I’ll admit it, I’m a leftover hardware hoarder. I just can’t throw out any nut, bolt, screw or washer. Ya just never know when you’ll need that that one oddball screw left over from that project 40 years ago.
Well after years of just tossing them into coffee cans and then trying to sort through that mess, I decided to get it all organized.
I wish I could claim this idea as my own but I got it from a friend and mentor who got it from a Popular Mechanics magazine back in the 60’s or 70’s. I always thought it was genius but never did it till now.
First off, I bought some canning jars. Any size will do but they all must have the same size lid. My friend used baby food jars but I’ve got way too much junk...er... precious hardware for that.
I then got an old sheet pan.
Sacrificing one of the lids from a canning jar, I removed the center. Placing the lid upside down on the bottom of the pan, in a corner, I drew two circles. One around the inside diameter of the lid and the second one a little smaller ( 1/4 inch or so) than the inside of the first.
Cut the small circle out with a Dremel and notch the lip of the small circle back to the big circle in about 1/4 inch spacing all the way around to form flanges. Bend the flanges out at 90° from the bottom of the pan. Then place the lid, minus the center piece, over the flanges and fold them over the inside edge of the lid. I then used a hammer and punch to crimp the flanges down tight.
Next I took the lids from the jars I was using and screwed them to the bottom of a shelf in my garage. You could build a rack or shelf to put these on but I had a shelf that was convenient.
Finished product.
Now when I’m needing that one precious piece of hardware that I’ve been holding onto all those years, I can take the jar from its place on the self. Dump the contents into the pan. Screw the jar onto the bottom of the pan and sort what I don’t need back into the jar. Then back to it’s rightful place on the shelf, all nice and neat.
Well after years of just tossing them into coffee cans and then trying to sort through that mess, I decided to get it all organized.
I wish I could claim this idea as my own but I got it from a friend and mentor who got it from a Popular Mechanics magazine back in the 60’s or 70’s. I always thought it was genius but never did it till now.
First off, I bought some canning jars. Any size will do but they all must have the same size lid. My friend used baby food jars but I’ve got way too much junk...er... precious hardware for that.
I then got an old sheet pan.
Sacrificing one of the lids from a canning jar, I removed the center. Placing the lid upside down on the bottom of the pan, in a corner, I drew two circles. One around the inside diameter of the lid and the second one a little smaller ( 1/4 inch or so) than the inside of the first.
Cut the small circle out with a Dremel and notch the lip of the small circle back to the big circle in about 1/4 inch spacing all the way around to form flanges. Bend the flanges out at 90° from the bottom of the pan. Then place the lid, minus the center piece, over the flanges and fold them over the inside edge of the lid. I then used a hammer and punch to crimp the flanges down tight.
Next I took the lids from the jars I was using and screwed them to the bottom of a shelf in my garage. You could build a rack or shelf to put these on but I had a shelf that was convenient.
Finished product.
Now when I’m needing that one precious piece of hardware that I’ve been holding onto all those years, I can take the jar from its place on the self. Dump the contents into the pan. Screw the jar onto the bottom of the pan and sort what I don’t need back into the jar. Then back to it’s rightful place on the shelf, all nice and neat.
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