Fastener Storage System Comparison

[DennisVog]

Has anyone seen a detailed comparison of the various fastener storage systems? I'm looking at ways to store a few cars worth of nuts, bolts, screws, and brackets. I could see ending up with half a dozen drawers of stuff pretty easily. Doesn't need to be transportable outside my garage.

At the moment I have a couple metal Durham boxes. They are OK. A little pricy but durable, and I could buy a premade sliding shelf rack if I wanted to spend the money. My main complaint is I don't have a good way to label the individual bins (i.e., M8 x 20 - 1.0).

There are threads here on everything from mason jars, to Harbor Freight, to Sortimo, and everything in between (i.e., big box brands like Dewalt). I could spend my Sunday researching them all, but thought maybe someone else had already been down this road and shared results. I'm particularly interested in what justifies the substantial price jumps.

I am tempted to just go spend $50 bucks at harbor Freight and move on, but would like to avoid sorting all my stuff post plating (about 125 lbs. worth) only to find I made a poor choice and end up transferring to another system.

 

[ATC]

Just get on FB Marketplace and search for bolt bins. All kinds of stuff:

 

[DennisVog]

All kinds of stuff:

Thus the comparison element of my post. The amount of options is overwhelming. Looking for those with experience that have weighed the pros and cons.

 

[loganb]

if the problem with the Durham is lack of labels, sounds like a good reason to buy a labelmaker. doesn't matter what you switch to, they all need labels.

 

[jd_1138]

if the problem with the Durham is lack of labels, sounds like a good reason to buy a labelmaker. doesn't matter what you switch to, they all need labels.

Yep dont wanna waste a lot of time trying to find right sizes in the middle of a project or repair.

 

[RMERR]

Open bolt bins may look like a good option, but dust build-up (at least in my shop) drove me nuts. I want my fasteners to be clean when I pull them out. All my fasteners are now in drawers. A strong second to the get a labelmaker suggestion. I have a Brothers brand labelmaker that stays in the shop. When a new batch or size of fasteners goes in a drawer I stop and make a label on the spot. Staples, Office Depot, online, whatever, a labelmaker is a must for an organized shop in my opinion.

 

[Higgins]

Has anyone seen a detailed comparison of the various fastener storage systems? I'm looking at ways to store a few cars worth of nuts, bolts, screws, and brackets. I could see ending up with half a dozen drawers of stuff pretty easily. Doesn't need to be transportable outside my garage.

At the moment I have a couple metal Durham boxes. They are OK. A little pricy but durable, and I could buy a premade sliding shelf rack if I wanted to spend the money. My main complaint is I don't have a good way to label the individual bins (i.e., M8 x 20 - 1.0).

There are threads here on everything from mason jars, to Harbor Freight, to Sortimo, and everything in between (i.e., big box brands like Dewalt). I could spend my Sunday researching them all, but thought maybe someone else had already been down this road and shared results. I'm particularly interested in what justifies the substantial price jumps.

I am tempted to just go spend $50 bucks at harbor Freight and move on, but would like to avoid sorting all my stuff post plating (about 125 lbs. worth) only to find I made a poor choice and end up transferring to another system.

I’ve started using white duct tape. Using a blk marker the description really stands out. Also it’s very convenient to cut the tape to size for the container size being used

 

[Jeff Ivers]

The "best" storage system is a very subjective matter that depends on all of the following factors:
Volume of items to be stored
Variety of items to be stored
Expected rate of expansion of each of the above

A person who works on farm equipment will have very different needs that the person who tinkers with mechanics and woodworking. For most of us, a good label maker is a must have.

 

[DennisVog]

if the problem with the Durham is lack of labels, sounds like a good reason to buy a labelmaker. doesn't matter what you switch to, they all need labels.

Fair point on the label maker. I have one, but was thinking about the big sheets I've seen in the lids at the HW store. I can do individual compartments.

My question was less about the labeling and more the containers themselves. For example, I've seen some complaints that the Harbor Freight ones are not good for washers. I guess they are not tight fitting and if you pick it up by the handle your washers will slip between the compartments and lid and are no longer sorted.

 

[whateg01]

A few cars worth? I'm not sure what that means. Like, is 1 trunk full considered to be 1 cars worth? Or do you have a bom for building a car and the quantity to build 1 car is one cars worth?

