Storage Box ideas for all those little bits of Plasticard or other materials.

dunnyrail

dunnyrail

DOGS, Garden Railways, Steam Trains, Jive Dancing,
Staff member
GSC Moderator
Country flag
You know what it is like, you are well into a project and you need that little bit of Plasticard for a strengthening gusset or some such. You go into that big box of waste Plasticard and end up chopping of a bit from a large piece. Thus all the little bits gravitate to the bottom of the heap and you end up with a Zillion bits that are just a waste of space. Sound familiar? Well I have been eying sweetie boxes in my local shop of late and decided that I could make use of a few for storage at 10p a pop I also use the smaller takeaway type ones from Poundland sold in packs of 10 for erm 100p. Sweetie shop also does Square ones, but I do not favour these. I think that the Pick and Mix and horrible type sweeties come in these boxes. Some shops will even give them away.

Sizes are SWEETIE SHOP 5.5x10.5x3 POUNDLAND 4.5x6.5x1.5. All in inches, from those dimensions it will be seen that the small one fits nicely inside the large one. What I do is to put really Small stuff into the Poundland Box and larger stuff into the bigger box. Just enough so that the smaller box can have its lid on and so that it will fit into the larger one. I hav two sets, one for plain Plasticard the other for Brick an Scribed Plasticard etc.

Here are a couple of pics of my setup:-
dbd1b1119c4742fe80cea8c19eef0e76.jpg

b05c65f4eceb40a8b96d4c108c376679.jpg

I also have other pairs for small timber, electrical components such as lamps etc and another set for Wire and all my Chipping Up loco bits. The organization that this has given me helps to keep the Workbench uncluttered and brings me greater organization whilst I am building. Another offshoot is with sensible labeling things are easier to find too.

Hope this idea gives you some help.
jonD
 
Chinese take away boxes work too, but can be a little fragile if you store heavier stuff in them. Cool tip. :thumbup:
 
Whilst this is a good idea, may I sound a slight note of caution here chaps. A friend of mine was always on the scrounge for shortbread tins - the nice rectangular ones with shortbread fingers in. Just right for the workshop, he said. In the end he had at least a hundred of them with stuff in - all identical and all lettered in faded felt-tip. Finding anything then seemed to involve opening lots of tins.....and swearing.
Never being one to learn a lesson I bought 25 cheap sandwich boxes for storing.... stuff.... useful stuff.... and now I can't find anything 'cos the labels faded,dried and fell off.
 
Reckon I must have about 50 chinese takaway boxes (identical to the Poundland boxes above) all full of useful bits, labelled up with permanent marker and all tidily stacked on shelves in the garage and in my "hobby room".

Best bit was eating all the scrummy food to get the boxes in the first place!
 
ntpntpntp said:
Reckon I must have about 50 chinese takaway boxes (identical to the Poundland boxes above) all full of useful bits, labelled up with permanent marker and all tidily stacked on shelves in the garage and in my "hobby room".
Click to expand...

Clearly I am a lost cause then :rolf::rolf::rolf::rolf::rolf::rolf::rolf:
7fbc1f2225964ba8a19c8f572e5484f2.jpg

c458ad1688e14e76a1fde15ab895e2ed.jpg
 
a word of caution!
after decades of being a packrat, i found out, that not every type of plastic can be stored in every type of plastic container.
some stuff just melts together over the years.
nowadays i got mainly metalic things, like screws, springs, etc. in transparent plastic.
plastic things are stored either in glas, shoeboxes or moving cartons.
 
nice to see daves tiyed up !
 
Re posy #5, oh dear, some work required here. I find that permanent markers are pretty good, you can always redo the labels.
JonD
 
Over the years I collected a large number of icecream containers (4 & 2 Litre), plus many Cod Liver Oil capsule containers! Now I just collect various size pill containers:rolf: And the mess - that's up the minute but I am addressing it (honest):rolf:

47d68796d2304badbe788f8dace631bf.jpg


05765bebaf0b45f29a6a290aea9922de.jpg
 
Nice workshop Mick. For everything a place and everything in its place!
 
I've let things slide this last three years so I'm trying to clear things up (off the bench tops) before it gets too cold to work in the (old cow) shed!

But cheers Mike - now I feel I've no excuse but to get out there and tackle it!
 
Yes I found a supply of neat small plasic boxes at my local $2 shop I bought a few to put finished parts for the tramway in. OK SO WHERE IS THE BOX WITH THE COMPLETED DESTINATION BOXES THEN.....
I had them, I put it somewhere before I went on my 'Grande Concourse" of the country, return home and cant find them...... I'll have to wait for my next shrinks appointment and see if I can remember under hypnosis :rolf::rolf::rolf::rolf::rolf:
And I don't envy you chaps with tidy workspaces: a tidy workshop is the devils playground..
 
A clean and tidy workshop is an idle workshop! :rolf:

I daren't show you mine, particularly ATM, there's almost a hundredweight of swarf (no exageration) spread all over the place, it'll take a good few days to clear it up properly.
 
bobg said:
A clean and tidy workshop is an idle workshop! :rolf:

I daren't show you mine, particularly ATM, there's almost a hundredweight of swarf (no exageration) spread all over the place, it'll take a good few days to clear it up properly.
Click to expand...
If you have any stringy brass swarf dont throw it out, it makes an excellent tip cleaner for soldering irons... I jest not... You can buy them or make your own, Mine is made from a tin can with swarf stuffed in it.... this is the professional model....
I had a somewhat interesting incident cleaning swarf with a vacuum cleaner, alls going well then there is a simultaeneous blue flash and bang form the machine along with the odour of burning electrics.... after a change of underwear I discovered that the swarf had ripped the filter to shreds and had got into the motor....

7a976445f51d4efc8827b3b29fc29ccb.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom