For those of you that buy/keep nuts, screws, & bolts in bulk, what sizes do you keep. I just acquired a free 4 drawer unit for screws/bolts and wondered what the most common sizes are so I can label the sections.
Thanks
Depends very much on what type of screws you use the most.
For instance, I use a lot of #8 and #10 wood and sheet metal screws, so I have bins for those in lengths from 3/4" to 2" long.
Also have bins for drywall screws from 3/4" to 3", a catch-all drawer for machine screws and another for "other fasteners"
I have no doubt that there are people in this group who look at my choices and think "there's no way that would work for me", and they're right.
Mike
Mike Patterson Please remove the spamtrap to email me.
generally when I need some, I buy a box. often a full box costs less than 15 or 20 purchased individually, and in theory the ones I need today are likely to be the ones I'll need again later.
Bridger (owner of an ever expanding pile of half full boxes of hardware)
I usually keep #6 and #8 flat head wood screws in lengths from 1/2" to
2", square drive pocket hole screws, and some #10 and 1/4-20 machine screws, t-nuts, hex nuts, and washers.I usually buy 100 packs when I need something and store all of the boxes in some sturdy shoeboxes.
Everything else pretty much gets bought for a specific project. In past hobbies, I always ended up with way too much surplus hardware. A few years back I made a pact with myself not to buy stuff just in case.
Barry
Only 4 drawers?? I guess everyone has to start somewhere .
My spares cabinet has: Wood screws in coffee cans- 1/2" up to 3", in phillips, square, slot drive. Smaller sizes are in pill bottles in a tray. Machine screws 1/4 to 2", 2 or 3 head styles, self tapping... etc. Nuts & bolts- from tiny to 1/4-20 asst lengths and heads. A few boxes of 1/2-?? in 4, 6, 8" lengths. Nails, brads, staples, washers,
Depends on your projects. Try using coffee cans for bulk screws. Paint 'em different colors for drive style, and use a sharpie to label the can with size. and for us old farts out there- those little bottles the pills come in work great for sorting leftover washers, nuts, bolts. If you ask nice where you get the Rx filled, they'll give you almost any size container they have.
Works for me too. Whatever I find I need, I buy a big box and dump the rest into one of my ~120 drawers. I have about 80 of them full of all manner of things. I'm not bored enough to go inventory it, but I have wood screws, machine screws, drywall screws, nuts, bolts, washers, cotter pins, set screws, pop rivets, wire nuts, tacks, brads, various nails, hinges, hasps, clasps, brass corners...
Having my own hardware store in the shop is pretty handy.
Bought 3x4x5 plastic bins at HF for $5.00 for 20. Built two wall cabinets that hold 100 bins each. Computer generated labels for the bins. Tossed out the shoeboxes, coffee cans, pill bottles and baby food jars. Everything is now in one place, closed up, clean and so easy to find anything I need.
Bob
Rest assured, should you ever need more bins of that size, there will be none. Protect yourself now with a couple of spares.
You don't have tool silhouettes painted on your pegboard, do you?
For me...
Box quantities: Machine screws from #6-32 to 1/2"X6", washers, lock washers, nuts. 1/4" fender washers. Flat wood screws from #4-#10 1/2" to 2-1/2". Finishing washers in #6 and #8. Sheet metal screws, hex, selfdrill, etc from #6 - #10. Galv Panheads from #6-#10 from 1/2" to 3" Drywall screws from #6X1" to #8X4-1/2" (might be a few 6" down there too:) Galvs in #6X1" and #8X2-1/2". SS in 1-1/2", 2" and 2-1/2" SD.
Buy as req'd plus 50%: Toggles, Molys, expansion bolts, Tapcons, brass, odd SS, etc.
Since I'm a self employed remodeler, the box quants make sense. I'm also a shadetree mechanic so I can justify the larger machine bolts. Storage is a snap. A buddy that manages at a hardware store gave me a load of plastic sectional boxes for the nuts/bolts/etc that they sell (and the racks for same) when they changed merchandisers. This would probably qualify as a gloat, 'cept the statute of limitations has run out.