Jeff is right about each person having their own needs. Some people manage with a handful of mason jars. For comparison, they are slow, oddly shaped and don't nest well, but the lids can be glued to the bottom of a shelf. I'm building drawers and then from there it will depend on the size of fastener. 1/4", 5/16", 3/8" each get a divided versastack box for the most common hardware and Schaller bins for the rest. Little machine screws will have divided boxes, as well, but of the type with smaller compartments for better organization. Similar for wood screws and sheetmetal screws. 7/16" and up get bigger wooden dividers in bigger drawers. I don't have a "full" set of sizes so individual bins for each size would be wasted space. If I found a new size that I hadn't used before, I would have to find space for another bin or divider or whatever, so for bolts, say 1/4" hex head, they are 3/4", 1", 1.25"-1.5", 1.75"-3", >3".

 

[DennisVog]

A few cars worth? I'm not sure what that means. Like, is 1 trunk full considered to be 1 cars worth? Or do you have a bom for building a car and the quantity to build 1 car is one cars worth?

I have two cars I'm restoring. So all the the pieces included in a remove, replate, and replace exercise. I also have 125 lbs of miscellaneous nuts and bolts I acquired from a shop that's closed that I will use as back-ups for things that inevitable get broken or lost.

 

[loganb]

Fair point on the label maker. I have one, but was thinking about the big sheets I've seen in the lids at the HW store. I can do individual compartments.

Couple minutes with a spreadsheet program (Excel, Google Sheets etc) could make you a grid to put on the lid. Fill it out by hand, put it in a clear sheet protector, when that drawer configuration is "set" you could type the values in, reprint and laminate it for posterity...or until the next reconfiguration

My question was less about the labeling and more the containers themselves. For example, I've seen some complaints that the Harbor Freight ones are not good for washers. I guess they are not tight fitting and if you pick it up by the handle your washers will slip between the compartments and lid and are no longer sorted.

If they aren't frequently leaving the garage and running around in a truck...is the tightness of the lid that critical? I think there will be a lot of them that will struggle keeping a 1/4" or smaller dia washer in the correct spot if stood vertical and shook around...so for those some small plastic zip type bags would work well. Write on them with sharpie as to size or what they came off, stick in a container and away you go.

The Durham's you've got are the gold standard for hardware/auto store type usage as they last forever with all metal construction. Clear lid ones are cheaper and have some other benefits.....here is the latest "organizer on steroid" type build I've seen:

Those are about the most expensive plastic organizers one could get...so same concept could be done on smaller scale with cheaper units....but Adam Savage needs are a bit different then what you're needing

 

[whateg01]

I have two cars I'm restoring. So all the the pieces included in a remove, replate, and replace exercise. I also have 125 lbs of miscellaneous nuts and bolts I acquired from a shop that's closed that I will use as back-ups for things that inevitable get broken or lost.

That's different than most people's storage needs. You need to be able to organize and keep track of specific fasteners for specific locations. A label maker is going to be slow. I would use a sharpie and take pictures as you remove them so you can see where they go. Things like the long bolt goes in the top hole will be helpful when it's time to go back together. It's going to be hard to find a space conscious solution that is neat and orderly. I think totes for general organization and then baggies for the fasteners would be good.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

If you are restoring cars, I would not be looking at parts storage solutions. As you disassemble, place parts in zip-loc bags and use a sharpie to label "hood hinge bolts" etc. Place the bags in totes labeled by car. Further label totes as "restored" or "unrestored" parts. I think U-Line is one of the companies that offers oversized zip-loc bags for parts that won't fit in the bags you buy at the grocery store.

 

[Jgaz]

Unless I misunderstand, you are looking for fastener organization for at least a couple of different purposes.
One is organization of fasteners for general purpose.
I use the smaller Durham drawers for some of my storage. This is how I label one of my metric fastener drawers.

This is one drawers in a three drawer cabinet where I store general purpose std. fasteners


The cabinet. It doesn’t store everything or a ton any one thing but it has saved me countless hours and trips to the store over the 30 years.


Project car fastener storage. I have extensive experience working as a Mechanic in the engineering dept of a major auto maker.
It was a common job to take a production vehicle and make an evaluation, test, or prototype vehicle out of it. Sometimes these were returned to stock.
Our system was to use heavy plastic bags labeled with a permanent marker for each component removed.

One bag might be “Left rear, LCA”. Another might be “R/S motor mount”.
Any needed notes were added to a 3x5 card that was sealed in the bag.
These bags were then placed in a tote which was labeled with vehicle #.

Yes, I’ve been accused of being OCD but I never had a complaint when someone else reassembled a car I’d taken apart 18 months ago.

