My thanks to those who gave advice on the storage ideas. I have begun to sort the nuts, bolts screws etc and labelling little containers - lots of them. I have posted some pics on abpf to show the final solution.
This was the best fit to the criteria I posted earlier. It is a bit of a pain getting the labels done, but the hardest part was finding the graphics and setting up the first label. Now it takes about 5-6 seconds each.
SWMBO did a great job hunting down the containers and apparently found some more shops while she was at it. They are 'hooked' lids that snap on and transparent so it is very easy to see the contents.
The rack is made from offcuts of chipboard. There'll be different sized racks for the various containers since they have varying depths.
Thanks for the idea Keith, it's the simple things that make the shop pleasant to work in. BTW, did you notice the height of those shelves is roughly the same as the length of the handle on a 4" Starrett square?
I use recycled clear plastic food containers for hardware. Some from herb or parmesan cheese containers. These are free, air-tight, light-weight, unbreakable, wide mouthed, and I can easily see what's inside. Sometimes the labels are difficult to remove--I soak them overnight, then clean off any remaining residue with kerosene. So far I only have a dozen, but the wifey have been saving them for me.
Phisherman thought it a good use of my time to say:
put a little vegetable oil on them....perhaps covered with a paper towel to hold it on the label. Should slide right off. Was a hint on DIY TV about 2 weeks ago. Damn, I miss the States already
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