davestanton Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 I have a small plastic container that I throw left over screws into. Eventually the container becomes useless because the effort of hunting for a screw that is right for the job at hand outweighs the need. To this end, I decided to sort the screws that lay in wait of the garbage bin. I decided to tip them all out on my coffee table in the lounge room. One of the inherant problems of being in the lounge room is that a glass or 2 of bourbon usually ensues. I think I was lucky to get this far. Maybe I need some dedicated screw storage? All good fun. And maybe I will find a use for some of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 i do the same thing rairly have to buy screws what i do id i took clear pastic toobs for the lights and 1 1/4 pvc slide caps and sort them that way then i can just take the 2 inch screws with me without takeing just a few or whole bunch of different ones. those plastic containers are nice but take up lots of space since they hold like a dozen different sizes. ill post some pictures on a forum post next week and you can see what i do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onboard Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 One thing that would have helped is dumping the screws onto a coarse screen (sieve, colander, strainer) to allow the sawdust to fall through, leaving just the screws, and maybe a few large splinters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombarde16 Posted September 12, 2011 Report Share Posted September 12, 2011 The technical term is a "mox nix" container. (Dates from the second war when American GIs corrupted the German Macht nichts to a general term encompassing all leftover, miscellaneous crap.) I used to keep a mox nix container for fasteners but, as you discovered, it quickly becomes a black hole rendering all of the contents useless. I'm not nearly organized enough to get things precisely sorted; but I do group them loosely. To wit: Leftover washers get eyeballed and dropped into boxes: Large, Medium, Small, Tiny. When I'm looking for something fast, this is enough to get me what I need and it doesn't take forever to keep things sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim0625 Posted September 12, 2011 Report Share Posted September 12, 2011 My best friend works for national fastener company and I get about anything I can think of in the industrial arena at just over cost. For a couple years, I've been building my assortments of threaded bolts, nuts, and washers as well as my wood screw assortment. The good thing is whatever he sells me in the fastener arena, he can also print out a label to go on my plastic case drawer. It's nice to have about any bolt or screw I need at my finger tips and unlike a lot of my shop, THIS PART is organized!! My trips to the hardware to get a couple bolts or screws are getting fewer. THAT has been money well spent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VitalBodies Posted September 13, 2011 Report Share Posted September 13, 2011 I use a magnet to avoid the dust - plus I usually have gloves on. Then add them to the correct drawer of my hardware drawer case/cabinet. It is a cheapo thing I found at the thrift along with most of the fasteners "buy the jar". Today I tried to lift that cabinet and could barely lift it! Most days if I need something it is there, no trip to town needed... So what is the classic Australian drink? Talked to some folks visiting from the oz and asked them about the Blue Mountains - "Beautiful Place" they told me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted September 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2011 Most advertised drink would be beer. They really push it during summer. The current trend is for low carb beer. Personally, I like sweet white wines, low carb beer and during winter evenings it has to be bourbon with ice and caffiene free coke. Regarding the Blue Mountains, it is a great place to live. I am on a couple of acres, but from the street no one would know. These 2 images are down in the back yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VitalBodies Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 Interesting looking place/land/area. What kind of trees are around you? So what kind of camera are you shooting with these days and do you use open source software for editing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted September 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 Most of the trees are eucalypts, Australian native hardwoods, these particular trees are mountain ash. There is a stand of radiata pine beside the studio. Regarding cameras, I shoot 2 bodies, D3 and D300s Nikon. If you are interested, you can check my web site. www.dksphotography.com.au I have a bond with this land, could never sell it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 ok here is how i sort all my drill bits works great and saves lots of room plus its sealed goes in pockets easily and i put a size gage on it. http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g424/duckkisser/P1020871.jpgdrill bits and screw bits all in individual syled containers http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g424/duckkisser/P1020873.jpg brushes and pensils stored in containers as well http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g424/duckkisser/P1020872.jpg here is how i size my bits i have 3-4 sizes in a container have all my screws in similar containers that way when i need a lot of 2 inch scres i just grab the 2 in bottle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim0625 Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 what kind of clear tube is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 its just a light toob. you know the ones that go over your shop lights in case they brake and then you wont get glass over everything. cost me like 1.40 for 4 feet of toobs and then 70 cents each for pvc slip caps 1 1/4. nice thing about it is i can make them any length i want as you can see with the foot long padle bits. they make containers that are similar with ruber tops that when you squeeze it the lip open s up and you can take stuff out but i prefer these because they more durable in case they fall off shelf the others can open up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted September 21, 2011 Report Share Posted September 21, 2011 I opt for pasta jars. And the short salsa jars. Masking tape double layered works great for labels. My grandfather had an interesting system I just figured out last week. I puzzled why screws, bolts, and nuts of various shapes and sizes were stored in little tin boxes without lids for a while. (It's a drawer system comprised of former card catalogue drawers). Finally figured out that the nuts fit the screws and bolts in each box. And they progressively increase in size from front to back, left to right. (There's about 12 of these drawers. Not all of them have these tin tray boxes. I've given up trying to organize this part of the estate; I just dip in when I need something.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 do you have your pasta jars mounted to the overhang of a bench or something similar my grandfather did that had all his nails and nuts above him mounted to rafters of basement. when he wanted a size he just reached up. nice thing was they were spread out and in clear containers so he could see what he wanted right away. my shop has like 20 foot spaces between the floor and roof so that option is out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VitalBodies Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 I have seen the kind where a jar lid is attached to something overhead and then the jar (full of fasteners) screws into the lid. How to organize and deal with a lot of fasteners is indeed a worthy challenge. My fastener collection has out grown my fastener storage bins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 I started with pasta jars and salsa jars mixed together screwed to a 1x2. The plan was to build a couple of these to fit into a rack along the wall, and just lift the set off the wall when I needed something. (I only put four on a length of 1x2.) Since I only used one screw per lid, this did not turn out quite like I had hoped. I added a small brad to the lids, but one of them simply broke the screw when I twisted it. (I was expecting the nail to break first...) now, I store them in cardboard boxes (which is not a good idea when the basement floods...) and plastic crates. Either the milk crates or the "storage" crates available at WalMart, K-Mart, Staples, Office Max, etc. (wherever is cheap, basically) It's not terribly organized, but that's what the masking tape is for. I put the labels on the lids instead of the glass. I also write on the paper bags I get hardware in from the smaller hardware stores what is inside the bag (in marker, so I can read it) and fold the bag so it fits into the jar and so I can read where the words are. (Getting me to write legibly enough to read it is something else entirely... ) **edit: my email was opening on another page, and I caught this particular thread within one email. I don't know if somebody was reading this thread or not.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 thats a good idea i think i would mount it so that there is some kind of round over pin so that it does not turn unless you manualy turn it. i would want all my bolt in one side, screws in another ect.... if anyone has an idea how you could keep it from turning on it own but it will if you put some presure on it please post as im thinking of making this for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 Matthias Wandel (Spelling?) has a gear template generator on his website. He also showed how he built a "pause" function in on some of his home-made tools. I'd check them out for ideas. (If I remember right, it was the multi slot mortising machine that documented the process I'm thinking of...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 im not shire a gear would work but something similar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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