I agree with @Jeff Ivers I just type slow

 

[DennisVog]

Yes, I’ve been accused of being OCD but I never had a complaint when someone else reassembled a car I’d taken apart 18 months ago.

This is super helpful. Thanks for the photos and write up.

I envision that my 125 lb assortment will look like your metric fastener drawers after I get them back from plating and sorted. Is that the Durham LARGE STEEL COMPARTMENT BOX, ADJUSTABLE?

My main annoyance will be keeping track of what comes back from the zinc platers. They want to throw everything into one big batch. I am taking tons of photos and made a spreadsheet to ID bolt sizes, markings and their manufacture part number as they come off the car.

 

[cannuck]

Whatever you go with, the ability to easily and quickly re-configure for different sizes is critical. Otherwise you will waste LOT of space still have stuff that doesn't fit anywhere. The ziploc bags for resto is absolutely critical. If you are anything like ANYONE I know doing a major resto, it is awfully hard to remember what fastener goes where when you get around to re-assembly in the next decade of two. I used to work out of a shop that did high voltage circuit breaker rebuilds. HUNDREDS of different designs with THOUSANDS of variations. The secret? Cell phone photo of EVERY detail when first being disassembled. Each pic worth an easy 1000 words. Bolt bins for bolts and nuts work not so bad if you can still buy inventory in cardboard boxes that fit into the back of each bin, but these days most of what I get is in a bulk bag. Genuine PITA.

Here are some useful ones - IF you are prepared to buy dividers from them

Plastic Shelf Bins - 7 x 24 x 4

Long-lasting storage for small parts and components. Nest to save storage space. Molded label holder to identify contents. Rear notch allows bins to slide and hang open on Shelf Bin Organizers. FDA compliant resins.ULINE offers over 41,000 boxes, plastic poly bags, mailing tubes, warehouse...

www.uline.ca

 

[Jgaz]

This is super helpful. Thanks for the photos and write up.

I envision that my 125 lb assortment will look like your metric fastener drawers after I get them back from plating and sorted. Is that the Durham LARGE STEEL COMPARTMENT BOX, ADJUSTABLE?

My main annoyance will be keeping track of what comes back from the zinc platers. They want to throw everything into one big batch. I am taking tons of photos and made a spreadsheet to ID bolt sizes, markings and their manufacture part number as they come off the car.

The Durham drawers I’m using are the smaller of the two sizes I’m familiar with.
Im not sure of the manufacturer of the three drawer cabinet I showed.

 

[isb cornbinder]

This is a few of the storage solutions I found on Craigslist. There are more. You get the idea

 

[RMERR]

An in-drawer option I've shared before is individual containers within the drawers. Can be easily taken to work area to use as many as needed then put away. Always stay separate, nothing gets mixed up. Just took a small investment from MMCarr, they sell every type and size of small containers.

 

[gearhead1]

OP, when you say ‘a few cars worth’, do you mean bolts that came off of cars as in restoration or repair?

 

[tyyost]

I started using the Milwaukee non packout bin boxes, the DeWalt $25, and the similar Husky branded ones with the assorted bins. Most of my bolts are in the Husky ones, I have a selection of 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, and 1/2 bolts, washers, and nuts.

The Milwaukee mostly hold construction screws, Grk stuff, and assorted woodworking hardware. The DeWalt are a stopgap, bought on Black Friday deals as they popped up and hold other random fasteners. The all have a similar form factor, and have two different sized bins.

I have had nothing but nightmares with open topped fastener storage, from rust, mouse nests, and sawdust. I won’t go back to open bins if I have any choice. As far as car parts, I’m in the ziplock camp. I’d also add to the sharpie markings a date, as often I take cell pics of assemblies as they come apart, dates make it super easy to find the before pics a year or two later.

 

[gahrajmahal]

If you are restoring cars, I would not be looking at parts storage solutions. As you disassemble, place parts in zip-loc bags and use a sharpie to label "hood hinge bolts" etc. Place the bags in totes labeled by car. Further label totes as "restored" or "unrestored" parts. I think U-Line is one of the companies that offers oversized zip-loc bags for parts that won't fit in the bags you buy at the grocery store.

^^this^^ is what I did for the cars I have restored.

For my general nuts and bolts sometimes I use tea tins and using clear packing tape, tape one of the items to the outside.

 

[scooby074]

New bolts get stored in tilt bins. Project bolts get stored in cheap ziplocks labled with sharpie