Technical bolt storage or what do you do with your nuts

I scored several of the Hillman bolt bin modules from Habitat when the local hardware moved to a new location and donated their old bins.

Problem is I was a few days late and didn’t get nearly enough. Double what I have would be a good start.

I’m 72 now, and seriously considering hooking up with one of the bolt suppliers that advertise on the web, but I don’t know how long I will be able to continue this adventure. Don’t know what those setups cost, and the kids certainly don’t have room for them. I would assume a couple grand would set me up.

I hate coffee cans.

 

Best to buy bolts off ebay in quanity because you can get the flanged head ones with serrated bottoms.

Then metal cabinets like these that hold the weight and quanity.



You can find them for about $75-$125 each if you watch Facebook for a while. Both work well.

 

I bought these off of eBay last year when I was setting up my new to me shop. I HATE coffee cans full of nuts and bolts! If I’m in the middle of a project I want to know if I have the right bolt on hand , not spend an hour going through piles of random cans.
These are cheap , but serve their purpose, and the fact that they are open and not in a cabinet makes finding the correct one way easier. This is an old pic, they are pretty much full and organized now. I actually ordered more than picture, but hadn’t put them up yet. They were like $25

 

No pictures, I have a metal cabinet with divided drawers from a swap meet that holds a lot of new bolts, nuts, and washers. Also several large clear plastic tackle boxes, and assorted items in small metal boxes. Not nearly as nice as some of you guys' have.

 

Looks like the same type bins I used. But one disadvantage to open bins like that is they'll collect all the dust/dirt/metal particles that is circulating in your work area. That's why I enclosed mine, keeps all the crap out of the bins (see post 10). One thing nice about this bin is it's a lift-out type. Lift it out, dump the contents onto a work surface to find what you want, if need be, then scoop the rest back into the bin. The first bolt bin I built was like the commercial metal ones, a bunch of non-removable cubicles. It could be a real PITA sometimes...

 

Other than the microwave, this is all small hardware stuff. It took several days to sort all this stuff out, having been in random buckets, crates and bags. It took far too long for me to realize how quickly the time spent sorting this all out would pay itself back. Both in time sifting through random shit looking for a piece I needed, or going to the hardware store to buy shit I already had.

 

And that's the key right there. Having all that 'stuff' organized has saved me hours and hours... and money. The money isn't a biggy, but you'll never get that time back.

 

I have a cubby like Mark has, 50s old metal bins that hook on a rack (2 tall and 1 short) that came from Hilborn (before the sale) and other old cabinets waiting until I get more space. But for now it's new hardware in used food containers sorted by material, type (bolt, washer, nut) and size (regular steel bolts only and not length). The used stuff is just sorted by type right now.

 

These guys have nice stuff, but pricey. IMO
https://boltsandnuts.com/shop/fastener-storage-cat_637628

 

I am one of those guys that never throws anything away until I remove all the nuts and bolts to it. Been storing stuff over 50 years so I have a combination of just about everything mentioned above. But the buckets of bolts is always fun to spend hours searching through just to save a buck from buying a new bolt/nut.

 

After moving out of my shop in town my hope is to get everything in my bolt ben and out of the tubs and boxes.

Picked up these drawers at a swap meet some years back that work well for specialty stuff.

Got this cardboard box bolt ben at an auction that works well for it's size.

 

My storage bin is neither as elaborate or efficient as most but it does have what I think is a cool story. When I was a small kid 5 or 6 years old, my Dad had a 53 Chevy panel truck. It was I believe an old Singer Sewing Repair vehicle. I had an uncle that worked for Singer Sewing Machines (I believe he worked on commercial machines) anyway Dad I believe bought the panel truck from an auction. It only had a drivers seat Thrift Master six, three on the tree no radio I think only one wiper. Anyway Dad used it as his too and from work truck he was a sheet metal worker / welder. He also acquired this three drawer cabinet from Singer or my Uncle I dunno for sure. He mounted it in the panel truck where the passenger seat would have been. Well that was my seat whenever I rode in the truck with Dad. He did body work and paint on the side trying to feed us 7 kids. He had a few buddies with body shops and he would from time to time go do work for them on the weekends and some nights. He used the cabinet to hold small hand tools and odds and ends. So once he passed I turned it into a garage bolt washer nut bin. I had purchased a 53 Chevy panel truck that I was going to mount it in as he had. But with a house move I had no room to keep the panel project and had to reluctantly sell it. Joe

 

I store my bolts in the black drawers salvaged from a utility body. 5/16 & 3/8 sorted by size; other sizes by drawers; not sizes. USS nuts by size in one drawer, SAE nuts by size in another drawer. Locks and flats by size in their own drawers. Blue & grey drawers were surplus at work and hold machine screws, sheet metal screws, rivets, and other small stuff.

