Every amateur astronomer knows he/she must have an eyepiece case. Over the years I have used all of the following: coat pockets, re-sealable plastic bags, paper sacks, small cardboard boxes, plastic or vinyl cases that small tools came in, small wooden boxes that tools came in, etc, etc, etc. In short, I used whatever was available that would hold my current assortment of eyepieces and accessories such as a lashlight and filters. Over time my collection of "keep forever" eyepieces grew and so did the size of the box carrying them. A few years ago I almost bought a perfectly good, brand new aluminum case from Orion. This was about the time I was preparing to travel down to the Florida Keys for the Winter Star Party. I happened to be shopping in a local Sears store and overheard a salesman mentioning that they had an extra case for a camcorder since one had been sent back for repair without it's original case. Wow, what an opportunity. A lightweight, rigid, lockable case for my eyepieces. I purchased the case for somewhere around $10 or $15, took it home and chopped out the insides with a Dremel tool. Taking a section of foam I cut out holes for eyepieces, flashlight and filters. Proudly I locked up all of my good stuff in the case, packed everything else and took off for another wonderful WSP. It was at this star party I overheard the opinion that foam was not the best choice for an eyepiece case as it tended to hold dirt and moisture. This made sense. Soon after returning home I replaced the sheet of foam with a ¾-in thick board of soft pine that was drilled and cut with holes of various sizes and shapes to accept what was necessary. This was my eyepiece case for several years. Unfortunately there were shortcomings. I kept gaining new "must keep eyepieces" and the unyielding nature of the wood meant either changing to a new board or having valuable space wasted The biggest problem was that my eyepieces had such varying profiles that it was difficult to arrange it in such a way they wouldn't rattle around and fall out of their respective holes since the case was always carried vertical, like a suitcase. There had to be a better way. By now some of you are already ahead of the game. Most ATMers have seen eyepiece cases made out of those bright, sturdy, high-impact plastic tool boxes that currently flood the market. I confess to having noticed one of these at least four years ago but did not really consider it as an appropriate solution. I am now a convert. I purchased a Craftsman 17-inch wide "Hand Box" on a Super Saturday sale last Fall. It cost about $7. A friend with power tools offered to help with making the eyepiece plate. He had a ½-in thick scrap piece of walnut. I picked out some wood-boring bits to drill out the eyepiece holes, both 1 ¼ and 2-inch. Three or four scraps of wood were screwed to the bottom of the plate to allow clearance of the eyepiece barrels. We cut slots with a saw to clear the ribs that support the upper tray. Another astro-buddy with a much better knowledge of electronics than I volunteered to wire up a battery pack, LEDs, a lid switch and a potentiometer. The upper tray holds a small fishing lure container ($1.29 at K-Mart) that contains eyepiece filters and a flashlight. I was ready to go! Oops. A problem. I had accidentally used a 1 3/8-in drill bit instead of the 1 ¼-in size. The eyepieces were rattling around AGAIN and a couple of them even fell through the opening. Rather than throw out a beautiful piece of wood I considered a couple of alternatives. Gluing a strip of felt or maybe a rubber O-ring might work. I rummaged around at the hardware store and came up with a solution: those nylon washers for a 1 ¼-in sink trap that are sometimes used for low cost home made telescope focusers. A few drops of silicone cement on the edges and they were secured to the wood. The cost was about 14 cents each. The smaller eyepieces then fit snugly in their holder with a forgiving cushion to protect them from shock. Now I can carry more than a dozen eyepieces, a half-dozen filters and other important stuff in a strong, roomy, lockable, lightweight box. The total cost was about $15 in parts and 3-4 hours work. The best thing about this case is that it does the job so well. If you don't have a nice commercial eyepiece case or if you simply want another, economical alternative, it is hard to beat the tool box solution.