Parts organization

[countrybumpkin]

Show me. Your parts organizers! Big, small, I love them all! Looking for some inspiration for my shop!

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

 

[drivesitfar]

CB: i've got a lot more in my thread, but I like flat files, old spinning hardware bins and metal cabinets with all sorts of size drawers.

ALL: maybe my favorites are lyon rotating bins and i've got one that is 5.5 foot wide and 3 that are about 3 foot wide.

 

[u2slow]

Love the ideas

Just getting started myself. This is my first stab at anything this high-density.

 

[Jagmandave]

I found this at a friends shop, it had been rotated out of service and I bought it for a song ($25) Two things I like about it are that the bins are covered, so the dirt doesn't get in there and they're easy to read the labels as they're facing upward a bit.

It's on a steel a frame, and there are bins on both sides, and the whole thing is on casters which is good as I don't have a lot of room in my shop and I can wheel it out of the way when I need to.

 

[drmarkr]

Search function.....

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39367

 

[Bretny]

I like clear parts bins. I can easily see what's in them and not need to label everything. Also. If you think you have enough small parts bins..triple up from there. Extra organized storage is very nice to have.

You don't plan to stop buying hardware right?

 

[lis2323]

Here’s a few shots of mine.

 

[chrismenke]

My small parts storage is split between umpteen Radio Shack parts cabinets from the demise of Radio Shack, and a bunch of microfilm cabinets. Good for wine and lightbulbs.

The Radio Shack cabinets hold up well for lighter stuff, but I can abuse the snot out of the microfilm cabinets and I'm not even stressing them. I imagine these giant drawers which were supposed to hold densely packed film reels are kind scoffing at my uses.

I have AkroMils bins and bin cups which go in the microfilm cabinets so that I can carry all of a certain fastener group to a bench or a cart.

 

[MFolks]

A Man,can never have too much hardware,if not for his own use,but for the neighbor,or his friends.

 

[lis2323]

A Man,can never have too much hardware,if not for his own use,but for the neighbor,or his friends.

Only one neighbor. No friends. No problem

 

[MWMWMW]

This the beginning of my collection, but it’s for my small real estate company. We’re sorting all kinds of building supplies. I don’t have this kind of need for my personal garage. These cardboard bins are cheap and come in basically any size you want.

The first set of shelves:

Second set of shelves for larger plumbing parts:

A close up:

 

[IMCA38]

First pic is a bolt bin that my dad and I built probably 20 years ago. Second is a cabinet I got at an auction for $60. It has 64 drawers.

 

[tarmy]

Here is some of mine...

 

[lis2323]

Here is some of mine...


]

Nice work! I’m always tempted to just label EVERYTHING “miscellaneous”. [emoji1]

 

[brownbagg]

i keep all my nuts and bolts up the road at lowes, when the shop becomes a warehouse, Im done, time go inside

 

[Jagmandave]

Brownbagg makes a good point, it's great to have all this stuff right to hand especially when you're in the middle of a project, but when you have a Lowes, Home Depot and an Ace all within a 5 min or less drive, do we really need to warehouse all this stuff?

That's why I've been going thru all my old stuff and getting rid of as much of it as possible. I'm trying to keep a minimum of NEW nuts bolts and washers - just the things I need most often and now I only work on a very limited range of stuff instead of "everything".

I'm hoping to get it all down to just my A frame storage - it has 140 bins on it, that should be plenty - nothing else..... that way when the time comes to move to assisted living or into the dirt, it should be easy to get rid of the entire thing in one shot.

 

[lis2323]

i keep all my nuts and bolts up the road at lowes, when the shop becomes a warehouse, Im done, time go inside

Actually a very sound concept because no matter how much stuff you have you will still need to go to the store for something you DON’T.

 

[eyeball]

This is my setup. I have a smaller model that holds 4 of the cases that sits on my bench top as well.

 

[larry4406]

This is my setup. I have a smaller model that holds 4 of the cases that sits on my bench top as well.

eyeball - I like that slide out surface to hold the bin you are sorting from!

 

[machsnell]

Eyeball

Are those the HF containers? How are they holding up?

Trying to figure out a direction and might go that route or similar.



Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[countrybumpkin]

Nice!

I was looking at containers the other day. I didn't care for the units with plastic latches. Any issues with those so far?

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

 

[LeeG]

i keep all my nuts and bolts up the road at lowes, when the shop becomes a warehouse, Im done, time go inside

I have a Home Depot 1 mile away. Assuming I have nothing out in the driveway to secure or put away, it takes me at least 15 minutes each round trip. Since I only have a limited amount of time to work on projects, it was worth it to me to have “in house” my most common 100 or so fasteners. Not to mention cost savings ($0.50/ea vs $0.09/ea for M5 cap screws) for anything other than grade 1 hex bolts.

Anything that I need in large quantity, I’ll buy as needed, but it is nice to have a box or so each of a common range of stuff, and if you are going to have it, it is best to keep it organized.

 

[u2slow]

but when you have a Lowes, Home Depot and an Ace all within a 5 min or less drive, do we really need to warehouse all this stuff?

It takes some of us at least half a day to visit a big-box store. Otherwise its a 1 hour detour to collect anything from 'local' stores. Some of my most productive hours are after 5pm too.

Yes, I need to keep some inventory.

