An Electrical Plate

Some of you may have seen this design before.  It isn't anything new.  But it is easy to build and it makes a great example of creativity.  Before we begin, let's look at what materials you'll need.

Materials:

• Electrical Wall Plate
• 2 magnets
• Metal Epoxy
• Small baggie
• Logsheet

Most of the materials can be found in a hardware store.  However, most magnets you would find in a hardware store are larger and thicker than what is best to use.  For my magnets, I rely on Grainger due to the variety of different styles and sizes.  The only problem is that they usually require an account for most products they sell, especially magnets.  They are considered hazardous materials.

When you go to buy the wall plate, make sure that whatever you buy is the style of a wall cover with two holes for the screws.  For hiding outdoors, the metal variety will blend in better than plastic.  For magnets, I used a nickel plated, neodymium magnet that is .375 mm wide and .100 mm thick.  For a glue, I used a Metal Epoxy to better grip the metal between the two objects.  It is also fast drying and holds up to weather a lot better than normal super glue.  You will need a small baggie for this design.  Look in the bead section of any arts & crafts department/store to find cheap bags (50-100 for less than $2.00).

Here is an example of the Wall Plate alongside the magnets.  Notice one magnet covering the left hole.

With this image, you can easily see how everything will fit together. The magnets cover the holes on the backside of the plate.  All you need to do is glue them down.

Metal Epoxy works by mixing two substances.  One is a hardener and one is a resin.  This typically comes in a special container that looks like two syringes fused together.  Make sure you have a disposable container handy and something small and disposable for mixing the materials.  Open the container and carefully squeeze a small amount of both materials into the disposable container.  One of the materials will move rather slow.  I used my mixer to scrape the glob off the tip of the syringe.

Once you have the two materials in your container, you only have about five minutes to work before it becomes hardened enough that you can't easily apply it.  Quickly mix them until they have a uniform color and consistancy (about 30 seconds of stirring should be minimum).  Then, carefully begin applying the epoxy.  Use a little bit on the front side of the hole to seal that up, evening it flat with the rest of the plate.  Apply more to the back side, this time to the gap between the magnet and the plate.  Apply it a big thicker so that it can drip fully into the gap.  Apply it around the entire magnet and once you feel satisfied, you're done.

Here is what it should look like on the backside when you are done:

Now I recommend that you only do one magnet at a time. In the amount of time it takes to mix and apply the epoxy to one magnet, the rest of the epoxy will have dried out too much for easy application to the second magnet.  Once you are completely finished preparing the cache, allow at least one hours before handling it.  For the best strength, allow a full 24 hours before use.

This cache, as you might already be able to tell, works best in locations where an electrical face plate would seem likely (and not dangerous to the cacher who goes after it).  Since the epoxy dries a different color, you might look into a metal looking spray paint to blend the in the front side.  If placing this in a location with a different color than the face paint, definitely consider spray paint.

Once you have the location picked out, place a logsheet into one of the small baggies and place the baggie between the two magnets on the backside.  You will have to rely on the object you are attaching too to hold the baggie in place with the above design.  However, you can always consider modifying the design to hold the baggie into place.

A rather simple design, but also a devious design.  Even experienced cachers can overlook this one at first.  So find a good spot to hide it and enjoy the logs.

TripCyclone

PS: Watch your fingers handling the wall plate.  The edges are sharp.  I accidentally cut my thumb while trying to clean off some excess epoxy because I didn't have a good grip.

Jolly Green Giant

Today's post is going to feature an interesting cache design already out in the field.  The cache is called Jolly Green Giant.  It was placed by Lacomo on February 5th, 2009.  It's location is Lebanon, MO.  Why is it unique?  The size.

I remember being on the local Kansas/Missouri forums when Lacomo first started inquiring about large caches in Missouri.  He was trying to find out what the largest size was in the state.  Then, as time rolled on, we started to find out what his idea was, even seeing a few photos.  Finally, his cache was released to the public and within only a few hours the FTF was made...in the middle of the night!  It seems people really wanted to see what all the hype was about.  So what was so cool about this cache?  This shot was taken when I visited it just over a month later.

You can see a travel bug hanging off the top, and just above it is the Garmin eTrex Legend I was using at the time.  This homemade ammo can is large enough that a kid could likely crouch inside and not be seen.  Now it looks like it is in the woods.  Really it's in a small grove of trees on the back end of some property.  The property is owned by the cache owner's nephew.

Okay, time for some details.  When I asked Lacomo how he built this, he gave me some interesting details.  First of all, the body of the cache is actually a metal filing cabinet turned onto it's back.  Inside is some wooden platform about 1/3rd of the way up from the bottom.  This is where the containers for swag, trackables, and the logbook are resting.  It was done this way so that people didn't have to reach all the way to the bottom, and in case any water got inside.  Some framework was added to help hold it up.  The lid was the most expensive and time consuming piece.  Lacomo paid a local machine shop $50 for the material and the labor to bend the lid.  He did his own welding.  Due to how the sides of the lid slip over the sides of the container, it's actually surprisingly waterproof.  A local sign shop made the Geocaching label for the side. 

Once, it did actually get wet.  There had been heavy rain in the area and a small flood happened at the cache site.  It actually picked it up and floated it down a small drainage ditch before getting caught up in some trees.  Surprising that it would float consider the size of the container.

Total cost was about $75.00.  But Lacomo said it was entirely worth it considering the enjoyment people have had finding it.  And just how many people have found it?  Since it's publication, 183 people have found it as of the date I am writing this.

This isn't the only version of this I've seen.  I have seen pictures from a few other giant ammo cans around the world.  I've also seen other LARGE cache designs.  What about you?

TripCyclone

Updating the Site

For those of you who don't run a site on Blogger, and maybe even some of you that do, Blogger added the ability to have multiple pages on your blog earlier this year.  So I am working on adding some pages to enhance the site a bit.  The first update...a submission page.

Pages can be reached through some links found underneath the title banner.  Right now, you'll see two pages listed for the Creative Caches & Containers site: Home and Submit a Creative Cache Idea.  Home will obviously take you to the main page for the site, but what about the Submit page?

One of the ways I hope to keep this site going is through reader submissions.  You can submit creative hides, creative containers, even already established creative caches all provide me with a larger pool of ideas to post about.  Several of the articles posted on the site to this date were ideas submitted to us.  With this new page, I've made it even easier to submit your ideas.  The new page is set up with a submission form through which you can submit an idea.  Fill out the form (GC Code optional) with a brief description of your idea and why it is creative, then hit submit.  Once that button is hit, an e-mail will be sent to me with your idea.  I'll try to get back to you within a few days with any questions I might have.  Then I can work on adding it to our lineup of future posts. 

And don't forgot about already established caches.  Maybe you've seen a cache that really stood out as interesting.  Well, send those in too.  With the provided GC Code, I can look at the cache page and contact the owner about featuring their cache on the site.

So keep those ideas coming.
TripCyclone