Small parts storage?

[PAToyota]

There was a thread recently about tool storage in shops. How about small parts? Do people keep an assortment of nuts, bolts, electrical connectors, whatever on hand? Store them in baby food jars? Boxes on shelves?

I came across these and thought they might be a good idea:


A bit on the expensive side, but would keep the dirt out of things and keep it all organized. They are shown mounted in a contractor's van, but I'd hang them on the wall of the shop.

[DarkEternal]

bought these from harbor freight. They are kinda flimsy but do work and it was very cheap. Like 20 bucks for all of those.

[haystax]

I lucked into a Larson steel drawer stack at a local auction, really handy for that type of thing. For small stuff and screw assortments, rivets, etc - stuff you might use outside on a repair or sumoething - we use the plastic briefcase style compartment things. The ones with the single lid and lots of little bins inside. Kinda handy to take with you when you're not sure what exact sheet metal or machine screw you need. They slide in a plywood "box" next to the steel Larson drawer set.

I think they are "Stack-On" brand from Wal-Mart - pretty good though, have lasted four or five years now.

[PAToyota]

The two things that drew me to the ones pictured are that they are sealed and that you can see what is inside of them. I have a few of the metal divided "briefcase" style bins that slide into tracks under my workbench. The problem is that you cannot see what is in them. Not to mention that with one lid I've ended up spilling everything out of them a few times. I have two of the ones with the metal case and the clear bins, but those have always been hard to see what was in them.

My grandfather always used baby food jars with the lids screwed in rows to the floor joists above his workbench in his basement shop (and other types of jars for larger stuff). His basement was only about six and a half to seven foot floor to ceiling, though. My shop ceiling is about ten and a half feet. So that doesn't quite work.

Just looking for options.

[cebby]

Build a shelf above your workbench that drops down 2-3 feet from the ceiling. You can put your tool cases on the shelf and then you have somewhere to mount the jars. I put lights under mine, but with the right lights, you could get both under there.

I have a 9' ceiling I think:

[Toploader]

The ones you have a pic of look nice. I try to avoid using glass jars for storing stuff...had too many drop and bust.
Those clear bins are nice and so are the clear organizer box's.


I have one of these cabinets that comes in real handy as well. Love it, need to get a couple more...(Not Clear though, I just label the drawers.)


Got one of these wall mount units that is clear and cheap from OSH and has lasted a long time. Also checkout www.McMaster.com tons of cool storage products.

[tooler]

i have three of the 39 drawer units, grey/clear, that cebby posted a pic of. picked them up at sears on sale for under $10.00 each. over time i've had stuff in boxes, jars, etc, but since consolidating everything into one area and having it all accessible, i've been much happier.

guess i could also add that i use paint cans for time to time for temp hardware storage...until i can get stuff sorted. and also have many of the five gallon plastic buckets that i toss parts into. durable, easy to carry, lids available, stackable. i've been pleased.

[GRMhick]

I use both clear plano tackle boxes for nuts and bolts, and those disposable tupperware for most everything else. I have them stacked on the work bench, in cabnets, etc. They are easy to see what I have and where it is.

I just havent figured out what I can put on the tackle boxes to label them that wont rub off yet (been using a sharpie)

[JesterTac]

Originally Posted by GRMhick

I use both clear plano tackle boxes for nuts and bolts, and those disposable tupperware for most everything else. I have them stacked on the work bench, in cabnets, etc. They are easy to see what I have and where it is.

I just havent figured out what I can put on the tackle boxes to label them that wont rub off yet (been using a sharpie)

I use self adhesive laser printer labels (small size).

The sharpie writes well on them, and you can always put a new sticker over the old one, or remove and replace if you decide to change the storage locations at a later date.

Just make sure you clean the surface off well so they stick. When I attach to hard plastics, its fine, but I have to clean off my RubberMaid totes to get them to stick well.

[EMG7895]

I use the tackle boxes, coffee cans, plastic jars, and old refridgerator shelf/drawers mounted on the wall