 

[MWMWMW]

I’m in the camp of keeping a relatively good supply of fasteners and parts around. It invariably will take me an hour to put everything back in the garage so I can close it, go to the store, probably run into someone I know, then come home. I typically only have 1-2 hours to work on something at a time so if a part is missing I’m basically done for the day. Everything is much faster and smoother if the parts are there. Plus you can get bulk prices and occasional discounts on stuff.

All that being said, I’m don’t need to be fastenal either. Really it’s a balance for each persons situation.

 

[eyeball]

Eyeball

Are those the HF containers? How are they holding up?

Trying to figure out a direction and might go that route or similar.



Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

They are Stanley branded organizers. I remember comparing them with the HF ones and for some now-forgotten reason, I decided that they Stanleys would fit my needs better.

When I was buying them, I found the best price by far was Zoro.

Nice!

I was looking at containers the other day. I didn't care for the units with plastic latches. Any issues with those so far?

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

Even though one of my pictures shows a missing latch, I have found them to be very durable.

I originally had a setup that just held boxes by top edge running on wooden rails with no bottom support. That worked fine for the vast majority of my storage needs.

However, over time I found myself stuffing some of them to the gills with steel hardware and they began to sag a bit in the middle. This led me to the redesigned red rack you see a few posts earlier.

 

[cvairwerks]

I’m waiting on Dewalt’s ToughSystem 2 to come out before I make a decision. I want the same size cups in the cases and don’t want to have to buy a bunch f extras to get them.

For me, I keep a bunch of hardware onhand, as I have to order it 99% of the time. Washers are a good example.....3 thicknesses, 3 materials per size.

 

[brownsmustang]

I'm with brownbagg, my local fastenal is a 5 min drive away by can am, I probably needed another energy drink by then anyways.

 

[66HertzClone]

Eyeball, did you make those frames or convert them for this from their intended use?

 

[Pitalplace]

My bolt bins and bench storage. I use printer paper boxes to store larger parts. Boxes can be marked for different tractors, equipment, trucks and cars. The double printer boxes are stored on shelves under the work benches and the single boxes are on a wooden shelf unit that was in my grandfather's shop.

 

[QwikKotaTx]

The Stanley organizers are much nicer than the HF version but are about 3X the price. The last few Stanley's I have bought have been made in the USA as well, an added bonus. The older ones are made in Israel and the same quality.

 

[pi_guy]

Brownbagg makes a good point, it's great to have all this stuff right to hand especially when you're in the middle of a project, but when you have a Lowes, Home Depot and an Ace all within a 5 min or less drive, do we really need to warehouse all this stuff?

For one reason buying in quantity 1k, 100 count vs few is more efficient.
Also I stock what is not carried at standard hardware stores.
Up to over 40 Durham steel drawers
I have 15 plastic drawers with just pins or connectors for wire harness repair.
Think I have three drawers of just rivets, a few drawers of AN plumbing stuff.
If you do niche stuff you have niche hardware that is not commonly found.

 

[southalabama]

When you live 40 mins one way to Lowe’s or Home Depot it changes your perspective.

If I stop what I’m doing and go to the local hardware store two miles away is a chore. I see clients etc. It also kills the momentum.

 

[mpire]

Ikea has dirt cheap clear bins that I buy for a couple bucks when I go.

They stack up pretty well, and I built some cabinets from 3/4 oak plywood and put on some ikea cabinet doors. Works pretty well, keeps everything out of sight. They are roughly 6 foot tall by 8 feet wide, 2 foot wide doors. Cost me under 200 bucks in total.

One cabinet is car cleaning supplies/towels, one is tall lawn tools, the other two are just clear bins.

They have several sizes, I use those two. They are $2 and $3 and stack nicely.

If I did it again, I might put slots in the sides of the cabinet so the bin sides slide into the cabinets, but that's about the only thing I would change.

 

[atch]

You guys are all pretty high tech compared to me. I've never felt I could afford the setups you're showing. The 10 drawer file cabinets that were used for file cards are pretty easy to come by now and 1/2 gallon milk cartons fit into them very nicely when cut to the right height.

 

[zmotorsports]

My small parts storage is split between umpteen Radio Shack parts cabinets from the demise of Radio Shack, and a bunch of microfilm cabinets. Good for wine and lightbulbs.

The Radio Shack cabinets hold up well for lighter stuff, but I can abuse the snot out of the microfilm cabinets and I'm not even stressing them. I imagine these giant drawers which were supposed to hold densely packed film reels are kind scoffing at my uses.

I have AkroMils bins and bin cups which go in the microfilm cabinets so that I can carry all of a certain fastener group to a bench or a cart.

That's AWESOME. Very well organized.

 

[QwikKotaTx]

You guys are all pretty high tech compared to me. I've never felt I could afford the setups you're showing. The 10 drawer file cabinets that were used for file cards are pretty easy to come by now and 1/2 gallon milk cartons fit into them very nicely when cut to the right height.

There's nothing wrong with that at all. Looks great. As long as you can find what you need quickly and things are separated it doesn't matter what it looks like.

 

[u2slow]

You guys are all pretty high tech compared to me. I've never felt I could afford the setups you're showing. The 10 drawer file cabinets that were used for file cards are pretty easy to come by now and 1/2 gallon milk cartons fit into them very nicely when cut to the right height.

Agreed!

I always dig through my recycling for good containers.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I'm jealous. I don't have the space for such niceties.

Tommy

 

[eyeball]

Eyeball, did you make those frames or convert them for this from their intended use?

Made them myself.

 

[countrybumpkin]

Really awesome setups fellas. Keep em coming!