Where to keep the tiny Allen wrench

[Lee Michaels]

"Upscale" wrote

Well, technically speaking, Robatoy would be both!

[Swingman]

That "Depends" ...

[Robatoy]

I'd rather be pissed off than pissed on.

[Robatoy]

On what?

[-MIKE-]

Excellent.

[Lee Michaels]

On what? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As in Depends Adult Diapers.

[Jay Pique]

I do the same thing, sort of. My screw bins have a little measuring gauge on the front edge of each of them. I file a little notch on one end, into which the edge of the head slips, and then there is a line at the end that shows how long the screw should be for that particular bin. I've also got a "Random Screw" bin that I'll use if length isn't vital, and which will occasionally get cleaned out and reorganized if I'm feeling ambitious and not particularly concerned about how much time is (or isn't!) worth.

JP

[-MIKE-]

Am I the only one who reuses screws? Not for important stuff, but certain for jigs and other insignificant stuff.

[Martin H. Eastburn]

Not only the normal stuff in Imperial but in metric is starting for me - as I scrap out old stuff...

I have a lot of custom designed nuts and bolts and rods collected over

60 years or so myself and some from Dad.

I had a nice stack of army trunks (three Air force!) and hated to move and pickup some being heavy.

So those are now stacked 3 high 3 wide and back to back (doubling a side) with them on their sides - lids open outwards. Lids keep dust out...

I have added blocks that spread the weight and downwards. Handy storage now.

I have 3 33 drawer file cabinets that each drawer holds a ream of paper. One legal. One is sorted well. The other two need time.

A local hardwood store had a 5 foot tall stack of bins - across the back - if I had known - it was penny on several dollars sale when they went out.

Rats!

Mart> Upscale wrote:

[J. Clarke]

Depends on the screws. Machine screws that aren't buggered up yes. But I've spun the heads off of enough good quality screws on the second use to not want the hassle--it's not the putting them in that's the issue, it's getting the thing apart later.

[B A R R Y]

I often toss them during cleanup, unless the bin is already out.

It also depends on the quantity. Just a few go into the metal recycling bin. A decent number is worth putting back.

[Swingman]

"Martin H. Eastburn" wrote

I've taken to keeping all my routers (6), corded drills (3) and circle saws (2) in a large two drawer legal sized filing cabinet I've set on a shop made wooden, mobile base with those big neoprene casters. Metal, sturdy, easily locked, it's really come in handy the last two moves. Also keeps the easily stolen tools out of view from the occasional visitor from the construction business, many of whom are less than savory characters.

You can see it, tucked out of the way under the wall bench, just behind the clamp rack:

[Lew Hodgett]

Just not worth it, especially when you buy fastners by the full box.

Lew

[-MIKE-]

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's clamps.

[-MIKE-]

I hear you.

I have a bunch of those little gray hanging containers from HF. I guy the 24 pack, just about every time it's on sale for 6 bucks. I've gotten into the habit of pulling a few for any project/process and having them there for misc pieces/parts. I always have a half dozen or so at the top of the rack, just for used fasteners. Whenever I'm throwing something together, I always scan those bins first, before moving to the new ones.

[Lew Hodgett]

My money says you spend more on containers than you save by re-using old screws, and that doesn't include the space required for storage or the time spent trying to reclaim them.

Does the term "pack rat" or "I might need that someday" come to mind?

Lew

[-MIKE-]

Guilty as charged! You're right. I'm dumping then, next time I'm out there.

[Swingman]

"Lew Hodgett" wrote

Tom Watson's "Golden Bucket of Crap", in which I can generally find what I need in a pinch, has saved many an unplanned trip to the hardware store ... and there is NOTHING more aggravating in the middle of doing something in the shop than to stop and make an unplanned trip to the hardware store.

[Lew Hodgett]

Understand; however, does that old saying that goes something like, "Your lack of planning is not my problem", come to mind?

Seriously, have been in once of those "Ah Shit" moments a few times, but have found that standardizing on a few faatners and then making sure they are in stock gooes a long way.

I sometimes find myself working in metal, fiberglass, and/or wood, a lot of it for a boat.

As a result, have standardized on stainless seel. coarse thread, self tapping, sheet metal screws in both pan head and flat head.

Purchasing standard box quantities keeps costs in line.

Stock 3/4", 1-1/4", 1-1/2" and 2" lengths.

Surprising how few times I don't find something thast works for the job at hand.

YMMV

And yes, also have a mason jar full of odd ball left overs, just in case, but NO steel..

Lew

[-MIKE-]

I've built entire things out of the bucket 'o crap.

Stop it, though, you're turning me back to the dark side. :-)