the most important thing in the shop when working on projects

[Ted Summey]

I have received my Dad's box of odds and ends then my neighbor moved and gave me his bucket of odds and ends and that is on top of my box of odds and ends. I am thinking they need to go to the recycler and I need to start over. Every time I get ready to make that move I have to fix something and the repair part is in one of those boxes. Maybe the next rainy day I will sort them out.........probably not.

 

[troutsqueezer]

Eye and ear protection.

 

[brin]

I have received my Dad's box of odds and ends then my neighbor moved and gave me his bucket of odds and ends and that is on top of my box of odds and ends. I am thinking they need to go to the recycler and I need to start over. Every time I get ready to make that move I have to fix something and the repair part is in one of those boxes. Maybe the next rainy day I will sort them out.........probably not.

Same exact thing almost...My Dads , My father in Laws and mine...all of our odds and ends or junk boxes ...I have three of them and one or the other has rescued me more than Home Depot or Lowes...90% of the time I will find what I need in one of those junk bins...Problem is how to restock them...they are made up of odds, ends, scraps, misc. nuts, bolts, screws etc....how do you buy such a wide spectrum of disparate junk to restock...? :confused3:

 

[kevin37b]

Everytime I pitch one of those , I need everything in it .

 

[GLyford]

My Dad had about 6' of workbench covered in little bins and boxes all of odds and ends, then a shelf above that with about 4 of the big plastic drawer organizers, and a whole mess of appliance and small engine parts and such in buckets and bins under the benches. I filled a 4x8 trailer with just the "good" stuff to take home, and my brother and I between us still brought about 2 tons of metal scrap to the recyclers consisting of broken appliance parts, worn out pistons, stripped fasteners, bent and rusty lag bolts, brittle and cracking boat trailer rollers and who-knows-what-else.

It's been a handful of years and I still haven't sorted it out, but I have already been able to complete several projects just with what I've been able to find "on top."

 

[riptides]

Something to stop the bleeding when I injure myself.

 

[J F]

Something to stop the bleeding when I injure myself.

This...and A/C in the summer. :laughing: (Some heat in the winter ain't too bad either, but we have pretty mild winters.)

 

[forgeblast]

Something to stop the bleeding when I injure myself.

Liquid bandage, I have cut myself a few times. Most often when filing a chansaw blade, the liquid bandages work real fast.

 

[J F]

I've also got the misc. screw/bolt bucket, and a small trash can with all diff. grits of "semi-used" sandpaper that sits on a work bench that's always getting raided.

 

[SPIKER]

I have about 10 of the bigger Cool Aid Mix plastic ~quart jugs which have large wide mouth lids. I keep the stuff separated (SOMEWHAT) in them. I used Wide Black magic Marker & write 1/4" thru 1/2" in 1/8" increments for bolts & nuts & washers on them individually. so all the 5/16 bolts are together with nuts & washers. they dont break when dropped and dont spill too bad if ya knock em over with lids off. the lids hold about 1cup of stuff when ya pour the thing out to sort thru them.

I have more issues with tools as I lay them down and go after something else or worse carry the tool with me to go get xxx and come back to use both parts without the tool... Then I head out after the tool and set the dang part down half way over to where I left the tool thinking I dont need to carry the part all way over there & that I'll grab it on way back past. Usually I'm back under the car/truck/tractor when I realize I have the tool the fastener but no part . Out from under the thing to hunt down the missing part & again set the tool or the fasteners down somewhere else...

that is why my tag line has been this way for ever...

Mark