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I made an inexpensive eyepiece case, inspired by Rob Schell's case as described in the Cloudy Nights Web site (go to Cloudy Nights, then to the How-to section, then to the �Toolbox Eyepiece Case�).
 This is a simple plastic tool case, but with metal hinges and a metal
latch - you don�t want to trust plastic hardware for an expensive collection of eyepieces. (Click on the thumbnail for a larger image.) I added an oak shelf;
Home Depot sells small ��-thick oak boards that work well for this. Drill the eyepiece holes with a 2� forsner bit or a 1.25� forsner bit depending on which eyepiece sizes you use. (You
can get forsner bits from Woodworker�s Supply - call them for a catalog at 1-800-645-9292.) Note that a drill press is helpful for drilling holes with forsner bits as large as this. The holes will turn out
to be a little too small after you stain and varnish the shelf, but I recommend that you not use an oversized forsner bit. Rather, get a
small sanding drum and sand the holes a little before you stain and varnish the shelf. If you use an oversized forsner bit, in my
experience the hole ends up too large and many eyepieces will slip right through the hole. In the eyepiece
case I made, there is a side pocket on each side. On the left you can see the filter pouch I used before Orion
came out wth their plastic multiple-filter cases and on the right, the dust caps for the eyepieces.
I found that foam-filled eyepiece cases tend to deposit foam particles on your eyepieces - an eyepiece case
like this works better for me although you need to be careful to always keep it upright. Note that this case
doesn�t hold a lot of eyepieces. In my experience a few good eyepieces are a lot better than many mediocre
ones - if you have more than six or eight eyepieces for a specific scope you may want to take a hard look at your choices <grin>.
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