Doing a bit of spring cleaning, I revisit my workshop parts and hardware storage solution and share a few tips I’ve come up with. Many shop supplies come in their own cases, and while these are nice, their inconsistent sizes don’t stack or store well with parts storage cases from other manufacturers. I use 3D printing to customize some of the Harbor Freight parts cases to make them more versatile. The stock cases have 3 sizes of inserts. Using this as a starting point I created variations of these stock sizes to more closely fit my hardware.
I have an underlying belief that tools and consumables should not be stored together. The exception to this is single function tools. If a particular tool is only used with certain consumables then in that case it makes sense that the tool should be stored with the hardware. I do this with the crimping tool for wire connectors.
Now I am extending this to my Kreg Jig. I designed and 3D printed a custom insert for the Harbor Freight parts cases to hold my Kreg Jig along with the various sizes of Kreg Screws. This allows me to get rid of a bunch of mismatched sized cases and frees up more valuable shelf space.
STL models for the full set of printable bins available here
Hey Pete, love your video. I am undergoing a shop organization project myself. Do you have your Harbor Freight parts bins and your Kreg jig bin files available for download? Thanks and stay safe!
Hi Ben, I don’t have them online at this time. I really need to make the time to do that. I will try to get them zipped up this week and uploaded somewhere.. Thanks for the reminder! and thanks for watching!
+1 on those 3D printer files. I already have the Kreg screws in a Harbor Freight case.