Small part storage: It is all in the right mix

[Lelandwelds]

What is the group think on bolt, riv nut,fuse, pem, torch tips, rivets, electronic component, zip tie, and cable lug storage? I know everyone like me has too much to list.

Factory modular storage probably will not happen. Sorry, Lista and Vidmar.

I really like Durham products and the original Huot. Several HF toolchests will be pressed into "non tool" storage. Plywood drawers are certainly the most easily customized. I used to use a lot of Plano and Flambeau but have broken some of the overloaded ones. The price has crept up also.

I have admired the Stanley ones from Israel. The new Milwaukee look tempting in the HD ads. Amazon has some fascinating Keter cantilever 22 from Israel.

I can probably swing about twelve feet of the metal Durham product. The plastic will be part of the mix. I think a mix will be more flexible and make it easier to keep related items in a group. I will probably build a wooden shelf like the old CD or VCR storage.

What works well?

 

[gdocktor3]

I’m a big fan of the Durham drawer organizers. (Mostly because mine were free from work) But seriously, I like the fact that you can slide them out like drawers, look down and not in like the shelf style where everything is hidden in the shadows, and you can also take the entire drawer to the location you are working. I also have multiple Stanley plastic organizers like you have listed. One is filled with Stakons, another with screws, another with nails, etc. Again, depending on the project I’m working on, let’s say a fence, I can bring the entire case of screws or nails to the location and pick which size is best.

 

[crewchief888]

i have these in the garage, along with a couple plastic stanley bins. theres one or 2 stanley bins in the basement woodshop/reloading room.

as mentioned previously, all my steel bins were freebies, all damaged in some way, salvaged from service trucks/vans.

i have 16 bins in my service truck as well as a beat up stanley and a new milwaukee.
i really like the milwaukee, if i buy any more for the house/garage i'm going milwaukee.

 

[speed bump]

If I was in a shop environment or building my forever shop I would go with the Durham cabinets in a heartbeat. When I did refrigeration we ran them in our vans and they took a beating and held up well.

Since I am hoping to change shops within a year or two I knocked together this organizer for the plastic Harbor Freight organizers. It isn't particularly pretty but I built it in a couple hours and it works to store my bolt collection.

 

[Lelandwelds]

I have 16 bins in my service truck as well as a beat up stanley and a new milwaukee.
i really like the milwaukee, if i buy any more for the house/garage i'm going milwaukee.

I want to put a row of bin drawers above a workbench in a bump out exactly like your service truck. I may even add your washer and bar system. (Everything is a sytem, right?)

I have older generations of Dewalt and Milwaukee plastic boxes. I have dropped them loaded from heights onto concrete more than I will admit. They latches still work and excluding scratches could pass for new. I want the Milwaukee only because of the exceptional performance of my other red tools. The Keter still looks good. I have used a Kreg screw blue box which felt like a Keter private labeling. It is like all three (I count dewalt and stanley as one) are made by the same company. (Or, former employee startup.)

I want to try to have everything at a convenient height. I like multiples of the same Stanley or Milwaukee because it makes building shelves easier. I do not want only one type because it is difficult to be under something and tell helpers which yellow box is the right one.

The Huot of course will be by the drill press. I want metal storage around potential grease and oil. The plastic boxes will be better at keeping out sawdust. Wood will be better for overhead occasional use storage. Lateral 3 drawer file cabinets and toolboxes will fill under bench spaces.

I have looked at sooooo many garage and shop photos. My strongest takeaway is clutter stinks and cleaning chores need to be minimized. My other discovery is there are more mfg of storage products than I ever imagined. Lots of ways to accomplish pretty much any goal are a click away.

My minor lesson from others work is harder to nail down. Some scream "the lift is too close to the wall" or "what's with all the wasted space?". In some, horizontal spaces exist only to collect ****. Some I suspect are museums. Some must be OCD brain surgeons from the planet Krypton with insomnia.

I want enough specialization to make it work best for me but not so weird it becomes a white elephant for the next owner. Every thread about "which box is best" becomes "what do you want it for" and "what kind of work do you do?".

 

[Lelandwelds]

If I was in a shop environment or building my forever shop I would go with the Durham cabinets in a heartbeat. When I did refrigeration we ran them in our vans and they took a beating and held up well.

