Nut, bolt, screw, washer Organization

Hey hambers,

I know we all use every possible container, rattle can lid, plastic containers etc for nuts and bolts or we simply bag and tag things while taking things apart. I just started a job where I am working on airplanes. It isnt like cars where most nuts/bolts/screws are the same or similar. There are so many different type. So I have been using cupcake tins for now to try to keep things organized. But I am looking for some better ideas. What do you guys use?

Also do any of you guys use a jig or some type of part organizer for when you disassemble engines? I have seen wooden fixtures to hold pistons, valves, rocker arms etc. airplane engines are very similar just bigger. So I would like to see your ideas and what you use. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks guy!


Thanks,
Skrach
www.VividlyVintage.com

 

wow I thought for sure I would get some innovative ideas but so far zero replies.. Maybe a bump will help..

 

Heavy duty Zip-Loc baggies with 3x5 cards and a black Sharpie marker......

 

x2 on ziplock bags. with masking tape and sharpie label.

 

i do the bag thing too, but i remember an incredibly cool organized trolley kinda thing ive seen somewhere. im sure i have pics i'll see if i can find'em fer ya.

 

There. the 1st is actually a tool trolley, i seemed to remember it was a nut n bolts one. its real nice still, and think i'll make myself one eventually.
Probably mixed up the 2.
The drawer is genius imo, but needs bigger.
More funny than useful thou.

 

Kool Thanks, I like the cart idea. I am sure there is someone in aviation that has created some sort of simple way of staying organized lol I am just so new to aviation that I am kind of walking into this blindly. Thanks for both of those suggestions. I love how simple that hardware sorter is.

 

I seen these at harbor freight and I plan to pick them up and see how these work out.

http://toolguyd.com/2009/05/stanley-portable-25-compartment-organizer/

But now I need to build a holder that fits on a parts cart that holds, rocker arms, push rods, exhaust manifolds, intake manifolds, fuel atomization parts, etc

 

I use these, I write on the outside whats inside, I can't be bothered going out in the shed to take a photo. but the top row is 1/4 then 5/16 then 3/8 each row has say 6 compartments so, 1" ,1 1/2" UNF and UNC then flat washers and spring washers then nuts. one box is zinc plated only one is stainless

the boxes I have are from swap meets and only $7-8 each, I also have old bolts/washers/nuts sorted the same, then one box for nails, and one box for screws and one box for electrical bits.

I got so sick of tipping tin cans over as a boy to find stuff at dads place that I vowed that I would find a better way.

this was is so much better I have even converted my oldman!

you waste next to no time finding stuff. but it does require some input once or twice a year to put all the misc. stuff back into the containers.

the other beauty of it is when I go to the bolt shop I know exactly what I am getting low on. I buy boxes not small numbers and keep all the half boxes together so I can refill when needed.

I will go take a photo it makes more sense.

 

Here @ Cobham Aviation in South OZ we use fabric bags with pull-ties (like a shoe-lace sewn into the bag).Hence being you can scribe on the bags with felt-tip pens stating whats inside. The point being you can re-use unlike zip-lock bags because they dont last too long..i find the pen marks wear off quicker also....

james

 

Yeah we have the little fabric bags too and we use safety wire to keep the hardware secure to the parts. thanks guys for the info

Thanks,
Skrach
www.VividlyVintage.com

 

this is what I am talking about.

I have 10 of these loaded up with various things. makes life easier. As I said, takes some initial organisation but works well. Pity the rest of my shed wasn't as organised...

 

There's two sides to it:

a) What do you do with stuff when you're dismantling

b) What do you do with the 'inventory' stuff

For (a) I'm a ziploc kind of guy, you have to use the heavy (freezer) bags, and my wife's in the food business so I've finally figured out that there's a bunch more sizes than the supermarket-level stuff.

For (b) I'm only 25 years late to the party, a few years back I bought a few Vidmar drawer cabinets when the Mare Island Naval Shipyard electrical shop assets were auctioned off. Based on the scattering of old resistor packages in the bottom they appear to date from the early Nixon administration. Barely have room for them, really, but I love 'em. For bins and cups and etc to organize the drawers this guy:

http://stores.ebay.com/R-Schaller-Equipment-and-Inventory

is about the best deal I've found.

 

I work aviation as well and we use the fabric bags with a paper tag sewn on the side to identify part location and work order number and simply tie it to the area or part we are working.

 

I do the zip-loc baggy and masking tape thing also. I have also used cardboard and pushed the bolts through so you can keep them in order. You can use a sharpie on the cardboard to identify them as well.

