KEEP THOSE CAPS!

Stock players have to use ten-shot tubes to reload their markers. Those tubes have caps and they are easily lost. I eventually became frustrated with lost caps, which makes the tube useless for holding paint. I came up with this system (with input from my buddy, RJ) I call it the tethered cap system or TCS.

It originally started with using string and electrical tape. RJ's system used elastic cord and tie wraps. The elastic option is the best as the elastic lays on the side of the tube, unlike string which forms a loop that gets caught on things. The elastic also holds the cap on, so it doesn't matter how loose it is.

Here's how you do it.

MATERIALS LIST

Stock tubes and caps (obviously)
Small tie wraps (they have to be over 2 inches in length)
Elastic cord (I went to an office supply store and bought a bunch of folders that had elastic cords on them.)
An awl or nail of a diameter the same as the elastic cord
A candle

BUILDING THE TCS

Remove caps from tubes
Light candle and begin to heat up the awl or nail (Hold the nail in a pair of vice grips to prevent burnt fingers)
Use the heated awl or nail to make a hole in the cap near the side, but not too close. See the diagram below. The yellow dotted line represents the tubes inner diameter.
Repeat this for all the caps
Don't blow out the candle yet
Cut the elastic cord into 3 inch lengths (you don't need as much as 3 inches but it'll give you room for error)
Hold the each end of the cut elastic near the flame of the candle so it melts slightly. Don't let it catch fire! This prevents the elastic cord from fraying. Be careful, these little buggers get hot and they'll stick to your skin. Let ends cool.
Tie a knot as close to one end as possible on each of the elastic cords
Take each cord and thread it through the hole in the cap from the inside so that when you pull the cord through, the knot is on the inside of the cap and the rest is sticking out like a fuse
Put the caps on the tubes
Pull the elastic cord tight (but not too tight or the cap won't come off, you may have to do some experimenting until you get the right tension that holds the cap on and allows it to be popped off)
Wrap and secure the tie wrap around the tube and the elastic just below the two ribs on the tube
Tie a knot at the end of the cord so it is against the tie wrap
Trim ends of cord and melt where required

Refer to drawings if you're not sure

NOTES

The hole in the cap is put off to one side so the knot does not rest against the top ball when the tube is full and the cap is on.

If you have new stock tubes, you'll have to sand the inside of the cap so you can flip the cap off using one hand. Don't worry about them being too loose, the elastic will keep them on.

There you have it. No more lost caps!

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