I never liked working out of a backpack indoors, so made a caddy to hold gear on the stand.
Lensboard slots are 3/4″ on center which can accommodate a range of element sizes. I ran the slots on a single piece of plywood then crosscut them to size. The wide ones will be the center dividers on each side of the case, stub tenons will fit into the case dadoes in the center. The narrower ones will be glued on to the inside of the case on the other side. I decided to put lensboard slots on both sides of the caddy, so either side can hold lenses or holders.
Simple box joints were cut on the table saw for the outside corners. The inner dividers are dadoed into the case sides, cut on the router table. Pencil lines mark the final outside shape.
I rough cut the pattern out with a jigsaw then cleaned it up using a template clamped to the bottom and a router with a flush trim bit.
A rabbet was routed around to bottom to provide more glue surface and to help keep the case square during glue up.
First fit up. There’s room in the center for a removable shelf, which is convertible to vertical compartments for things like meters, levels, etc. The very top is a piece of 18mm Birch ply, everything else is 6mm Birch ply. It’s tough getting materials during this pandemic, but ordering small pieces of plywood online was an option, if expensive. Overall dimensions are 14″ x 12″/ 10″ high.
Clamping in stages. After the box joints were dry I glued on the bottom (shown). I had to bridge over the top due to the unusual shape.
Quick-disconnect attachment points. I turned the aluminum cylinder down at one end to fit inside the ribs of the tripod head platform’s casting. The cylinder is threaded on both ends. The rear attachment point is a dovetail slide; the pin is attached to the elevation block, and tail attached to the top of the caddy. Once the case is slid onto the dovetail, a single 1/4-20 thumbscrew is threaded into the cylinder.
I use a blank lens board to make a small space to hold cable releases, note cards, etc.
The black Delrin tab bears on the column to prevent the stage from sagging, which allows it to slide more easily.
The caddy can be used on or off the stand. Having everything at hand while at the camera is nice, makes me want to make something similar for my tripod.