how do you keep track of nuts,bolts and other small parts?

[his1911]

How does everyone keep track of nuts,bolts, small parts etc. Especially in the field when the job is delayed due to waiting for parts,or major component repairs?

I have a fairly simple system involving zip local bags and a Sharpie marker. Just wondered what some of y'all did to try and keep tracker?

 

[willie59]

Do you mean the bolts you remove from a machine to do repairs?

 

[his1911]

Yep that's what I meant, sorry I wasn't clear about that.
Those hundreds of bolts,nuts, screws,hose clamps, etc etc that have to find a temporary home after say pulling an engine or the like.

 

[Knepptune]

The boxes filters come in. Kinda simple and cheap but I keep a sharpie on the truck to label what piece of equipment and where they go. Basically free and we go through enough oil and fuel filters that I never run short.

 

[willie59]

Ahh, got it. Well, every job is different. If it's just a few bolts, I'll screw them back in the holes they came from for panels and such. Zip bags work well for just a few small bolts and parts too. I drink coffee and I keep those big plastic Folgers coffee containers, they're real handy for this kind of storage. Big bolts and stuff, boxes or 5 gal buckets.

 

[his1911]

Knepptune, oh yeah I use alot of the boxes that the parts cone in as well, though if I have a bunch of small parts ill put them in ziplocs labeled with a Sharpie then load up a box with all the bags.
Coffee cans would be excellent, but the boss, the one I live with,not the one that signs my checks, she uses those for her projects around the house.
and like they say if momma ain't happy ....... lol

 

[FSERVICE]

i use the 2 &1/2 gal buckets that cake iceing comes in from Kroger deli, for bigger bolts/parts 5gallon pickle buckets. they all come with lids so nothing gets lost.. I don't drink coffee so I have to relie on the older folks to save me their coffee containers!! lol

 

[John C.]

For overhaul work everything went into a big screen cage that would go in the hot tank or a solvent tub. You fished through that when you started putting the component back together. In the field they usually got stored in the cab in whatever open component you had like a valve cover or engine oil pan. Willie has the best way to my way of thinking. The coffee cans and screwing the bolts back in the holes is usually about the best. I also carried several coffee cans full of spares, metric in one and US in the others. I never much cared for the plastic bags. Oil makes them slimy and throwing them away at the end of the job can be a pain. Empty ones seem to get caught in the wind and blown around.

Good topic, I'll be interested to hear from others.

 

[his1911]

Oh I know all about the parts washer bottom full of bolts, one of the reasons I keep baggies and extra boxes around, I hate the dreaded pile of bolts in the cab syndrome!
If its a few bolts ill put them back in the flanges or whatnot, but if its a bunch, or it'll be a few days before I can get back to that machine, out comes the baggies,boxes,and marker!
I'm the only mechanic for 30 pieces of equipment and a dozen trucks, sometimes I have trouble remembering which machine or town I'm in much less where all the bolts went a week later!

 

[eric12]

i have a parts bin like you'd have nuts and bolts in where theres maybe 20 little bins in one drawer and 4 or 5 drawers in the chest, idk if that makes sense but you might have solder less connectors in them or airline fittings. anyways i use one of those with a grease board inside the lid separated to match the bins and use a dry erase marker to write where stuff comes from in each bin. I've also used mason jars, they're cheap and you can screw the lid to the bottom of a shelf so you can put the parts in it and hang it up out of the way if your in a shop to keep the work bench clear of spare parts. for bigger stuff or hoses and electrical stuff on what your working on i use a labeler to make label flags and match the parts up with that. the label maker is oil and everything else resistant so you can leave it on and clean the part and it stays where you put it. the labeler also makes the piece of equipment a little more organized if you take the time to make good labels and leave it on so you know what wires go to what.