 

Not sure this is the safest place to ask the last part of your question lol

 

I’ve got a small cabinet that I took out of a telephone company S10 pickup I bought. It’s full of junk fasteners and stuff I’ll never use like old Jeep tie rod ends ( why I saved those, I dunno). Got to clean it out one day and stock it with some new stuff. Also have the shelf that was on the other side of the truck bed, it’s piled full of junk in my storage room.

I figure I’ll stock up with fasteners at Tractor Supply. They sell them by the pound, not piece, so you can mix and match as needed. May not have as big a selection as some places, but good enough for the junk I deal with.

 

I also have this card file cabinet that I picked up at a yard sale. Found that these gray plastic trays fit just right to keep stuff separated.

 

I like to store hardware in boxes I can tote around when I work on something. Mine are all the same size so they stack nicely.

From 1974 to 2014, I worked out of 2 spackle buckets of hardware and assorted crap. I dumped them both on a tarp on the driveway and 90% of it was chucked. I had a surprisingly large amount of NEW nuts and bolts.

At work we did some retrofits and the old hardware was trashed. Some of it was really high-end mil-spec fasteners and almost all of it was clean. When I retired, I moved the hoard out to my car over a period of a couple of weeks. That stuff looks way cool over plain old hardware.

 

I stopped at a garage sale one day and found a bunch of storage bins in a metal cabinet. The bins are maybe 5" wide, 4" tall, and 12"-13" long and each cabinet held a dozen bins. Think they were $10 ea. and I made a deal to buy all 4 for less.
The dividers under each set of bins were thin 3/16" press board, so I keep the heavy hardware all in the lowest slide out bins. I love them, and it makes life easier to keep my hardware sorted. I have 1/4", 5/16", 3/8" and 1/2" in the bins. Have some smaller divided pull out drawers on top to handle the little machine screws, nuts and washers.
I still have a 5 gallon bucket that gets oddball misc. bolts, nuts, screws, etc. tossed in it, and I go fishing there on the occasions when I run into something weird and hope to find what I need there.

 

Took a Quick Look. It’s not cheap, for sure, but all things considered not bad. I will take a closer look to see if they have kits available.

It’s about a 24 mile round trip to TSC, which, realistically means over an hour and a gallon and a half of gas, so that’s not exactly inexpensive.

 

When I got my nut bolt bins, Fastenal had just open a store in town and with the order of a certain amount the bins were free.

 

This works for me. Dump them on a shop rag, sort what I need, dump the rest back. Easy (cheap) and works out well for the limited storage space I have available in the garage.

 

Metal drawers with dividers for all my new SAE stuff. Metric dosn't get used much around here. Plastic Ice cream tubs for used stuff but still sorted by application. Pointy body bolts, Chevrolet engine bolts, etc.

 

I’ve two “cubby” things like Mark showed, but mine were not originally bolt bins. They have an open end, ie no ledge. Always was going to hang them, have some 18 gauge sheered and cut. Drill a few hole and spot weld them in for a “ledge” so the stuff does t fall out. That was 20 years ago.
I’m still using a bakery rack and bread trays my dad picked up in the 50’s. It takes up a lot of space, but works fine.

 

I bought a lot of hardware, mainly at Ace Hardware. My local store has a great selection, even high-tensile stainless steel.

Who here has not bought something that did not work out? Did you bring it back to the store.... nah... not even once...

 

Some of you guys are way too organized, others not at all, me, I'm somewhere at the lower end of the curve. I try, but I'm just not that organized. Bolts are somewhat organized by size in those plastic bins in the 1st picture under the toolboxes, but just stacked upon each other. Of course the one needed is always on the bottom.

In the 2nd picture over the lathe by the door, is a set of bins from Harbor Freight, that has assorted bits and bobs. Oddball nuts and bolts, wood screws, other stuff that needs to be somewhere. And of course there's a couple of drawers in the toolboxes and the workbench full of more stuff needing a home.

So sort of organized, but I still keep my oil drain pan clean to dump stuff into for sorting. I keep saying I'll get organized better, but never get the correct round tuit...

 

I have a cabinet just about like that and Ill be stealing the electrical box idea .

 

Looks pretty good to me ! I call mine "semi-organized" and try to keep similar things in a similar place.....but its impossible to have the perfect place for every type of thing...........as I accumulate, I find myself reorganizing again and again. Right now I'm considering buying one of those "shipping containers" and moving all my steel metal stock into one behind my pole barn. Wife says "NO"...........but she's a sweetie and I think maybe later

 

A lot of great ideas. I need to get busy.