Cop Caddy

[AstroDave]

I thought I would post some pics of my first real project done with my CNC.  It is what is commonly referred to as a cop caddy.  Essentially a place for an off duty police officer to put their gear while at home. You can hang your vest and utility belt on the side hangers.  The top tray holds the gun safe secured to the caddy.  The other tray can hold whatever you want but is designed to hold the radio, flashlight while being charged via the powerstrip on the back.  The safe plugs into the strip as well. 

Both my niece and her husband are cops and they asked if I could make something for a charity police auction and this is what I came up with.   The top tray is solid wood that has been pocketed with the CNC...the center column is two 8/4 pieces glued together with a rabbeted section in the center for the power cord to be routed through.  The badge is obviously CNC.   The column is sycamore and the rest of ash and sapele.  FYI the auction was a success and nice rookie cop got the caddy.

 

Here are the images from the CAD program I use Vectric V-Carve Pro...

[prov163]

Dave, my son will become a Deputy Sheriff in March and my niece just started patrol as a St. Petersburg, FL police officer. I would love to make something like this caddy for them. Would you be willing to share the dimensions and plans with me? I won't be using a CNC but I like the layout. Thanks. 

[wdwerker]

That is a great idea for organizing all their gear. Great approach having the power strip inserted into the back of the column. I would imagine many  cops would like to have something like that.

[wtnhighlander]

Not only is it a very functional design, but beatifully executed!

[..Kev]

Well done!  I like it!

[Llama]

I was starting to think that you just collected tools.  

Looks good! 

[AstroDave]

1 hour ago, prov163 said:

Dave, my son will become a Deputy Sheriff in March and my niece just started patrol as a St. Petersburg, FL police officer. I would love to make something like this caddy for them. Would you be willing to share the dimensions and plans with me? I won't be using a CNC but I like the layout. Thanks. 

The design is borrowed and modified from an LEO that makes these as a side business.  https://www.facebook.com/Cop-Caddy-772810249501190/

I can share dimensions but quite frankly it was fairly adhoc. 

Center column is (2) 36"x4"x2 glued up with a rabbet running from the bottom to the half way point

The vest hanger is a 15"x1.5" board with 3 blocks cut to size so the bullet proof vest shoulders would fit.  The space between the center block and the side blocks is ~6".

The total original dimensions for the top trays was 30"x12"x2".  I ended up cutting it into 2 separate trays and don't have the final dimensions. The top tray opening was sized for the gun safe on the right side 13"x9" and the other side was pretty arbitrary.  I made sure my nieces radio would fit in the left tray opening in the back and flashlight they carry in the others.  I figured they might put their phone in there as well since the power strip I used has a couple USB ports built in.

I over-engineered the base making very heavy just in case it got top heavy.  I think is was roughly 24"x12"x2".  As you see in the examples on the link above he made his bases from mostly plywood.  Mine was 8/4 ash with a round over.  I ran 4 10" lag screws up from the base into the column for stability. Likely overkill...

The top tray was secured to the column by first bolting a board to the column and then gluing the trays to the board.

One thing to note that I changed from the original plan was I ended up with 2 separate trays rather than 1. 

Bottom line is that I can think of several ways I might do it differently.  I had a bit of a time crunch to get it done so the finish is not as nice as I would have liked and the joinery for the hangers and top trays to be better.  I ended mortising on one side and using dowels on the other side ...pretty lame.

[pkinneb]

This is very cool! I need to make one for my daughter a MI State Police Officer

[RichardA]

Bleedinblue is among our membership, He and his wife are both police officers, his opinion would be valuable! 

[Woodenskye]

Very cool project!

[mat60]

Nice project.  I do wonder if cops keep there gun in a safe at home if they have no kids around.

[Eric.]

Pretty neat despite the CNC involvement. Just yankin'.

Our boys in blue could use any kind of support we can give them these days.  Good on ya.  Nice job.

[shaneymack]

That is really awesome, Dave! Really nice design and execution. Hope it makes a lot of money at the auction.

[AstroDave]

1 hour ago, mat60 said:

Nice project.  I do wonder if cops keep there gun in a safe at home if they have no kids around.

Good question... My niece and husband have two kids and they do keep the firearms locked away... well not far away.

30 minutes ago, shaneymack said:

That is really awesome, Dave! Really nice design and execution. Hope it makes a lot of money at the auction.

I wasn't expecting a lot at the auction.  Cops don't make a lot of money. It brought in 300 from a young cop...married no kids... The safe alone was worth over 200 so this was definitely a work of love

[shaneymack]

3 minutes ago, SplinteredDave said:

The safe alone was worth over 200 so this was definitely a work of love

You're a good man, Dave !

[AstroDave]

Just now, shaneymack said:

You're a good man, Dave !

Thanks.. I should have painted it green... maybe I could have gotten a Festoolian to bite

[shaneymack]

Just now, SplinteredDave said:

Thanks.. I should have painted it green... maybe I could have gotten a Festoolian to bite

With a cool Festool logo on the side of it, id would have been all over it !!

[RichardA]

Festoolian..........  I like that.. It describes Shane perfectly!  Festoolian!  Yup, I like that!

[AstroDave]

Festoolian..........  I like that.. It describes Shane perfectly!  Festoolian!  Yup, I like that!

It's not my term... I am sure I heard it here first by someone...

I yearn to achieve Festoolianhood..

[RichardA]

I have no such yearnings, I have steadfastly maintained my mental prowess to avoid addictions other than cigars and Jack Daniel's.

[wdwerker]

So if you abuse " Green " tools are you a festoohooligan ?

[bleedinblue]

12 hours ago, RichardA said:

Bleedinblue is among our membership, He and his wife are both police officers, his opinion would be valuable! 

In my opinion, we carry too much crap on a daily basis

I've seen these caddies pop up a few times over the past couple years.  There's a market for them, when they pop up on the book of faces they always get positive nods.  The power strip is an excellent addition for charging flashlights and radios. 

11 hours ago, mat60 said:

Nice project.  I do wonder if cops keep there gun in a safe at home if they have no kids around.

Nope.  At least we haven't.  Even now we have a couple guns and spare magazines stashed in strategic places throughout the house.  The safe, which is just feet away from the bed, is basically just for long guns and ammo.  That'll be changing soon though, our baby is going to be walking real soon.

 

[sikegirl18]

how did you lay the outlets in side the center post that is the one thing im trying to figure out. Also where did you get the strip i cant find one like this any where. 

[..Kev]

Welcome to the forum sikegirl, do you realize that this thread is 3 years old?  Also, Astro Dave hasn't been on the forums since last year.

[Coop]

My wife’s really bad about digging up stuff from the past . Must be a lady thing! No offense meant ma’am!