 

[big ben]

Yup about the same as everyone else -
1. Thread in the bolts that can be threaded in by hand back into the part as long as they won't interfere with the job
2. Bag others and label with a jiffy
3. Bag others and zap strap them to the part they belong to
4. Write on the bag if the part/guard was missing a bolt or washer so I can remember when assembling that it was missing/can order a new one

After taking over many jobs midway, halfway, etc in a 24hr shop I used to work in I learned to label and bag well as the job may go a bit slower when disassembling but goes 2x faster reassembling. Even now I start and finish 99% of my jobs and don't often get stuck finishing someone else's job but I still label everything like I'm not going to finish it cause for some reason I don't the next guy will know exactly where everything goes. Nothing like trying to reassemble an engine from 20L pail bolt bins !!!!

 

[Randy88]

We keep the soup stock containers my wife uses for making homemade soup, the soup stock is the seasoning for her different kinds of soup, they are plastic and screw on lids, maybe a couple cups each, we label the outside of the container with a sharpie marker and they are water tight and perfectly labeled and then we put them inside the machine somewhere till we get back to work on it again. If the parts don't fit in those we also use coffee containers, and cut holes in the sides of 2.5 gallon jugs, not cut the side off, just cut a flap in it till we're done with the project then toss them in the garbage. For hoses and wiring, garbage bags keep things together and dry, zip tie the bag's shut and put them in the cabs, otherwise, screw the bolts back in the holes as willie said. We also have colored zip ties to color code things, and of course a pocket tablet to jot down wiring diagrams and how things bolt together again, that stays with the machine and in one of the plastic containers with a screw on lid to keep it dry.

 

[his1911]

Lol big Ben! For sure, there's been many a time I've been left to finish a job that involved a 5 gallon bucket of assorted parts.

 

[Old Doug]

I am allways in a rush to get something apart so i just try to keep every thing in one spot. After its apart and parts are ordered i clean and put them in pop or beer flats.50% of the stuff i work on is already taken apart what a joy that is. I worked in one shop were one guy took it apart and another put it back together or it was bought as a basketcase. If its in the field i will box up every thing in groups of were they go and take them with me if i can. I put together a transmisson/drop box in a 4x4 crane that was bought apart in buckets with water in them. The boss said make a list of what was needed and just order one time. Well i had never been in one before and had no book but i did ok i thought i missed one thrust washer.I over heared him tell some one he couldnt under stand why i didnt get every thing the first time.

 

[CraneInnovation]

I was just puzzling over this question! I'm working every other weekend or so in someone else's shop so all of my parts have to get put away. Now that I'm really pulling things off, the bolts/misc crap is accumulating. I was wondering what the "pro's" do! I was going to go with ziplock baggies and a sharpie but thought there's no way that's how the real guys do it. Guess I'm wrong!

I did start piling all the hydraulic hose flanges/bolts in one 5 gallon bucket and all the isolator blocks in another. Figured its ok because there's only two sizes or so of each.

 

[dirtmonkey]

I learned as an aircraft mechanic to bag ,tag and label everything. I keep an assortment of paint pens , sharpies , plastic bags and labels / tags for parts and bolts along with a crap load of coffee cans. I use my empty 1 gal oil cans for trays or drip pans. I lay them on the side and cut the top out of them. The left over oil makes for a good soak / bath for the rusty bolts to lay in. I also prefer to screw the fasteners back into the parts if I can. I like to keep things were they belong. It drives a buddy of mine nuts! He's a CAT wrench and helps me occasionally.

 

[equip guy]

For small and medium bolts I push through card board sheets and save boxes and flip up side down and push bolts, rods, pins, etc. write what it goes to with black sharpie on material. Other items are plastic bins (colored) different lengths and widths. stackable, easy to store in shop or truck, easy colors for specific area you are working on.

 

[caterpillarmech]

Depends what mood I am in. Most of the time it is in a five gallon bucket. I don't do this to be sloppy, but I have a very good memory. It is one thing to do it to yourself, it is a whole different situation when following somebody.

 

[grandpa]

Depends what mood I am in. Most of the time it is in a five gallon bucket. I don't do this to be sloppy, but I have a very good memory. It is one thing to do it to yourself, it is a whole different situation when following somebody.

Now who the hell took that 5 gallon bucket???

 

[kshansen]

Now who the hell took that 5 gallon bucket???

Not a good idea where I work, any open container is assumed to be a trash can. Only good thing is 99% of the guys are too lazy to empty trash so can usually find the parts.:Banghead