place and upright.  I suggest making it 1/4" larger though. I can also confirm that the chip clip strap works.   A tiny bit fussy to get the sack of food clipped shut and hanging though. 

4D

A Flashlight Stand. Not all Projects are Complex.

I bought a new pickup truck. Then I bought a set of side step rails to install on it. 

To install the brackets for the rails I had to crawl under the truck.  It was dark under there but I had a flashlight.

I needed both hands to install the brackets, and holding the flashlight so I could see the working area was a challenge. 

I needed a base to mount the flashlight in so it would stay upright and aimed. 

Scrap of wood. 15 degree hole.

Nothing pretty.  A scrap of wood left over from a previous project.  Unusual shape, but a good weight and broad footprint to keep the flashlight from easily being knocked over.  

I used my CNC with my adjustable angle clamping fixture to hold the board at 15 degrees from horizontal. The hole was just a bit larger than the base of the flashlight so I could line it with some cork. The cork provides a good friction fit so the flashlight stays in place. 

My Adjustable Clamping Fixture. 

Simple.  

Useful.

4D