Hardware storage unit

[bobs409]

My latest venture is this hardware storage unit that I built from angle iron & sheetmetal. It features (8) 24 compartment storage boxes from Harbor Freight giving me 192 compartments in all and is finished off in Sail blue from Rustoleum. A top will be added as soon as I decide on what I want. 11 gauge steel sheet, diamond plate, wood? Decisions, decisions...

[C-Bag]

Good one bobs409! I like it. Never had as much problem with the trays as the unit itself, you've cured that. Personally I've take. To mounting my storage units on the bottom of cabinets and shelves as I don't have bench space to spare.

[Toolmaker51]

Yep, horizontal surfaces are at a premium. Space [vertical] is comparatively free, just invest ways to capture it.

My cataloging system for bins and totes is plain numerical; 1, 2, 3,....as far a needed. When re-organization is called for, contents are switched and the table of contents edited. Bin 1 is always Bin 1. I think fasteners and hardware are up to 166#'s so far. Inserts and toolholder hardware is just 67#.
Thanks to excel type programs. Changes are not daunting. Of course not everything is itemized yet. Starting out, I guess at how many spaces to skip.

[Toolmaker51]

My latest venture is this hardware storage. A top will be added as soon as I decide on what I want. 11 gauge steel sheet, diamond plate, wood? Decisions, decisions...

Top? I'd opt for something that could be recessed, a tray. Come time to sort or handle, containment beats chasing dowel pins or springs rolling around.

Your cookie tins are ideal; if loss of baked goods isn't threatened...

[Frank S]

TM51 just like everything else that has to do with storage once an item has been cataloged the bin indexed and the drawer has been put in place there needs to be a handy quick reference sheet hanging near the bin or rack of bins
Looking for a specific item simply flip through the sheets while scrolling down the index numbers. AH-HA,There it is J bolt 1/4 20 tpi 2.5" long 1/2" 90° J .062" cotter hole section 132 drawer 3 bin B 3 quantity 14 (make entry on white board of qty removed for inventory update). Now if I can just teach my wife how to write down the descriptions of every piece of hardware as she helps to sort things for their proper places. my job of inventory master would be easy.
But right now it is more like HONEY where did you put that bolt with the red paint on it you found the other day.I can't seam to find it anywhere

[bobs409]

Top? I'd opt for something that could be recessed, a tray. Come time to sort or handle, containment beats chasing dowel pins or springs rolling around.

That's a good suggestion! I am envisioning 2 cookie pans for a top now.

[Toolmaker51]

Oh certainly, have to remember the Honey title. Nothing good happens otherwise.
When the Ms. first explored my work table drawers, the first question was "Why so many hammers"?
Later, on hardware trips, pointing out a display, she'd ask "Got one of those"? Yep 2 through 32 ounce, or what ever the particulars were.
Now it's, "There isn't a lime colored one"?
Far as the list goes, I print out a clipboard copy. No one sorts but I. Self appointed master and go-fer. Chauvinistic, yes. Orderly? Of course.
The collection was seeded by friend, worked industrial hardware warehouse. Broken boxes and spills were swept, not sorted. I got four, full 5 gallon buckets. Two with smaller fasteners so dense, the handles would barely lift the bucket. Took months, item by item. Huge variety, not so many of each. Great for fix-it jobs or figuring out thread engagement etc. For specifics there are 3 dusty oldtime True Value around. Love that incredible variety. For quantities I rely on distributors like Fastenmost. Decidedly foremost is https://www.mcmaster.com/#. Soon, time comes to reorganize the building's entire inventory, their print catalog will be the precedence of order.
Any body want a plane ticket and 3-4 weeks housed in historical home?

[DIYer]

Thanks bobs409! We've added your Hardware Storage Unit to our Storage and Organization category,
as well as to your builder page: bobs409's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Hardware Storage Unit by bobs409

tags: storage

[mklotz]

That's a good suggestion! I am envisioning 2 cookie pans for a top now.

Cookie trays are a good idea but they should be fitted out as sorting trays.

After dumping a handful of whatever in the tray and finding what you want, you need an easy way to put the remaining parts back in their assigned bin. Lots of ways to do it. If it were my problem I would think about a wooden insert for the tray that acts as a horizontal "funnel" leading to a hole the shape of one of the bins. Put the insert in place before dumping the parts in; then, when done, tilt tray to allow parts to slide into funnel and drop through hole back into their bin.

One problem I've had with the partitioned storage boxes that have the partitions fixed in place is the difficulty of dumping out the contents of just one compartment. I went so far as to make a thin plywood mask with a hole the size of the individual bin. With this in place over the target bin I could sort of dump out just that one. There were other problems with this scheme - I won't bore you with a description - so ultimately I switched to the HF boxes that have little removable bins.

Anyway, you may want to give some thought to how you are going to access and replace the contents of an individual bin.

[Paul Jones]

Marv,
I keep several inexpensive heavy duty tweezers next my storage bins and partitioned boxes so I can easily extract a single screw or nut. The tweezers also work well for sorting through the bin or partitioned boxes. The tweezers with rubber tips are especially useful.
Paul