What size screws do you stock up on?

I keep lots of 100 in plastic drawers and divided boxes of basic imperial sizes. 6-32 through 10-32 in both flat and pan Phillips head from short up to 1.5", purchasing longer ones as needed. Same for sheet metal screws. I have smaller assortments of stainless in the same sizes, usually purchased as needed with a few spares for the shop.

Plastic mixed bins hold allen heads in the same basic sizes — and the same for 1/4-20 5/8-18 and 3/8-16. In those sizes, if I need 20 or more for a project, I'll get a box of 100.

I started accumulating metric machine screws when I resumed working on motorcycles. I purchased a few set boxes of various metric sizes and head types.

If I'm working on something that already has metric, I use metric and try not to mix them with imperial.
 
Thank you all for your comments, the purpose for starting this thread was to compare how I approach projects and the related fasteners to those of you who have been doing this longer and it looks like I'm not doing it any different than most of you, in fact in many ways it is similar to choosing fasteners for woodworking,I think Jim Dawson explained it best :
JimDawson said:
I don't really try to engineer the loads in most cases. Many times the screw diameter is dictated by existing mount holes in whatever you are attaching or attaching to. Much of the determination is done just drawing on experience, and partly what you have on the shelf. Just being around machinery for many years gives you a pretty good idea of what works and common engineering practices.
Click to expand...
I somehow know what fasteners should or would work although I don't have the vast amount of experience as some of you but I do alright it seems:), just needed to hear it from the rest .a couple of things I learned that surprised me a little , one was the fact that most of you use metric fasteners almost as regularly as imperial , the other was the use of stainless steel fasteners seems to be common at least for some , I admit I never buy them because I never found them necessary , the black oxide finish on these fasteners seem to do alright in my shop to avoid rust since (for me)that's the main reasons to buy them but I'm now going to stock up on some just to have around ,they are more pleasing to the eye but not to your wallet.:)

Stu, very organized system you have, very impressive yet simple and functional. what you got there will last for 3 lifetimes in my shop lol.
 
I keep at least a few of almost every type and size of fastener imaginable. Even if it's just to have a few samples for reference.
When I started building and repairing, I went through a crash course on fasteners. There was so much to learn, including countersinking, grades,torque, material and tolerances, etc... I had no idea there was so much to learn about fasteners. Almost every time I went to replace a fastener, I didn't have the right one, so I started collecting screws, bolts, washers, nuts, ...in metric and imperial. At least several of each. I couldn't believe how much some fasteners cost. I always found a good deal on Ebay or Msc. Fastenal is too expensive. BoltDepot will sell one or a thousand.

I quickly noticed the difference between cheap and a superior fasteners. My favs became Holo Krome, Unbrako, camcar and Spax. Some fasteners on vintage tools and machines are difficult to source, so I keep whatever strange or rare one I find or remove from something.
I even have extra, Albrecht machine screws, which are proprietary to their chucks. I don't have millions of screws, just several plastic bins with a wide assortment.
 
I was blessed/cursed to have an early mentor that REALLY knew fastening hardware. I agree with Emilio, except I stock very few fasteners; usually just left-overs. I prefer to let the design determine that hardware rather than compromising the design to work around the existing stock. Within reason, of course. I prefer metric, but for high stress parts I go to Mil spec (SAE ratings are a joke). This is a military town, so most anything I need is available just up the street. The problem is, the US military is STILL imperial.
 
Just about every threaded fastener that I have are all organized in this set of drawers. The 0-80 and 1-72 are in small plastic zip locks in the 2-56 drawer. I also have a 6 quart basket of extra large and weird fasteners. During busy times in the shop I am using fasteners daily and can't stand searching through containers of mixed fasteners.
all my screws storage.jpg

David
 
If I spent all my time categorizing and sorting, that is all I would get done. I prefer forward progress
so my slightly unorganized stuff can remain as is. I know where to look if I need to find it. Kudos to all you organized guys!
It just isn't me. If I spent a lot of time looking for stuff I know is around somewhere I would tend to be more organized. :)
I have several sheds and lots of "stuff" and I know what I have. That's good enough for me...
 
I keep metric from 4mm upto 14mm imperial 1/4 to 1/2 I'm in auto repair as a living and hobby,also fix anything and everything so I also have numerous drawers and pails of fasteners of all kinds that come with 30 years of projects.i hate to stop in the middle of something to run out for something.but it happens.......always a nickel holding up a dollaro_O
 
I dislike certain sizes with a passion; 6-32 for example and 1/4-20. Those two I try to avoid. They strip, they shear off, more that other sizes in my experience. And industry uses them everywhere. Aack! 8-32 and 10-32 are fine. 1/4-28 I like too. Metrics are all good. I like fine threads in steel and coarse threads in aluminum. Did you know an 8-36 is nearly identical to a metric 4mm? Just a hair larger IIRC.
I don't have a good system for storage, so I try not to keep too many fasteners on hand. Life is too short to sort. You dig?
Mark S.
 
I stock grade 5 and grade 8 hex head from 1/4 to 3/4 in lengths from 1" thru about 4".
 
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