Since I am hoping to change shops within a year or two I knocked together this organizer for the plastic Harbor Freight organizers. It isn't particularly pretty but I built it in a couple hours and it works to store my bolt collection.

That's exactly what I intend. Mine will just catch the organizers edge so dirt and **** falls through. I hate to bend over or climb ladders. I will probably have a couple of brands as a can't fail color coding.

Durham is great stuff. We opened and closed ours hundreds of times a week for 30 or 40 years without fail. Their stuff offers a lot of the advantages of modular storage for thousands less than a Lista. I will probably rig up sliding doors and use the open front bins for common hex bolts.

 

[Ray-CA]

I did something similar to "SpeedBump"

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=372670

Ray

 

[Lelandwelds]

I did something similar to "SpeedBump"

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=372670

Ray

Great minds think alike. I knew a sign guy who spot welded welded fence wire into his. It was dust free like metro shelves. He did a bunch of routed and sandblasted signs. Sawdust and plastic chips high and low everywhere.

 

[crewchief888]

I want to put a row of bin drawers above a workbench in a bump out exactly like your service truck. I may even add your washer and bar system. (Everything is a sytem, right?)


I want to try to have everything at a convenient height. I like multiples of the same Stanley or Milwaukee because it makes building shelves easier. .

the locking bar system is so much "cleaner looking" than having a bungee cord holding the drawers from opening.

i believe the rods are 3/16" or 1/4" (either will work) and it seems like the washers are 7/16"

most of the drawers in the garage dont have the sliding drawer cabinets that they came with, they were damaged beyond what i was willing to repair,even for home use, so i built a wood shelf unit out of scrap plywood i had laying around.
i still have 3 or 4 more empty drawers stashed back in a corner of the garage. i should really build another wood shelf and put them to use.

 

[Lelandwelds]

the locking bar system is so much "cleaner looking" than having a bungee cord holding the drawers from opening.

i believe the rods are 3/16" or 1/4" (either will work) and it seems like the washers are 7/16"

most of the drawers in the garage dont have the sliding drawer cabinets that they came with, they were damaged beyond what i was willing to repair,even for home use, so i built a wood shelf unit out of scrap plywood i had laying around.
i still have 3 or 4 more empty drawers stashed back in a corner of the garage. i should really build another wood shelf and put them to use.

Zoro sells new empty cabinets if nothing else. It is hard to trust a plant carcass but you can build anything out of wood. I like stuff I don't need to hit with the leafblower.

I keep hoping I will trip over some revolutionary storage idea that is so simple it is brilliant. Still waiting.

5S inspired work area might be the best I can find. (Ditch clutter. No wasted steps. Stuff in consistent place.)

 

[TheCraneGuy]

I have not been impressed with Durham. I just purchased a new 24 drawer unit for work. The exterior metal seems very light and flimsy. The face of the drawers were not straight, and the bottom left corners of the front looked like a bad weld or where the paint ran to during dipping and dried like a paint run. For $300, I expect some better quality, even if it is not my money.


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[Lelandwelds]

I have not been impressed with Durham. I just purchased a new 24 drawer unit for work. The exterior metal seems very light and flimsy. The face of the drawers were not straight, and the bottom left corners of the front looked like a bad weld or where the paint ran to during dipping and dried like a paint run. For $300, I expect some better quality, even if it is not my money.


[/IMG]

Yuck. That looks like freight damage or warehouse damage from the seller. They use only powder paint.
It doesn't drip.

Seven of my former employers used the stuff. Lawson products, Fastenal, and many others use a lot of Durham products. Three of my formers had products 30 and 40 years old. Maybe the new stuff has been cheapened.

 

[TheCraneGuy]

Yuck. That looks like freight damage or warehouse damage from the seller. They use only powder paint.
It doesn't drip.

Seven of my former employers used the stuff. Lawson products, Fastenal, and many others use a lot of Durham products. Three of my formers had products 30 and 40 years old. Maybe the new stuff has been cheapened.

Yes, there was some freight damage, but every drawer front had that”drip” in the lower front corner. I’m thinking someone wasn’t watching quality that day. Has to be how the metal was formed or maybe from spot welding.

