Need small parts storage ideas

Hogleg

Member
I am in the process of building my new shop. I want to have a wall area of small bins for sorted small parts, nuts, bolts, etc. I see these plastic hanging wall bins but they look cheesy. I am thinking of building a unit out of wood.

any ideas of unique ways to do this? Pics of what you built or bought? Antiques that you got for a song that worked well?

John
 
I have a "wall" of drawers that I inherited from a shop.Kitchen drawer size drawers. Two columns of drawers 12 drawers high. It is the best! Not sure where you would ever go to to get another like it. I'm sure it was shop built.
Also have a big wooden "locker" with shelves where I keep chemicals and large power tools.
That all said, we do use the plastic bins in our vans and really like them. Very tough and light weight compared to cardboard. We have them sitting on shelving as opposed to sispended from the edge. I bet they would break or distort used that way!
 

depending on how big/much you're talking about....

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What your storing is going to determine what you use more than anything. The bins give you a decent amount of leway when it comes to sizes of things as there are different size bins, things can stick out the top a bit, etc. Like you I think the whole deal of them hanging on the wall is a bit cheesy looking too. That being the case, I've got a couple of shelves setup such that the bins slide in on the shelf. This gives me the ability to put stuff in a bin, or if it won't fit, to remove a bin and put it on the shelf itself.

Now if your storing things like bolts, etc the best thing will be some actual metal bolt bins. Being metal the dividers, etc all take up less space than using even 1/8 plywood as dividers. As a result you wind up with more actual storage space for a given dimension with the metal bins than the wood.

If your looking for something in the way of drawers, things like old card catalogs from a library, etc can be repurposed for that. I've had several Uncles that did that in years past, and my Dad actually has a couple of sections in his shop that were origionally used for that purpose. They work pretty good, and depending on what you get, there are some out there with dfferent sized drawers in them.

If the objects are really small, like screws, electrical connectors, tube fittings, cotter pins, etc, etc, then nothing beats a few of the units with the divided, slide out drawers.

Beyond that, anything that will hole what your looking to store, do it in the space available, and is to your liking is fair game. In the end it's all about making space and convenience, and if you can accomplish both, regardless of what you use, then all is good.
 
(quoted from post at 06:54:35 10/03/12) We have them sitting on shelving as opposed to sispended from the edge. I bet they would break or distort used that way!

the HF and walmart quality ones don't handle cold weather and something bumping them very well...........Don't ask............
 
Well, I'm certain to catch heck for this, but I got a two sided parts storage rack from Harbor Freight on casters. One side is devoted to Metric and the other side is SAE. The bins are removable and the casters make it easy to turn around depending on what is needed. It stores against the wall and can be moved where needed and swept under when needed. I think it was $75.00 including the 20% discount. Before this, I had a plywood storage rack that was immoveable and always had a lot of wasted space when storing nuts, bolts and washers.
 
Dad got a bolt bin made of wood, the bins are old metal cans, the flat type gallon in size, with a side cut out.

I've seen similar made from plastic gallon jugs - not as durable. Also seens smaller ones from the quart oil bottles.

--->Paul
 
the newer baby food bottles doesnt work as well as the old ones did,simply because the lids are so thin they rip out (my experience anyway).freind of mine here made a shelf unit out of wood that holds the square plastic one pound coffee cans on a angle.it works pretty good and the handle lets you pull them out and carry the whole bin somewhere if you need to. he collected the cans at work where we drink a lot of coffee.works for him, since i havent built a shop building yet i still use the old 5 gallon bucket method!
 
(quoted from post at 07:10:08 10/03/12) the newer baby food bottles doesnt work as well as the old ones did,simply because the lids are so thin they rip out (my experience anyway).freind of mine here made a shelf unit out of wood that holds the square plastic one pound coffee cans on a angle.it works pretty good and the handle lets you pull them out and carry the whole bin somewhere if you need to. he collected the cans at work where we drink a lot of coffee.works for him, since i havent built a shop building yet i still use the old 5 gallon bucket method!

pint canning jars might be the ticket or maybe run across a hoarder with a bunch of 20+ year old glass jars.....
 
For enclosed rodent proof storage space I use old kitchen cabinets. For bolts, nuts and etc, I use the small plastic bins set on shelves or could be in a cabinet, with a small ledge in front so they will not slide off. When I need several things on a job I just remove the bin I need and take to job. Just remember to replace after finished so it is available next time. I have a habit of not always returning it to proper place. This works great for me.
 
Look for hardware/ farm store/ auto parts store auctions. They are your best bet as for quality vs cost often times the bolt bins are sold with contents. I have a couple plastic hanging units also. They are OK for light stuff but not hardware, at least in quanities as I like to keep. If you have the skills homebuilt from wood is great because you can fit the unit to your space and unit size requirements. Another plus for wood in a non climate controlled shop is for unknown reasons things dont rust nearly as bad when stored in wood as compared steel or plastic.
 
