Parts Bins, Storage: How do You Know What you Have?

Fishing Lure boxes, various sizes give a few or lots of places to put parts, some are adjustable.  and they are relatively inexpensive and many have clear covers.

I like the PLANO boxes with hinged clear covers on each side and no hidden space in the middle. I use them in several hobbies.

me too!! clear fishing lure boxes work great.

i also use used perscription bottles and store them

in a shoe box.

those fishing lure boxes are not always specific to "fishing"

either. I have found them in many other stores and departments

other than fishing related.

Walmart(kitchen section), Dollar store, Michael's, etc.

I have:

a) a shelf full of the old long storage boxes for 3.5" floppy disks that store parts from various vendors like PCS, Keil-Line, Walthers, Grandt Line, Tichy, etc.

b) another shelf full of old kit boxes filled with various contruction materials like short scale lumber, scribed siding, brass, stryene, etc.

c) a metal file cabinet parts bin about 4' tall with hald size drawers that was John Armstrong's.

d) 2 racks between the studs in the wall holding long scale and dimensional lumber, and then 5 more boxes (~16" sq) holding the rest of the scale lumber, roof stock, and flat stock.

e) 2 parts bins units holding 12 drawers of structure building supplies.

There's more, and then more again, but the I can tell you that it's worth stopping, clearing out your shop area, and gettting seriously organized if you are going to be building stuff on a regular basis.

Got some of these at Harbor Freight, really nice for only $12.99. You can store all your small parts in the pull out boxes and store your tools, meters & larger stuff in the top. These are very nice and just the right size. Pull out containers have adjustable dividers. Should probably go get some more before they raise the price or worse, stop carrying them!

http://www.harborfreight.com/h...4-drawers-68238.html

Then get a Brother or Dymo label maker (I already had a Brother) and label the cases & storage boxes & even bins if you want. Labelers are cheap, but they really get you for the label refills, like buying razor blades!

If you get the Harbor Freight stuff, examine it carefully, I got 2 that were broken (1 top & 1 bottom). Fortunately there was a line at the check out and I noticed the damage while still in line. (They are really pretty strong, these broken ones must have been hit pretty hard or dropped quite a distance.)

Among the storage units I use are:

Arko-mils storage (parts) cabinets

Old storage cabinets for computer punch (Hollerith) cards

Old storage cabinet for addressograph plates

various small boxes

I have a baseball card "box of boxes".  Each box has a label on it with what is in there. 

I have many tool boxes that are labeled for, paint, detail parts, Evergreen plastic, etc.. Also have see through plastic shoe box size storage containers for small parts, and large ones for people & stuff that are still in the packaging. Room full of metal storage shelves that I am setting up to store trains, die cast autos and structure kits.

Have two of the Harbor Freight wheeled tool cabinets in my workshop/kitchen for small modeling tools.

But you are right, keeping organized and knowing where stuff is located is a challenge.

Paul Goodness

I really, really appreciate each and every one of your responses! Thanks for all the great ideas, specific items and general comments. I started sorting this evening. I'm finding stuff I don't remember buying and then again, I'm finding a whole of stuff I bought, then bought more....Thanks again everyone! Great information. Terry

A late LHS owner once told me to toss out everything I did not use on a project because storing and finding again was an exercise in futility.

His way, you already know you don't have it so you have no qualms about any purchase!

I keep my parts in drawers, bins, fishing boxes...pretty much organized but over time you get so much.  I try to keep areas separate like post war, MTH, Lionel and so forth.

A trick that works great for me is to open and look through every drawer, bin or whatever once a month.  At this time I put things out of place in there proper area.  When I first started doing this it took a few hours. Now fairly quickly I can go through it all in half an hour.  This also keeps it very fresh in your mind exactly what you have and where it is.  It also helps eliminate buying duplicate parts you forgot you had.

That's why God invented coffee cans! I have over 50 years worth and buy new when I can't find or remember where I put it the last time Extras go into the coffee cans.

Dave G.

quote:

A late LHS owner once told me to toss out everything I did not use on a project because storing and finding again was an exercise in futility.

Increased his sales too.

Here are some pictures of the shelves and work area in my model shop. I hang some things off of the peg boards, and store a lot of small things in these pull-out drawers. I store left over scrap materials in open shallow boxes so I can see everything in them easily. Of course there has to be music, and some of it has to be Neil Young.

Alan Graziano

Alan, I like your part about the music. I also have to have a little noise/music to break up the silence. I am very envious of your workbench and parts bins. Makes me want to go down and clean things up a little......NOT

Very nice shop!

Those pull-out drawers look great. Where did you find them?

I use the clear plastic "display" boxes that 1:43 model cars come in.  turned over, they make a fantastic clear plastic bin.  I most have 100 or more, of various sizes.  I label them with a taped label on the front and just have them sitting on shelves above my workbench.

CW,

I bought a bunch of excess materials from a professional model builder. The drawers were part of the deal. I have seen them in the McMaster-Carr catalogue of industrial supplies.

Alan Graziano

I use the Sterilite clear plastic boxes (they stack).  Each box gets a label with a number. That number is a tab on an Excel spreadsheet.  I try to keep like things together - such as electronic components, Plastruct items, wire, detail parts, building parts, etc.  Each box has a copy of the Excel worksheet in it.

George

i use most of what others are using as far as storage goes.my big mistake was not labeling the parts i bought.

on top of that, newer parts i bought were tossed right on top of previous purchases.to this day im not sure what part's go to what engine.

do make sure you label your part's.having only been in o scale for a short number of year's(5 yrs) it amazing how many storage bin's i have with parts only stored in them.

thop.....