 

I use things similar to what flatoz pictures, mostly Plano Stow 'N Go or Stowaway organizers. I had a ton of metric fasteners left over from a Japanese machine at work so I took 'em home, sorted them into thread size and length, and filled four plastic organizers with all the different bits.

Same with car work, I have a couple of larger ones that I put bits in when rebuilding carbs, plug boots, etc on my motorcycle.

 

I've posted this before. We got a boat load of bins from where my buddy works. we decided what we wanted to do and here it is. You can see that we have the bench stock not only by size but have the stainless in bins by themselves ( this is all thrown away stuff...............go figure ). We talked about and decided that the only real way to find what you need is to pour out the contents ............then comes cleanup. We added a hole in the top of the bench.........slide the empty bin into the open slot and push your stuff back into the bin...........put the bin back where it goes......works really well

 

Very clever.

 

I'd love to run across a (cheap to free) pharmacy cabinet or library card catalog with all the drawers.
That would be great, especially a mid century modern one in the Heywood-Wakefield style.
I'd put lots of neat stuff in it and actually label the drawers!
I do have a couple of small counter top size chests like them now with stuff in them.
I drop jelly jars, and cans rust if I forget and leave them on the concrete floor and the lids bend on the British biscuit tins when I try to force them on after piling too much in the tin

 

When I've had to disassemble equipment in the past I sometimes use a cardboard box. Put it upside down and simply press the bolts into the cardboard, then use a sharpie to label the cardboard as to where they go. You can also draw yourself a diagram on the cardboard and put the bolts in according to where they go... pretty helpful if you're digging into a complex machine.

Sometimes at the dollar store I run across larger plastic containers with screw on lids, made in America, and quite sturdy. Check with a local electrician and see if he throws away the little plastic boxes that his tape comes in. 3M tape containers are a great size, fairly flat, and have a good sealing lid on them. Take a piece of angle, or some wood, and make a "V" shape, you can stack the tape containers in a row, label them, and they're easy to go through.

 

I use plastic jars and lids I get at recycling. Wash them out and they work fine. Many assorted sizes from very small to gallon. Don't use glass as if yo knock them over they'l
break

 

I bought an assortment of screws, nuts etc from Costco for about $30 just to get the cool set of 4 drawers to hold them. Each drawer held a metal topped case with compartments that had screws, washers etc in them. The cases could be lifted out to keep near your project.

 

I have a couple of old card file cabinets.


I cut up old oil containers and use them to store the nuts, bolts etc.




The best part, the containers are free after oil changes, and you can take the container out easily and bring it with you if you need to. They hold plenty and fit in the drawers well.
- Breeze

 

On the disassebly phase, I too use cardboard. I like to use original early Ford hardware because it tends to be realdamnstrong, and I like to put old stuff right back where it came from after it is cleaned and checked out for use.
I take sheets of cardboard, draw a rough outline of the part so I know up-down-sideways clearly, and stab a small hole for each fastener. Bolts/screws can be shoved in. enlarging the holes for grip. It is almost no trouble to make up 2 cardboards, too, so bolts can transfer into a clean one when cleaning and checking for damage are done.
Nuts require a sack of cheap alleged SAE bolts from the store.
I am not really capable of organizing stockpiled stuff...brain does not work at that...but any bins need a shallow pan nearby, so you can dump the bin into a flatter container, search for the exact length or whatever, then easily pour the others back into their bin.
I admire setups with rows of labeled drawers, but I am so bad at that I would wind up with empty drawers and a huge heap of random bolts on the floor in front of them, probably right where I'd walk through them when using the washing machine.

 

I use a lot of those food storage plastic containers (Gladware, Ziplock etc) . You can label them with a sharpie, they stack on each other, the top snaps on tight, they're waterproof and they come in a bunch of sizes.

 

unfortunatly i have many "mystery" bolt buckets that ive never gotten around to sorting so it usually involves a dump and pick session when I need something

 

Thanks all for those ideas. This is turning into an knteresting thread. I like the cut up plastic oil container idea. There should be a company that makes specialized storage and organization systems for vehicle projects. But then again you cant beat cardboard lol

Thanks,
Skrach
www.VividlyVintage.com

 

What is the large red cabinet?

Thanks,
Skrach
www.VividlyVintage.com

 

Do they sell the wooden hardware sorter or did you make that?

Thanks,
Skrach
www.VividlyVintage.com

 

That is a service desk, nice slanted surface to fill out paperwork on, a heavy duty drawer, and a couple of shelves underneath that... I'd love to have one myself.