Bolt bins ..show me your creative cost effective solution

[Prospecter]

I'm old enough to be a grandfather, and some of the stuff I'm holding onto was my grandfather's.

Yup! Me too!

 

[NakeDiesel]

I'm old enough to be a grandfather, and some of the stuff I'm holding onto was my grandfather's.

Same here, love my grandfather's old hammers with custom cut grooves in the wooden handles and his folding measuring sticks

 

[PelicanPines]

Before you invest in storage for your nutts... invest in a really good label maker. I use a Brady BMP21...

 

[The Bean]

Here's a look at a few old tools...in an old toolbox. They're not auto garage tools, but I cherish them.
Sorry if I got off topic.

 

[brownbagg]

I built this rack.
I bought the MW Packout cases on sale, made the rack out of plywood and aluminum angle to hold the cases.

those cases are not cheap anymore

 

[Lu-Max]

I got most of them on sale for ~$18, a few others at $20. I think they're $27 at HD now.

 

[pbon]

those cases are not cheap anymore

The dewalt version goes on sale more often and cheaper. I think I paid around $8 each a couple of years ago and recently saw them for about $10. HF are also cheap. I have a bunch of them since I like different heights.

 

[Outlander]

During this week's basement workshop purge I realise that I have tons of obsolete hardware still from when I received stuff from my uncle's estate. I bet I have the "grandfather's grandfather's" stuff in those drawers. Not ready to purge it ......

 

[COL911]

I’m a sucker for vintage storage; not sure that I’ll get all the existing plastic drawer bins sorted, transferred and labeled before I die, but it’s a noble quest. Current projects pictured. I’ll never be able to toss the remains coffee cans of odds and ends though! The Equipto was $15 at a yard sale, the other two free on the curb!

 

[Big Dad]

Used some information from

You want cheap???

Ten drawer file cabinet (cheap at auction) with cut down half gallon milk jugs:

I took your advice and found some very nice filer cabinets on face of books for basically nothing ($20 ) .. I will work out pretty good for me
thanks

 

[Big Dad]

The clear tubs I bought at DollaGen .. they cost 3.25 for 4

 

[niget2002]

The clear tubs I bought at DollaGen .. they cost 3.25 for 4

Can't argue if it works!

Looks good.

 

[slodat]

I’ve been printing Schaller style bins out of PETG in sizes that I need. They turn out great!

 

[DeeDubz]

This is my set up

 

[atch]

You want cheap???

Ten drawer file cabinet (cheap at auction) with cut down half gallon milk jugs:

Used some information from

atch said:
You want cheap???

Ten drawer file cabinet (cheap at auction) with cut down half gallon milk jugs:

I took your advice and found some very nice file cabinets on face of books for basically nothing ($20). I will work out pretty good for me
thanks

I showed the 2 drawers that I use for bolts/nuts/washers. Another drawer has screws in it. I need to use another couple of drawers for bolts but they are all full of other stuff. I have this one which is about 25" wide and two that are standard 15" wide. All three have ten drawers and all 30 drawers are full. They are incredibly useful for miriad other items. A couple of examples are measuring tools (calipers, dividers, etc.) and tubes (locktite, never seize, etc.)

I'm looking for another one or two.

I have two large roll around tool boxes (and several small tool boxes) but if I didn't have them these would make great tool boxes. I'm also thinking of buying another roll around as all of their drawers are pretty full.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I am slowly moving most everything into one cabinet. I bought the yellow parts drawers from a Craigslist seller. I paid $40. Sadly, the drawers are full of good parts and fasteners. I don't have the heart to toss anything out, so, I did not gain any more storage..
My daughter claimed the old bolt bin for her large collection of leather working tools. My friend wants the 27 drawer unit. I might sell the Acro Mils louvered boards unit

 

[Blacksheep47]

couple of cheap toolbox’s welded together and some dividers.

 

[liliysdad]

Newest addition...Neighbor gave me the Durham / Fastenal drawers a while back, and I finally happened across a base for them.

 

[Bill Bowman]

This is how I keep my hardware.

 

[turbowoodworker]

I don't think I've posted on this thread. If so, I apologize.

 

[MIke.Gradoz]

I use an old dorman three drawer.

 

[lilredex]

Before you invest in storage for your nutts... invest in a really good label maker. I use a Brady BMP21...

You can do a bunch with this free label maker too.

ACME Label Maker

acme.com

 

[NUTTSGT]

I started out with a set or two of the HF blue and red bins. I found out the red ones were too small for most fasteners. So i bought another set or two for more blue bins....all with the old 20% off coupon.