I know it's a pic of the bike, but you can see the Costco bins in the background. Small bins for nuts, bolts, washers, etc, medium bins for plumbing and electrical fittings etc, large bottom bins for "extra" tractor and rig parts, etc.

If I'm working on something, I grab the appropriate bins and take them to the bench. Clean-up consists of putting the bins back.
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In the big shop I built in WI I built wooden Bolt bins right into the wall with 2" of foam between them and the outside wall. The rest of the shop had 8" of insulation in the walls. Next place I built shelves on one whole wall except for about 4x6' that I hung plastic racks on with drawers in them at the time, about $14 for each set of drawers. When I got to this place the PO had shelves built on almost every wall in the shop. I'm not doing enough to warrant any bigger bins than I brought from the last place for nuts washers and bolts. For screws and nails I use clear plastic Pbutter jars or empty peanut jars some of which are square so they take up less room
 
Keep the ideas coming guys!

Had to comment, on the plastic oil cans - Wow! What a great idea for small parts storage! Going to definitely do that one for small hardware...

I like the costco bins for the larger stuff. Plus a natural way to clean up the bench when done.

John
 
John,
You can buy the red storage boxes at Rural King, HF, Menards, and perhaps many other places. However, Menards gives theirs away after rebate, limt 10. Menards has the rebates on these items every few months. I've got about 50 of them. They come in a larger size too, not free. The expensive part are the mounting brackets. I made my own. You could even stack them, make a shelf, use light weight angle iron, the kind used to hang garage doors with.

I also like the stanley organizers. I carry them in my truck. Nice to have bolts, screws, and electrical items when I'm away from home.

There is no one size that fits all. I have everything from 5 gallon buckets, coffee cans, cut the top off oil bottles, metal drawers, plastic drawer organizers, even used the drawers form an old water bed to store larger things in. You will never have enough storage. They all seem to fill up to max capacity.
George
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neighbor junked an old bucket elevator off a grain leg and uses the buckets for small parts storage. they are attached to the belt, just cut off what you need and nail them up. here is a link (hope it works) to a picture of them i found on the net
poke here
 
"Hogleg", I have a LOT of tin cans, with slip on lids. They are not quite as big as QT. I will sell them for $25. They are all clean. I live in Flora. e mail dhamps10 @ excite.com
Dennis
 
Best thing I ever did was get an old card catelog from a school
library when they quit using it. It doubles as a workbench and
has tons of storage with all of those drawers. There is even a
place to label the drawer. If I am working on something away
from the shed I pull out the drawer of bolts I need and take it
with me. Wish I had another one.

Call the local school system. If they are a large one they are
always selling stuff like that. Better yet, make friends with a
teacher and get it for free.
 
Terry, That is so simple, yet effective!
A permanent black marker writes on the plastic very well and adding descriptions could be so easy.
People who "think out of the box" are those who help the human race to steadily advance!
 
I built the 48x48 shop in '82. 16x24 tool room is lined, insulated, 6 inches thick in the walls, 8 in the ceiling. 16 foot wall I have foot square cubbyholes-floor to ceiling- parts bins I bought on an AC dealer auction. A 24 foot wall I built floor to ceiling shelves from one inch lumber- foot deep, filled with coffee cans, etc. Bought steel cabinets on a county hospital liquidation....keep welding supplies in one, all my tractor/equipment manuals....several dozen.....in another. Mouse proof storage with the steel double walls. Other 16 foot wall is 10 foot steel workbench from a salvage yard, and steel bolt cabinet. Other 24 foot wall is welder, radial arm saw, manual cabinet and 10 foot sliding door. Multiple plastic storage units for small screws, etc, and better half likes mocha......so she saves the little cans for me for little stuff.
 
over the years accumulated several places... best
deal was the metal parts cabinets and letter files
in the corner...

build the narrow shelves for the storage boxes for
larger stuff

watch for auctions/out of business sales etc for
some good stuff.. sears used to run these little red cabinets for less than 80 bucks during the holidays when wives were desperate for Christmas gifts for hubby

john
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I've got a mix but my favorites are the metal pull out drawers and
the plastic bolt bins. I've got about 30 linear feet of old 8 ft tall
retail shelving with 12" deep shelves with adjustable height. The
plastic bins fit perfectly. I just watch Craiglist or whatever and buy
bins when they come up. Scrap yard I frequent gets them from the
military base once in a while.

I'm expanding my loft/mezzanine next to move all the less
frequently used items to up top. Too much junk in my valuable
square footage.
 

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