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Is There a Doctor in the House?

I’ve just learned of two new accessories that I couldn’t wait to tell TiC readers about. The first is not just a tool bag but the Mother of all tool bags: From Occidental Leather, meet “The Doctor.” And from Festool, check out a systainer First Aid Kit!

The Doctor

The Doctor isn’t for everyone. With a price of $465.00, most carpenters will shake their heads and roll their eyes. But if price isn’t as important to you as organization and ease-of-use, and if you’re strong enough to carry it, The Doctor is the ultimate Tool bag.

First Aid from Festool

You can buy a decent first aid kit for about $20.00, but it won’t come in a systainer, and it won’t come with just about everything you might need for a jobsite injury–except sutures and a scalpel. Of course, at $89.00 you might wonder if there’s a doctor in the box, too, but my hats off to Festool for encouraging safety on the jobsite and being the first tool manufacturer to provide a first aid kit. We’ll be giving away one of these kits at every Roadshow this year–and I expect quite a few carpenters will appreciate them.

Comments/Discussion

21 Responses to “Is There a Doctor in the House?”

  1. Damien

    I remember discovering on internet the “Gary Katz Tool Tote” and from there more of Gary Katz. “The Doctor” also looks great.
    I like to show my old favorite, I bought two of them (in the eighties), it’s too small and always falls over in a car and like always two or three tools are somewhere else. But the cover can be used to sit or stand or raise the box and I have a lot of reachable tools.
    [img]http://www.thisiscarpentry.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/DSC00115.JPG[/img]

    Reply
  2. Jeff Nelson

    Hey Gary —

    As always, you give a great and informative review and that hasn’t changed for this one. I agree with everything you said about the Veto bag. I have an LC so I know what you’re talking about. That said, wanna sell your XL?

    I’ve been drooling over the Doctor since I first got wind of it last year. Looks great — better than the Vetos — but, yes, $475 is a little much!

    So, what say? You gonna give up the XL?

    Thanks again for another great Gary Katz video!

    Jeff

    Reply
  3. Josh

    Gary, you’re killin me. Can you please stop showing us all the coolest tools and accessories available to mankind.

    It’s official. I’m just going to have to stay clear of you for 2011 while I continue to recover from my Festool binge that YOU got me started on…

    By the way, I’ve loved everything you’ve talked me into getting! Although, to say thanks is bitter sweet :)

    Reply
  4. Andy Engel

    Gary, I love my Dr. for the same reasons you love yours. But you missed one important function of those little zippered pockets – They’re where this cranky, middle aged guy keeps his stash of Advil. There’s nothing like that 3 PM Vitamin I to see you through the rest of the day…

    Reply
  5. Kit Camp

    Gary,

    I see you’ve been an understudy at the Roy Underhill school of demonstrating…

    Good excuse for the first aid systainer…

    – Kit

    Reply
    • Gary Katz

      Kit,
      The ones that Greg initially sent me were a little different than the ones he suggested I buy (I thought they’d make GREAT gifts for friends!). So I bought Gator-Bite Tweezers. They’re awesome. Can’t believe I lived without them for so long. I don’t have to excavate an open-pit mine with a knife to remove a splinter anymore. That’s become important: the older you get, the slower you heal.

      Reply
  6. Kreg mcmahon

    Gary nice video on the doctor I saw it on there website it’s awesome

    I like the video with some humor and music! Good idea

    I will have to pick one up soon

    Reply
  7. John Graybill

    Big is not better, dust and chips are every where anyway. I bought an VetoPro XL when they first came out and the handle snapped in two. Bought another one and that handle snapped. This time I called Veto and they sent me a new bag but tough luck on the first one.

    For big storage you can’t beat the Klien Big Orange Tool box. Lots of room make a great work top and foot stool.

    Made my own first aide kit with a SYS3 and dividers everythings is in there. Squeeze bottle of eye rinse, clean plastic bags and instant ice packs for amputations. Tweezers and a large magnifying glass. Scaple for cut downs to the splinters etc.. Plus sutures and lidocaine.

    Reply
    • Matt Follett

      Plano also makes it’s version of the ‘Big Orange Tool Box’. Never measured but I would guess it is nearly the same by volume, two trays (love that), cavernous space in the bottom for larger tools, great as a stepstool/place to sit & eat lunch, top handle (which I don’t quite trust), side handles, but the kicker is the wheels on the back & the extension handle. Now I only lift when I must because now I just tow it behind me like luggage, which is good because I would guess it weighs quite a bit more than 42 lbs when it’s full :).

      Reply
  8. David Tuttle

    Thanks, “the Doctor” reminded me of Dr. Who.
    Always nice to stay organized and to see what fits in them in real life.

    Reply
  9. Emanuel

    Hi Gary, Nice job on the videos,I really enjoyed them.I thought I had everything in my first aid kit but I guess I didn’t. Have to look into upgrading it. Thanks for keeping me updated.

    Thanks again for taking the time to share.

    Manny

    Reply
  10. Sternberg

    None of those tool bags are any good for working out of. All the small stuff falls to the bottom, and you have to dig for it in that dark cavern. If they would make the inside a lighter color it would be a great help. but they are still just a fancy bucket. They look like a good idea when some one gets you one for Christmas, but every single one of them with out any exception is just going to end up sitting unused in the back of the shed, or the corner of the garage.

    Reply
  11. Ray Menard

    Fun videos Gary. Got a kick out of Kit’s comment about Roy Underhill. He’s right , you got that down pat.

    As for the Dr. bag , very nice, but way too expensive. No matter, one bag simply can’t do it all. I use tool rolls & small organizers & keep them mostly in a good size soft sided tool “box” & a very nice Bucket Boss 30″ +/- long big mouth satchel. That’s my system for less than $ 100.00 (not factoring the cost of tool rolls & little organizers).

    Like the idea of the systainer med kit. I have an extra dominoe box that will do the job nicely. Wonder though if the latches are of a special design on the Festool Med Kit. Trying to open a systainer with a bleeding hand would be a real challenge if not a down right disaster. Thinking that I’ll need to modify the latches for this use.

    As always, thanks so much for TiC.

    Reply
  12. theMachinist

    I own the Veto LC (one of the first sold and still looks brand new because I actually wash it from time to time). I have made some elegant mods to mine that allow exploitation of the exterior space using identical grommet snaps as used by Veto along with custom nylon & leather pouches affixed. My little LC easily weighs as much as Gary’s ‘Doctor’. Once the honeymoon is over with the Doctor Gary will find that more space equals more tools and the issues he had with his XL will come back double to haunt him with the Doctor.
    My solution with my XL was to install high end, warm white micro, sealed, bendable LED strips operated by rechargeable batteries I picked up from Lighthound & drivers from ledsupply.com. The LED strips curve under the upper back of main zippers on both sides slightly down an inch or so on the sides. The batteries are in a sealed plastic tube and I punched a hole though the canvas using a grommet again and then installed an awesome low profile rubberized button switch (surplus – AllElectronics) through the grommet to turn on light. Read this last sentence carefully – It makes ALL the difference in finding / identifying ALL your tools at a glance.

    Reply

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