The smaller drawer units that all of the companies you mentioned use are heavier gauge metal and are good products. I believe they use 24 gauge metal in the 24 drawer unit I purchased. Seems pretty light in my opinion.


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[MushCreek]

I'm using the Harbor Freight boxes ($5.99 on sale), and find them to be handy for my circumstances. I have three separate work areas and they are some distance apart- Barn, basement, and garage/house. I can just grab the 'electric' box and have all of the residential electrical components I need, such as Romex clamps, wire nuts, wire staples, etc.

I do have some bins for larger stuff like bolts that are only needed in the barn.

 

[Lelandwelds]

I'm using the Harbor Freight boxes ($5.99 on sale), and find them to be handy for my circumstances. I have three separate work areas and they are some distance apart- Barn, basement, and garage/house. I can just grab the 'electric' box and have all of the residential electrical components I need, such as Romex clamps, wire nuts, wire staples, etc.

I do have some bins for larger stuff like bolts that are only needed in the barn.

Your method has worked best for me at home and work. I am shooting for a single work area. This time I want so much organized storage the struggle will be to fill not to find something. And, everything will be hidden with no open shelves. I really want everything to be locked.

 

[eyeball]

I'm using the Harbor Freight boxes ($5.99 on sale), and find them to be handy for my circumstances. I have three separate work areas and they are some distance apart- Barn, basement, and garage/house. I can just grab the 'electric' box and have all of the residential electrical components I need, such as Romex clamps, wire nuts, wire staples, etc.

I do have some bins for larger stuff like bolts that are only needed in the barn.

I went the same route but used the Stanley version of the organizers.

I wanted to be able to put them in a cabinet and have the outer edges of the boxes sit on wooden runners. The profile of the Stanley edges worked better for my needs (tried both)


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[TheCraneGuy]

Yuck. That looks like freight damage or warehouse damage from the seller. They use only powder paint.
It doesn't drip.

Seven of my former employers used the stuff. Lawson products, Fastenal, and many others use a lot of Durham products. Three of my formers had products 30 and 40 years old. Maybe the new stuff has been cheapened.

Received my replacement Durham cabinet this week. The drawer fronts still look the same, along with the drawer joints being loose on some of them.

I have seen older Durham Equipment. I bought this based I what I had experienced. That’s what I get for assuming.

Seems to me they are just riding on their old reputation for quality products, without actually producing one.


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[Fbmoose48]

Some of the L-Boxx or Systainer setups look like they could make a nice, modular small parts storage unit. A little pricey though

 

[mikegt4]

I ran across some storage boxes on sale at Bass Pro. They would make great nut & bolt storage boxes. 5 for $10

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=383970

 

[Lelandwelds]

Some of the L-Boxx or Systainer setups look like they could make a nice, modular small parts storage unit. A little pricey though

A little pricey? You have one of those dry sense of humors, dontcha?

I spent a lot of time looking at them and Wilmot's and others on YouTube that use them. I think Milwaukee boxes, Akron mills, and cases for SMT components will get the nod for smaller parts.

HF toolboxes and DIY wooden drawers will probably be the choice for tools and larger items.

 

[tarmy]

This seems to work well...

 

[tarbellb]

Nice setup tarmy ^^^^^

Keep in mind dust and dirt collection with open face systems. I hate digging through a hardware box full of wood dust, metal grit, and dead bugs...

While the Sortimo and Tanos are likely the best bet for portable, it is way overpriced. If you want 90% the storage for <25% the cost then Milwaukee, Husky, HF are great candidates. But pros moving jobsites daily can justify the cost of a nicer sys.

 

[Lelandwelds]

This seems to work well...

Nice set up.

I want to catch just the edge of the Stanley or Milwaukee. I hate kitchen counters with doors. ( I am planning all drawers. Some 2". Some deep to store stalled projects. The old style cabinet with sliding plastic drawers is tempting. They're not deep enough. I considered turning sideways on a sliding pullout or a lazy susan. Nothing I really like yet.

For the flat surface, I think either sacrificial hard board, roll on polyurethane, BLO, or paste wax. Maybe formica.

I am kicking around the idea of turn buckles or long front mounted bolts for pallet jack movable work tables. Solid as the wall but can become an island or juggle layout when needs change.