Nails and Screws... - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

JonM · 10-24-2009, 04:38 PM

I must have 20 - 25 different boxes of one and five pound screws and nails I need to carry around with me. At this time I have them all jammed into a plastic foot locker. That works until the boxes start braking apart or if I accidentally leave the top open and it rains, then I have a mountain of mixed fasteners. Do any of you guys have any suggestions as what you use to keep the different fasteners separated and dry?

neolitic · 10-24-2009, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonM

I must have 20 - 25 different boxes of one and five pound screws and nails I need to carry around with me. At this time I have them all jammed into a plastic foot locker. That works until the boxes start braking apart or if I accidentally leave the top open and it rains, then I have a mountain of mixed fasteners. Do any of you guys have any suggestions as what you use to keep the different fasteners separated and dry?

I mostly use coffee cans.

Kgmz · 10-24-2009, 05:02 PM

I use 5 gallon buckets with the stacking bucket trays in them.

The trays I use are made by Bucket Boss. Have been using the same trays for about 15 years now and haven't broken one yet.

Here is a link to their trays, I use the standard stacker and they also make a super stacker, plus a seat lid with storage.

http://www.constructiongear.com/buck...rganizers.html

plazaman · 10-24-2009, 06:32 PM

lol we've faced this problem for years lol. its a losing battle, it just get mixed up, dropped, tossed, we tried buckets, cans, wood boxes... same crap... gets mixed up

charimon · 10-24-2009, 07:12 PM

Systainers

sort them into classes,
Drywall, decking, trim, framing...
keep the ones you use most of the time in a screw kit.

The systainers may be a bit pricey but they will handle the weight and help you stay organized.

Craig

Mike Finley · 10-24-2009, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonM

That works until the boxes start braking apart or if I accidentally leave the top open and it rains, then I have a mountain of mixed fasteners. Do any of you guys have any suggestions as what you use to keep the different fasteners separated and dry?

Um, close the lid?

JonM · 10-25-2009, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Finley

Um, close the lid?

Why didn't I think of that?....

...

SLSTech · 10-25-2009, 06:00 AM

I have about 6 of these - the bins come out, you can easily resort what goes in each box, etc... Oh and you will still need to close the lid if you don't want them to get wet

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-014725...t-Professional

Inner10 · 10-25-2009, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Systainers

sort them into classes,
Drywall, decking, trim, framing...
keep the ones you use most of the time in a screw kit.

The systainers may be a bit pricey but they will handle the weight and help you stay organized.

I took Craig's advice and I'm never going back, sortainers/systainers are the ultimate in organization and account depletion.

I have a big metal rack with a steel flip-top lid in my van that spans about 10 feel long. I pour all my boxes of fastners into thoes compartments then fill up my sortainer every week or so.

The sortainers is only useful to a guy who uses a big variety of different fastners in a small amount. Getting systainers with dividers is alot better for large quantities of fastners.

woodworkbykirk · 10-25-2009, 08:54 AM

for my small amounts of different fasteners i use a tackle box with the assorted slots, top tray of it i carry spare hinges, specialty bits and jigs

for big boxes of nails or screws, either plastic kitty litter buckets or i get empty 5lb protein buckets from my gym, works fine and dont fall apart when wet, a few small holes drilled in the bottom can help drain off rain if the lid does get left off

Inner10 · 10-25-2009, 05:11 PM

Quote:

for my small amounts of different fasteners i use a tackle box with the assorted slots, top tray of it i carry spare hinges, specialty bits and jigs

I did that for a couple years 25 bucks for a Plano box worked very well and held up for a year and a half. In hind sight I wish I had gone with the sortainer right off the snap since accessing fastners is faster and they don't migrate from one slot to another. Not to mention with the sortainer you can pull a drawer right out and take it with you.

WarnerConstInc. · 10-25-2009, 05:28 PM

I like the sortainers and the Sys-box.

Sortainer first, sys-box second

WarnerConstInc. · 10-25-2009, 05:34 PM

Sys- Box:

dkillianjr · 10-25-2009, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLSTech

I have about 6 of these - the bins come out, you can easily resort what goes in each box, etc... Oh and you will still need to close the lid if you don't want them to get wet

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-014725...t-Professional

I use these too, so far so good, they seem to hold up pretty well.

Warner, when I saw you were the last poster to the tread, I thought Hmmm I wonder what he recomended

Dave

WarnerConstInc. · 10-25-2009, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkillianjr

I use these too, so far so good, they seem to hold up pretty well.

Warner, when I saw you were the last poster to the tread, I thought Hmmm I wonder what he recomended

Dave

I'm telling you, that Sys box is awesome. The lid presses down on top of the boxes and you can toss that thing around and not spill anything inside. Plus, pull the boxes and take them around with you.

I am going to set one up for gun nails here soon.

dkillianjr · 10-25-2009, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarnerConstInc.

I'm telling you, that Sys box is awesome. The lid presses down on top of the boxes and you can toss that thing around and not spill anything inside. Plus, pull the boxes and take them around with you.

I am going to set one up for gun nails here soon.

Those things do look sweet. I'm just afraid once I go green I won't go back

I'm sure once I see a couple more post about them I'll be ordering some

Dave

mrmike · 10-26-2009, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkillianjr

I use these too, so far so good, they seem to hold up pretty well.

Warner, when I saw you were the last poster to the tread, I thought Hmmm I wonder what he recomended

Dave

I have also used these since they have came out-- you can't beat em for the price.

I have had them fall from the top shelf of my van without opening or breaking. Now I have a utility body & they fit into one of my compartments. They keep everything organized & so easy to get to & bring to the job. I bought mine at Home Depot.

Inner10 · 10-26-2009, 02:04 PM

Quote:

I'm telling you, that Sys box is awesome. The lid presses down on top of the boxes and you can toss that thing around and not spill anything inside. Plus, pull the boxes and take them around with you.

Not to mention you can sit your 200+ fat ass on them (assuming your like me) and they don't even break a sweat. I stand on my stack and use it like a sawhorse and they hold up very well.

If you are going to go that route order atleast 3 or 4, for fastner storage you will be dissapointed with one as they don't have a crazy capacity.

You will end up putting more of th larger compartments in one and moving all of the smaller ones to another (for more common fastners in one and smaller less used in the other). Really easy to mix and match your lay-out.

rselectric1 · 10-26-2009, 02:27 PM

One method I find useful is to have a "need to be sorted bucket"

When you are in a hurry, and attempt to put them back in the correct bins, this seems to be when they start to get disorganized and mixed up. When using several different sizes like on a cabinet install, I tended to throw the handful back into the bin that "mostly" matched.

I have a small pail where I put any unsorted nails or screws. I try to resort them at least every few days.

It eliminates the urge to "just throw one away" because it's not worth opening up the bins right now.

Inner10 · 10-26-2009, 10:05 PM

Quote:

One method I find useful is to have a "need to be sorted bucket"

I use to do that and in 5 years I had almost a full five gallon pail...I ended up throwing it into a run to the scrapper. Sad to see all that money go to waste but I really didn't feel like sorting all the crap out.

Thats why I like the sortainer, all extra fastners go back in the drawers!