Nut-case

[1948berg]

I have been trying to tidy my workshop today, sorting boxes, glasses, jars, buckets, drawers(without a desk to put them in) , tobacco , medicine, candy and cake boxes, all filled with screws, bolts, nails, wood screws, nuts in all different seizes, measures and lenghts. A mix of UNC UNF Metric and even Withworth, all with different thread, and all mixed together. Then there were Philips, pozidrive, torx, unbraco and old fashioned for the flat schrewdriwer, in black, brass and galvanised, for tree and bodywork. And expansion bolts, without the nut, some nuts with nylon-lock, some with crown and many with ruined threads. I started to throw some in the waste bucket, but it is not easy. There should be some sort of death squadron that you could call that would come at night and do the job for you while you slept, then it would be out of your hands, and the responsibility was not yours. Maybe a TBN team with black coveralls and caps with TBN in white letters on the back? Just a thought--
Iwill try again tomorrow

 

[beenthere]

I know, and am sure many others too, exactly what you mean. I pick things up and then lay them back down just before tossing them in the trash. I too would like the 'reaper' to show up when I'm not looking (heck, can't find those nuts and bolts when I need them, so go to town to buy them anyway /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ).

 

[Birdhunter1]

When my grandma and grandpa sold their house and both moved into an assisted living resort I inherited his collection of hardware, nuts and bolts, assorted junk, more files (actual files) than I'll ever need and assorted hand tools out the wazoo.
He owned an excavation business for years then he was also a farmer..till he sold out of both but having the construction/farmer blood in him he still kept a bunch of stuff.
I know exactly what you mean by the "do I throw it away" or "organize it" syndrome.

What I did was if it had a flathead I pitched it, I don't like flathead screws at all and replace them with phillips head whenever I have to fiddle with them. Nuts and bolts.....if they had good threads I kept em, if they were big bolts I kept them (unless severly rusted), if they were wall anchors of some sort I kept them depending on if I like that type of anchor or not, otherwise they were gone.

Then there was the assortment of stuff I didn't know whether to pitch it or keep it..... it currently sits in 3 5-gallon buckets in the corner of my small shed, but since it is valuable it is still there!

 

[pat32rf]

We drink a lot of Coke in our household and I find that by cutting the top portion off with a sharp knife, then melting 3 holes around the rim with the soldering gun I have clear, cheap, tough containers that will hang in all those screws that stick out of my floor joists and the wall studs of the garage. Ya still gotta sort em but you can at least see whats in em and grab the 1/4" bolts (nuts, washers the works) when you need some. The smaller bottles are great for those screwgun bits and the large ones hold 1/2 bolts. They are also good for hanging paint brushes in while they harden( or soak and soften if you remember in time)

 

[JRP]

I made vertical sorting boxes out of 3/4 plywood and 1/8 tub surround masonite. I put nuts in one, washers in another, sheet metal/wood screws in another, etc. There is never enough time to sort each size screw.

The point is group by type and maybe big bolts or little bolts, not by every possible size.

With the vertical sorting boxes you store the box vertical, and when you lay it flat it has a tray for sorting and picking the size you need. The boxes are rectangular so you get more use of the volume, unlike with coffee cans.

If you are interested send me a message and I'll post a pic.

 

[1948berg]

Always interested in pictures. Seeing other peoples workshops and "patents" is very interesting and inspirating. Maybe it is time for new posts or forums: "Show me your workshop", and maybe "show me your patents"
The pic is my workshop, not quite finished yet.

 

[bobodu]

Brother...I feel your pain!!(BIG roll of eyes..)
Yesterday and today are "Clean up the shop holidays".I got a little better at the nuts and bolts department...tossed three gallons /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I found out that if you leave em out in the rain,they get all rusty and it's MUCH easier then to get rid of them!! Now that this has been done,everytime I'm in TSC,I buy two pounds of presorted shiny bolts and matching nuts.Another trick I use is to just leave em on the gravel floor (unless they HAVE to go back in something) and let God do with them as He will.Of course,ya then run the risk of flat tires or gettin' poked in the back..but that can be attributed to God's will too. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Now,there are still a few cans and broken boxes and bags of shiny TSC fasteners with a few leftovers in em.Thinking of building a tray with a hole in the corner,maybe two holes in opposite corners.Dump in a SMALL handful ( don't wanna get overwhelmed...) and sort out two types of stuff.
I went to Dollar General yesterday and bought four sweater boxes and two shoe boxes.These will be labeled "Hydraulic,Electric,plumbing etc",and put on the new shelves I made."The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry."...BUT I now have a plan,and I can guess at the outcome..so it's kinda like rewatching an old movie and I can hope for the day when they release an alternate ending
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
My new problem is what to do with the cutoffs and bits and pieces of steel.... /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

 

[Taylortractornut]

I hear ya to about the bad hardware. I kinda save some of the bigger nuts if they are damaged as the make good hinges with the threads are drilled out. The way scrap iron is I put them in buckets the really bad ones. Of course my shop looks like Sanford and Son garage. I found that for a good wall shelf and container theres a scrapyard on the side of the road next to work that deals in electronics. THey have phone company power units and the make great cabinets. Then they chunk a few beefy roller slides. I get some sheet metal from them and have it broke into what i need for bins. At work I run the landfill for a motor home plant and I get alot of take off hardware that they dont use in the bus chassis. We arent supposed to scavenge but once in a while we have to check for Household garbage and while Im walking i look for hardware.
THey always also throw away small plywood bins from their warehouses that I pick up to make nice containers. I have a friend that comes by and once a month picked in my old bolts that are damaged he and his wife make art projects out of them.

 

[Paddy]

Years ago I worked as an engineer at a factory. When a proto type was disassembled the hardware was tossed. I started saving hand fulls. The buckets grew. So one day I built a heavy duty storage unit. Basicly it's a plywood shelving unit with 50 plywood boxs. I keep nails and nuts/bolts in it. The boxs come out and can be brought to the project. The entire unit sits on casters so it will move easy.

Now when I see a handfull of hard ware, I know where it goes

Patrick

 

[SnowRidge]

We need a photo!!!

Or two. Gotta have pics. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif