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Post by commercialair on Nov 21, 2006 11:01:00 GMT -5
OK, I've finally gotten serious about my VW work space. I've suffered lost tools, banged shins, and the humiliation of misplaced parts long enough. I have 800 sq. ft. of dedicated VW work zone now. It was always there, just hidden by years of automotive flotsum and jetsum.
My question to the forum is about storage of the small things. ie, nuts, bolts, washers. I save all marked fasteners(like any vintage perv) and I now need an efficient way to organize them. The current coffee tins just aren't cutting it. Does anyone have any bright ideas??? I need a system that is simple. I get really focussed on what I'm working on and putting things away as I go is difficult for me. I bag, box, and label every part during tear down so the storage I need is for all the extra pieces and the general loose stuff that is in every shop.
Ideas???
Thanks, Chris
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coronabus
NUTTIER than a fruitcake
NUTS Member
What Happens In The Bus...
Posts: 191
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Post by coronabus on Nov 21, 2006 12:00:27 GMT -5
I bought one of those metal chest thingys with the slide out plastic drawers and they quite honestly suck. If your gonna buy something I recommend plastics bins with labels, kinda like this.... I've seen these bins at loonie stores for $1 or 2 $1. Next best thing, 6oz baby food jars...super cheap, simple and work awesome (durable too unless you drop it). I screwed the lids to a long piece of 1x4 and mounted under cupboards. That way they are out of the way and you don't lose the lids! For the bus, I bought a plastic crafts box, flip up lid with various sections. Perfect for nuts, bolts, screws, butt connections, washers, fuses... all types of little stuff. It's compact and super light.
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ken
NUTTIER than a fruitcake
NUTS Member
Posts: 182
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Post by ken on Nov 21, 2006 13:07:51 GMT -5
Here's what I do. Take all your fasteners that you are going to reuse, and throw them all in one bucket. Even if they are from different cars, as long as they are all for VW's. I know this sounds crazy but hear me out. I also put in any small brackets, clamps, clips etc.... if you part out some cars, take the bolts and any fastenres off them too and out them all in the same bucket. Send the whole thing to get cadmium plated. The big advantage of this is that they are now all clean, and you can read all the markings. I know you are thinking "but they are all disorganized..." right. You know where they all go, and what all the marking mean, or you will figure it out very quickly. This way you will also have extras for the ones that were not salvagable (too coroded, or broken). If you have questions about where a particular bolt goes, you can ask... or look in a parts book (OG VW) they always list the lentgh and size. The markings will tell you as well if it is for suspension/ brakes (10+ on the head) or body (5 or 8). Also you can determine the age of them... like the DIN spec cahnged in 57' or 58' for a M8 bolt from a 14mm head to a 13mm head. So a Kamex bolt with a 14mm head, M8 X 30 will be appropriate for a 50's beetle fender bolt or a 50's bus front bumper bolt. We should get Keith to make a list...... You know what wheel bolt look like, so they are easy. (solid head are early, hollow head are late-probably to save weight) M12 is early bug or type 3. M14 is bus or late bug. M10 is usually rear suspension, spring plate, shock mounting, some body to pan (type 1), engine bolts, Really it's not that hard to sort them out afterwards. I just sort out the ones I know and then keep the bin on misc other bolts by my side when I'm assembling the vehicle. The cad plating costs a bit ($200-$300) for a ice cream bin (4l) full of bolts/brackets. This is enough for 2 cars/buses with lots of spares. It is worth it, trust me. The time you will save alone. One last thing to keep in mind is that the plating (actually any plating or lubricant as well) will change the tourque spec of the bolt. There are publised tables of what to multiply the original tourque spec by for you newly plated bolt. For Cad plating the spec is .80 Meaning if the original spec was 10ft/lbs it would now only be 8ft/lbs (because the bolt is essentially "slipperier") This only applied to carbon steel bolts, which all VW ones are. OK now you have clean, easy to read bolts/nuts/etc.. that are ready to use, and way easier to organize. Then for larger items, I just buy the plastic bins from wal-mart or home depot that are semi-transparent and have the flip top lids. They are about $6-$8 each, but last a lifetime and you can solt of see what is in them. Label them-this will save you from looking in the same bin over and over, when you forget what is in it. I also put a date in the label when I put the stuff in them. If I haven't touched it for 5 years or more, it's probably safe to say you can throw out, trade or sell the contents. Hope this helps.
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Post by commercialair on Nov 21, 2006 13:33:29 GMT -5
All great ideas! Thanks guys. I guess just plating them and storing them in clear containers is the way to go. I plate all the fasteners for complete projects anyway. I went for the bling bus gold cadmium on the DC! Sorting them hasn't been an issue. I just hate having to dump out all the containers to find that one bolt. I'll just have to keep them divided into washers, bolts, nuts, and misc. It's amazing how much you can collect over the years. I seperated a 5 gallon bucket full last night and I'm sure there's more hidden away in cabinets.
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Post by rareair on Nov 21, 2006 17:40:58 GMT -5
Where are you getting your plating done Chris?
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Post by commercialair on Nov 21, 2006 17:59:33 GMT -5
For post # 501 on the NUTS forum (a landmark to be noted):
I get all my cad plating done at Alberta Plating and all my chrome from House of Silver in Winnipeg. I decided on gold cadmium for the DC but for all the others I think clear cad is the best. Every piece of hardware for the whole bus cost me $60 plus the bus shipments to and from Medicine Hat. I really think it's worth the price and I'll never have a rusted bolt on the DC again.
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Post by rareair on Nov 21, 2006 20:29:15 GMT -5
Thats very reasonable. Is there no local plater for you though?
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Post by commercialair on Nov 22, 2006 10:29:21 GMT -5
Trevor, There aren't any platers in Regina. Alberta plating offers a great service and the cost of the shipping is very low. I send all my chrome to House of Silver because of their quality. They are very particular and really take their time on the polishing. I think it shows in the final product. However, if there was someone local I would definately use them.
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Post by rareair on Oct 19, 2007 20:00:48 GMT -5
Bringing this post back from the dead. I just dropped off a couple pails of hardware from my oval at Northern Industrial plating here in town. He quoted roughly $150 which I thought was fair. I will let you know how it turns out in case you decide to get more cad plating done in the future Chris.
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Post by commercialair on Oct 20, 2007 21:05:06 GMT -5
Great news Trevor! let me know how they turn out. Thanks. BTW, get a cell phone...of your own. Chris
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Post by rareair on Nov 23, 2007 21:51:28 GMT -5
I think the results speak for themself. It ended up costing me $230, so $80 more than he quoted. This was due to the time he spent wire wheeling and cleaning the 50 years of rust/crud off them first (which turned out to be more than he expected). I'm pretty happy to have some fresh "bling" for the oval. Just wish I hadn't forgotten to include my 2 body tags. If you need anymore done let me know cause I have a feeling I will be doing a second batch in the near future.
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Post by commercialair on Nov 23, 2007 22:13:08 GMT -5
Looks great Trevor. They did a nice job. Let me know when you're sending another batch in and I'll include some stuff. I forgot a few bits and pieces as well. Thanks for bringing this thread to the top again. For the cost of cad plating it sure is a nice touch to a resto or custom build. Maybe you can hit the plater up for a club discount. Chris
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Post by bluejay on Nov 26, 2007 14:16:29 GMT -5
Cool, this is the first time reading this post. I might have to try this on one of my future projects!!
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