Re: Nut & Bolt Storage
Based on a thread I found on GJ a couple of years ago (I can't seem to find it at the moment...), I built my hardware and small parts organizer using the Harbor Freight medium parts cases.
Mine holds 46 cases, based on the largest carcass I could build using a single sheet of 3/4" plywood. Shelves are made of 1/2" plywood and joined to the frame using pocket screws. The shelves are full depth so I could get a larger number of screws joining the shelves to the frame (some of the cases get pretty heavy!).
Because I wanted the shelves to be full depth and tolerances were pretty tight, I cut out openings for the handles. All of the front edges got a quick round over with the router.
The three sizes of bins that come with the cases are well suited for most general hardware uses, though it seems like the medium and small sizes are in the highest demand.
Unfortunately you can't buy the bins without the cases, so you might end up buying a few cases for extra bins. I did end up creating some free bins by including specific tools with their respective hardware in the cases. Because all the bins lock into place when the lids are closed, there is no need to have
all the bins in place to keep things from moving around. The photo below shows my PEX crimper and cutter in the case with the bands. I do the same with rivets / riveter and a few other tools.
I've begun to do more electronics work in my workshop, so I've been accumulating more small components. I wanted to stick with the same type of parts cases, but unfortunately to sort very small parts with these cases results in way too much wasted volume to be effective. A bit of browsing on Thingiverse, however, revealed that the 3D printing community was way ahead of me. A savvy user created a tool that allows you to generate customizable bins that fit the Harbor Freight cases.
The
really cool function of the tool is the ability to generate stacking bins that are fractions of the full bin height, so you can sort more components within the same footprint. For example, I'm printing the half height, 5 compartment bins for sorting resistors.
All in all, this was a pretty cost effective to add a ton of storage and organization in a pretty small footprint. I think I used one 3/4" sheet and two 1/2" sheets of plywood. With a coupon, the medium parts cases get down to $5.99 each. I'll likely buy a stack of spares, because I'm bound to drop and break a case at some point, but they seem pretty robust.