The inner-guy in me noticed that one of the keen things about a baby is the baby food jars. I still have every jar. Now that she's old enough to have her own hammer, nails, and toolbox, she helps sort bolts and screws. Even helped me label the jars we needed one day. (So the wood screws went in a jar labeled "metel screws" and the metal screws went in a jar labeled "wood screws".)
My oldest is 34, but I still have the jars and assorted nuts, bolts, etc. Where I worked we had a metal fabrication department of about 50 machines so I had some galvanized still bent to a J to hold the jars. They are mounted on a sheet of plywood.
I also did inventory of the store rooms where they kept bins of the common sized fasteners. I have a collection of similar sized fasteners at home. What a co-incidence. Ed
Unless your "4 drawer unit" is the size of a filing cabinet, I wouldn't use it for woodscrews. Keep it for brassware or something.
I buy my screws (Screwfix's Goldscrews) in boxes of 200. If I can't decide what to get, I get one of their 9 box mixed packs, which is a reasonable enough range (and a whole $10 or so !) Whenever I finish a box I spike the old end flap on a hook near my whiteboard. Whenever I want another size I don't have, I write it on the whiteboard. Every month or two I _need_ to buy something, so I place an order for the whole whiteboard full. This is usually enough to get me free shipping, or I bulk the order up with sandpaper / glue to reach the cutoff. After a few years of this, I have pretty much every size of screw I use, and only a tiny overstock on the "useless" sizes.
I also did similarly to M3 & M4 machine screws, and M5, M6 & M8 stove bolts. Having a full range of such things tidily on hand is a great boost to productivity. If I want to make an MDF jig, I know I have bolts and threaded inserts already to hand that night.
-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods
Not cheap, but I got one of these for Christmas a few years ago:
You can also see it in the shop pics page at
I got a bunch of the dividers and have found that having everything available and labeled makes the original price well worth the investment. One of my someday tasks will be to clad the ugly stamped steel frame in something more woodshop-worthy with the side benefit of preventing dust build-up in the bins.
Just looked up the bins. Their $9.99 now. Wait for a sale?
I think, generally speaking, that I have 4 boxes of everything made. At one time I only had 3 boxes of everything, but then I needed a screw and I couldn't find the box I needed because there were too many boxes everywhere so I had to buy more. I had ended up with three boxes of everything because once I needed a screw and I couldn't find the box I needed because there were too many boxes everywhere so I had to buy more. At that time I had 2 boxes of everything because once when I needed a screw I couldn't find the box I needed because there were too many boxes everywhere so I had to buy more. I had one of everything because I hate making trips to the BORG so I buy stuff just in case I'll need it someday. If I only had a 4 drawer unit I would have been able to find the original boxes...
They are on sale, I just checked after seeing them in the Spring 2004 catalog.
You need to click on "order from printed catalog", then enter 44625 4 HCH in the little spreadsheet. The price comes up as 5.99 as of a couple of minutes ago; this is for 20 3x4x5 bins and 5 mounting rails.
Tim Carver snipped-for-privacy@twocarvers.com
Greetings,
I suggest you pick what sizes you want to work with, then label the boxes, and finally buy a supply of just those.
I live in the U.S. . I standardized on .25 inch bolts and number 8 Phillip (i.e. Pozi) wood screws. For these I keep a small stock of lengths and types of nuts and washers. Whenever I need to fasten something, I use these. When I have extra screws, bolts, and nuts, I generally through away all but theses. For the shorter wood screws, I do have the smaller numbers, as well as the larger numbers for the very long sizes.
Today, I would probably pick one of the square drive sizes instead of the number 8 wood screw. In a different country, I would select a popular size bolt and appropriate wood screw of that country
By choosing such a limited size range, I have kept my storage problem down to two of the 36 drawer cabinets you can buy at hardware stores (iron mongers in some countries). Yes,
72 little drawers. Once you stock a variety of lengths and washers and nuts, you have a about 30 to 60 things.Before, when I bought as needed or worked out of the box of miscellaneous fasteners, I often spent time trying to find a sufficient number some combination of length and size that would work for the project in hand. I have tossed that box, and have not missed it.
S> For those of you that buy/keep nuts, screws, & bolts in bulk, what sizes
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