They reside under the work bench behind closed doors to keep most of the dirt out.

 

[smackey05]

Lots of great ideas here! This is a great thread. I'm in the process of thinking this out for my garage right now.

 

[brownbagg]

will these threads ever die, post the hf pictures of all the yellow plastics

 

[NUTTSGT]

will these threads ever die, post the hf pictures of all the yellow plastics

Probably not.

New members, new ideas and new products coming out.

 

[gearhead1]

I made this from old bed frames and some scrap tubing. The bins are from home depot. They're about $5 each. I would grab one or two every time I was in HD for something. Didn't take long and I had enough to warrant a shelf.

Nice!

I spy a PrimeWeld there. Awesome. I have the same one and really like it for the $.

 

[gearhead1]

I built this rack.
I bought the MW Packout cases on sale, made the rack out of plywood and aluminum angle to hold the cases.

Do you get any sag on the cases since they’re only supported from each side?

 

[rburke65]

Copy utt….an Akai tape deck….Cross Field Head! That has to have some years on it!

 

[rsparks64]

this is mine. It has worked for 15 or so years, but now I’m tired of it being wide open. Going to sell it all and go with closed storage.
Not so much cost effective, but lasting this long has paid for itself many times over.

I’ll bet that purse on the bench holds a lot of bolts.

 

[RBarnes]

Liked This idea after seeing it in a guys shop who really liked peanut butter. Might be a little unrefined for you guys, but what I like is that you can I instantly see what is in the jar. Makes it quicker than searching through drawers.

 

[southalabama]

Liked This idea after seeing it in a guys shop who really liked peanut butter. Might be a little unrefined for you guys, but what I like is that you can I instantly see what is in the jar. Makes it quicker than searching through drawers.

Nah he doesn’t “really” like peanut butter or he’d have big Jars.

 

[rdoty]

Another version using the Harbor Freight parts storage cases. The cabinet is 5' high with 20 spaces. One of the best things I did was put in a pull-out shelf on drawer slides to provide a place to put whichever parts case you are digging through. This picture was taken right after I built it - needless to say the cabinet is now full...

 

[isb cornbinder]

I have lots of options. All of these options were found on Craigslist. Some of this stuff will be going back on CL as soon as I get back out in the shop. It has been 8 months.

 

[fourjeepin]

I started with one unorganized drawer 25 years ago, then switched over to square jelly jars in that same drawer. A few years of this and I wanted more storage. I really wanted the Durham/ Fastenal style like Lillysdad posted earlier. These were out of my budget but I also really liked the bins at Home Depot. Also out of my budget when new, but my closest HD was relocating and I knew they didn’t move anything to the new store. It took a few visits during the workday, but I found the guy in charge of the liquidation and he made me a deal I couldn’t refuse. I only wanted one or two of the top bins, but bought them all for $40 a vertical stack. I was thrilled until he told me this included everything in the bins plus all of the little bagged parts above the bins. I won the hardware lottery! I spent sooo many hours ripping open the little bags that my fingers were raw.

I sold a bunch of bins to friends and gave away 5-gallon buckets full of bolt but kept these two stacks full of hardware. I had to purchase some bolts to fill a few holes, but broke even after selling the excess bins. They are mounted on cheap casters but don’t roll easily due to the weight. Topped with an old piece of corian countertop.

 

[nadogail]

I picked all of these and more (I've re-sold quite a few) up over time from local industrial auctions. They often go for cheap at auction.

I was able to take home several cabinets like the these when my employer, at the time, switched from one industrial hardware supplier to another. The Blue Box company wasn’t about to put their merchandise into cabinets from the Brown Box company. All i had to do was write “Please and Thanks You” on masking tape on several cabinets.

Please and Thank You, can you a lot of stuff. Thank You notes keep the bounty coming.

 

[Kevkx125]

Here is mine using h/f bins and castor's and wood found in the shop.

 

[Jagmandave]

I did this, the bins hold quite a bit - it's an A frame on casters, both sides covered in bins. the bins tip out from the top and stay clean because it's like having a lid on them when closed so stuff doesn't get dusty. They just lift out to clean or swap around the frame.

 

[speed bump]

Built this out leftover wood and filled it harbor freight organizers when they were on sale.

 

[My Old Tools]

I’ve been printing Schaller style bins out of PETG in sizes that I need. They turn out great!

What's the print vs buy trade-off?