How to organize ye olde bolt bucket?

I spent lot of time in years past sorting odds and ends hardware into my set of (must be a couple of hundred) Acro-Mils storage drawers. Over time the sorting got contaminated and now I have about as big a mess as I had when they were all in coffee cans, except that nuts and screws aren't mixed with washers and bolts. No matter thought. I just dump a drawer onto a rag and sort through what drops out then use the rag as a scoop to drop them back into the drawer.
 
C-Bag said:
I have decades of nuts and bolts I kept from parts that got swapped out. So Harbor Frieght had these great HD plastic organizing trays and I’ve been sorting through and getting them into those trays. And when I’ve finally gotten them sorted then they will go in this old Aeroquip bin unit I picked up cheap on CL. It’s an ongoing project when I get the urge. I also suggest size gauges standard and metic to help speed sorting.
Click to expand...
C-bag, this looks like my shop before the fire.
Now I have a pathetic assortment.
I’m one of those guys that picks up screws, nuts, cotter pins, retaining clips, special bolts etc and throws them in a jar.
When it’s full, they get sorted much like Boswell’s process.
 
I didn't say made in US... And what makes you think John Deere's bolts are made in US?

I kind of think of John Deere as one of the companies that sold out the country.
All I see on Youtube from farmers is how Fd up their JD's are, and that they can't do basic work on them.
also, I didn't see where you mentioned that the JD bolts were from the US..
Very few screw companies left in the USA... very few.
 
Last edited:
Janderso said:
I’m one of those guys that picks up screws, nuts, cotter pins, retaining clips, special bolts etc and throws them in a jar.
Click to expand...
I read yours and others accounts of the fires and I’m sorry that happened. I would be really messed up to loose my decades of accumulating.

I’ve always hated to toss anything odd or useful. In every shop I worked in guys found out about this and would ask me first. Often I was surprised what was in my stash. Especially junk carburetors, they had all kinds of cool weird stuff. But trying to sort that kinda stuff is impossible.
 
woodchucker said:
I didn't say made in US... And what makes you think John Deere's bolts are made in US?

I kind of think of John Deere as one of the companies that sold out the country.
All I see on Youtube from farmers is how Fd up their JD's are, and that they can't do basic work on them.
also, I didn't see where you mentioned that the JD bolts were from the US..
Very few screw companies left in the USA... very few.
Click to expand...
Ah, well, good point.
In fact someone said genuine JD parts are not of this country?
Say it ain’t so!
Oh the humanity of it all.
The grade 8 bolts do the job though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top