nuhawk

In an effort to keep my projects better organized I went out to Lowes this pm to pickup some bins. The ones I wanted are 8wx10dx4h interior cavity and stackable. I was shocked that they wanted almost $4 each. Besides they didn't have but 15 or so on the shelves.

I got back to the office and went to all my internet haunts (ebay, tooldiscounter.com, northerntool.com) and found nothing less than $4-5 each once they're freighted in.

If I wanted to build a grid of 40 boxes we're talking about painful bucks just to keep things straight. I could use those bucks to buy something for the Superhawk that would be way more fun than bins! Like luggage or a hugger!

Anybody got any connections or ideas? I would be willing to buy more bins to get a better deal or could share an order with other(s) if someone has a source. Thanks!

E.Marquez

Disposable plastic containers.. They come in all shapes and sizes, are stackable, and you can get large packages of assorted sizes for cheap.

Zip loc and many other brands are as close as HEB or Walmart

nuhawk

I could transplant the problem from the kitchen to the shop but I'd rather not! Although I did think about ANY kind of container that would work - LOL - so I'm with ya there! I think it's important not to have a bunch of sizes left over that are unusable and that the set be expandable. It's true that ZipLock will be around forever so the supply would be constant as you need more. I thought there would be a huge number of brands on the market but that's not the case. There are five or six! Tomorrow I'll head over to Harbor Freight and see what they have.

Hawkrider

How about milk crates? They're free if you can find 'em out back of the grocery store around 1am.

E.Marquez

I like the plastic containers because you can see through them and ID the parts. They stack well both on the shelf, and in the Action Packers I use to transport gear and equipment in both the truck and toy hauler.
They are dirt cheap.. Tight fitting lid, tips over or falls off the shelf, parts stay inside. Milk crates and the like work ok for larger parts,, but many things bike related will fall through the holes. And, I like the smaller containers because I can better organize both me used parts, and new spares (I build, feed and maintain 3 dirt bikes and two street bikes)
For repairs, it's organization and simplicity in itself.. they are so cheap, you can easily afford to place each small sub assembly or grouping of parts, fasteners, ect in it's own container. Makes reassembly a breeze.. After you disassemble,, inspect, and clean all part, they go back in the container and are sealed from dust, dirt and moisture until your ready for them to go back together. If they get greasy, dirt no worry, toss um, your out $.30

To each his own.... over the last 30 years or so, this is what works best for me..

JamieDaugherty

I use the $4 Rubbermaid tubs for parts that are heavy, oily, and those that I dig through often. For light(ish) long term storage items I use the cardboard boxes that reams of paper come in. My office uses a lot of these so I can get 1 or 2 a time without much trouble. Free is nice, plus they have lids. Considering how flimsy they look you can actually pack them pretty full (think of how much 10 reams of 8x10 paper weigh). Anything that can leak oil will be bad news for them though. They work great for items such as handlebars and controls, triple clamps, misc body work parts and fasteners, gages, carbs and parts, as well as many others.