Jump to content

Where do you keep your bits ?


fly boy3
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi all, after 25 years of modeling /building I have amassed great amounts of bits and bobs, you all have them, bolts, pins, horns, glues, ,the list is endless. Where do you keep them. I must admit I am a hopeless organiser, and its all in a few boxes, and it takes ages to find any thing, but I know its there. Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Advert


The kc filing system.

The main thing is never to throw anything away, then if you know you had something it must be around somewhere - it's just a matter of keep looking until you find it. I leave things where I last used them and it's merely a matter of remembering where I last used them and lo and behold they are there. On the other hand if you throw things away you might look forever and not find it as it might have been chucked away, so you give up quickly and so lose even those things that you still possess.

A simpler system for those with poor memories is The kc Visual Filing system..

Just hang everything on the wall so its all displayed and not concealed in boxes. Then when you are looking for something you notice all the other things you thought you had lost and they too are now found. Simple.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Every now and again I carefully sort out, organise and store all the loose stuff that is lying around. This gives me the chance to waste hours looking for it again when I need it. It is also good for the Model Shop when I have to buy another in order to act as a catalyst to enable the original one to appear again.

Plummet

Edited By Plummet on 30/05/2014 17:06:10

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As an alternative to the kc filing system there is the ( not recommended ) Mrs c filing system:-

anything not needed is thrown away, and anything needed is tucked away neatly. this results in a tidy house where nothing can be found unless.........

........kc remembers where he last left it and he looks in the nearest place where it could have been tucked away by Mrs c and lo and behold its either found or its not there which indicates it's been chucked away by Mrs c.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have, over many years, developed a system that has served me well and continues to dos so. It is organic and self propagating. Basically I just let it grow as it wishes and now it resembles a cross between an open cast filing system and a Tracy Emin creation!

Occasionally I feel a sense of guilt and embarrassment growing but it's nothing that can't be cured by an immediate dose of G+T. It's also good from an economists view in that using this system I regularly buy something I believe I haven't got only to discover, on the day it arrives in the post, a similar item lurking in my workshop! In this way I stimulate trade that would not otherwise happen!

Why worry? Life's too short -devil

Terry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah yes, KC.

Someone who I will not mention believes that everything should be inside something. Thus the explanation that

"I thought you would want that stuff so |I put it in a bag/box/envelope/drawer".

Thus we have numerous storage places filled with mixed assemblages of stuff, half of which is trash that I had already put for chucking, but have been re-mixed with the good stuff.

Needless to say, if I have three projects of different sorts on the go that get tidied, the bits for the three will be split between several different containers, and each container will contain bits from all three projects.

Plummet

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've lost count of how many times I've had a "tidy up" to try and make my storage more logical.

Tidying up is a function of memory ... which in my case is cr4p ... therefore I have tons of stuff "in storage"

In the real world I often know I've got something ... I just don't know where it is ... there are many occasions where I've gone out and bought new because I can't find stuff.

There is a comical aspect to this ... which I'm more than happy to go with ...however there is another aspect which is an indication of memory loss which can be more significant ... I hope for everyone here it is a case of memory overload and not an early indication of something more serious .... I have first hand knowledge of dealing with a close family member with dementia ... its not good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, we have had some fun now we should take this a bit more seriously.

I think that filing should be a visual system where everything can be seen unwrapped. Those identical plain white boxes that all Chinese motors, Lipo, ESc come in are ideal for losing anything. The model shop idea ( remember when there were actual shops) of hanging everything on the wall in clear plastic bags meant you could find and then buy any part in very little time. We might use the same idea in our workshops. Maybe hang many bags in front of each other on a rod so a quick flick of the bags would reveal all the different tiny parts. Much cheaper than those compartment boxes and could take up much less space. Generally I think it best to put all the same parts in one area - e.g all servo parts here, all engine parts there etc. Compartment boxes or those racks of tiny drawers are probably essential to keep small parts that are used often. Stacks of clear plastic boxes that contained servos can be a good free substitute.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I adapt the common filing system of 'where it lands', occasionally boosted by a fit of guilt where bits are assigned to boxes.

When I find I need, for example, a 2mm clevs I tend to give up after 1/2 hour of searching and order some more. By this process I now have multiple cashes of duplicate items and can generally find a needed item from one of them within the half hour.

The other side of the coin is that I now have more stock than most model shops, if only I could find where it's stashedlaugh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

workbench1.jpgHave recently moved and had a big storage reorganisation of lots of bots, that used to be stored in cardboard boxes. Now thanks to some nice inexpensive plastic storage drawers I can lay hands on anything that is needed much easier.

I've always used the little plastic stacking drawer sets for keeping modelling bits - clevises, control horns, connectors etc etc - and they now sit along the back of the bench, where they are out of the way but easy to get at.

The larger plastic drawer sets have receivers, servos, ESCs, brushless motors, brushed motors, props, spinners, wheels etc etc all in individual drawers. The plastic racking shelves hold other hardware and tools, though most of the tools are in the steel mini-file drawer unit. Filing cabinet for plans, instruction manuals etc. Covering stuff gets it;s own cupboard and the kit mountain is stored in the boiler cupboard, after a mishap with a water leak.workroom1.jpg

storage2.jpgshelfstorage.jpgworkbench storage.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...