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New topic: show us how you organize your storage draws.

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(@cilvest)
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Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 2
Topic starter  

I'm impressed by your ultra-organized workshop.  Lots of good ideas.  But I'd love to see how you arrange your storage bins.

Cheers!


   
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(@dronebot-workshop)
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Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 1053
 

Actually, your timing is perfect, as I'm in the process of expanding and reorganizing the entire "Parts Department".

What you see in the workshop is actually only part of the story, and now I've built a much larger parts area, as shown here:

IMG 0974

So the next task is to completely rearrange the parts area in the workshop, move some parts from there into the new area, file away literally hundreds of components that are still lying around unopened - and then print 1200 labels!

So I would definitely consider doing an article/video about arranging components, as that's what I've been doing for the last month!

And at the rate I'm progressing I should be finished sometime in early 2024 LOL - maybe by then the pandemic will be over and I can actually leave the house!

😎

Bill

"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak


   
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(@dronebot-workshop)
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Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 1053
 

In response to a PM I received asking about the new parts drawers here are a few more details (and a lot of pictures):

All of these drawers and parts boxes are manufactured by Akro Mils- they have a huge selection of stuff like this.

The cabinets are from Ikea, they are called Finby - I have modified them with an extra shelf at the top, as well as braces to bolt the cabinets onto.

This was all part of a construction project that added a soundproof wall to my work area, required to drown out my noisy neighbor.

IMG 0931

These are the parts cabinets before installation, the rest of the "junk" around them was part of the construction (if anyone is wondering why I haven't made many videos lately this construction explains it).

IMG 0936

These are the two styles of parts drawers I ordered.  The one with all of the small drawers has 64 drawers, the one with the combination of small and large ones has 32 small and 12 large.

IMG 0941

 Here is one of the Finby's with two drawers mounted - they are attached to two 2x3 boards mounted at the back of the Finby.

IMG 0945

A better view of the 2x3 boards at the back of the cabinets.

IMG 0950

Some Finbys getting ready for mounting - note the 10-foot 2x3 at the back that they will be mounted to.

IMG 0952

A view of the mount - note that both the Finby's and the mounting board have EVA-foam strips on them, part of the soundproofing effort to ensure that the cabinets didn't become speakers!

IMG 0953

Finally, the Finbys were leveled and mounted (leveling is a challenge in a basement with a sloping floor). They also sit on EVA-foam pads, for the same reason as above.

IMG 0957

And the parts drawers were mounted.

🙂 

BTW, if anyone else decides to put together 5 Finbys here are two hints:

  1. Use a power screwdriver with a hex key bit instead of manually assembling it with the standard Ikea Allen key.
  2. Use a brad gun instead of hammering in 60 finishing nails on each Finby!

 

Most of the work was in building that wall as it has 5-layers of soundproofing and it is on a floating suspension. The parts cabinets and Finbys only took a day to put together (to be fair I cut the 2x3's the day before so I could paint them).

And now I have a place to store all those resistors I'll never use!

😎

Bill

"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak


   
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(@cilvest)
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Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 2
Topic starter  

Thanks for the details!   My biggest problem is all my storage draws are different brands and sizes, either diverted from the trash, bought at garage sales, etc.  One is from when I was in high school in the '70s... still has my hand-written labels.

My other problem is I can't decide how to sort things.  If/when you do a video on this, please include close-up shots of your labelling of the drawers.

Cheers!

 

 


   
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jker
 jker
(@jker)
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Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 82
 

"Hello, and welcome to the Dronebot Warehouse..." 🙂

"A resistor makes a lightbulb and a capacitor makes an explosion when connected wrong"
"There are two types of electrical engineers, those intentionally making antennas and those accidentally doing so."


   
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(@dronebot-workshop)
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Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 1053
 
Posted by: @cilvest

One is from when I was in high school in the '70s... still has my hand-written labels.

If you look at the scenes in my videos where I am talking you may see a set of parts cabinets that I mounted in the wall when I built the workshop.

Those are cabinets I had as a teenager in the 70s, they had metal frames and hard plastic drawers. Some of the drawers were missing and the remaining ones were discolored and cracked. I bought another cabinet, like the ones on my workshop wall, and just used the drawers and tossed the frame.

Never throw out anything that you can still use, even if it is half a century old!

😎

Bill

"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak


   
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codecage
(@codecage)
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Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 1018
 

@cilvest

I resemble your remark!  But most of my hand written labels have become so faded and yellowed that they are almost impossible to read.

And sorting what goes where has become a nightmare.  Back when I just had a couple of different sizes of perf board and nothing except resistors, capacitors, transistors, and ICs it was much easier.  And spools of wire were easy to handle, just a we see them in Bill's workshop.  Now just storing jumper wires of all different varieties (M2M, F2F, M2F, and all the different lengths) is monumental.

It's mind boggling! 

SteveG


   
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(@dronebot-workshop)
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Posted by: @codecage

Now just storing jumper wires of all different varieties (M2M, F2F, M2F, and all the different lengths) is monumental

I find these storage boxes useful for jumper wires:

IMG 1019

😎

Bill

"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak


   
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