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Keeping Rivets Organized

DanNiendorff

Well Known Member
After several failed attempts to well organize my rivet stock, I think I have come upon the way to keep things in order. My requirements were simple, it had to be hard to spill, but quick and easy to access rivets. I wanted to be able to easily see remaining quantities. My solution? Empty spice containers. Flip cap makes them easy to access, and hard to spill. Clear containers make quantities easy to see. You can purchase them on amazon with red or black caps. I did black for AN426, and red for AN470, with the diameter and length specs on the outside of each bottle. The poker chips are ordering specs for re-order when the bottle gets low.

Everyone probably has their own way to do this, but I thought I would share this in case it might help someone else.
 

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Very good idea - I especially like the color code.

The containers need to be labeled.

I used 8 oz. water bottles. Works great. The necks are small enough that if I drop one on the floor, basically nothing happens.

Dae
 
Thanks! Labels are present (paint pen) on the sides. Very visible in person, not so much in my picture. But I do think adding a label to the top would be an improvement. I will do that too.

Water bottles sound like a good solution as well.
 
I use avery laser printer labels on my containers. Easily written on with a sharpie but can be removed if retasking is needed.

I use the original bags and write the size on the inventory label for tiny amounts, and then small square food storage containers for the smaller quantities, and larger plastic gelato containers for bigger quantities (426-3.5, 426-4, lp4-3, etc). I dispense the few needed at a time into the lid and set the open container somewhere i won't bump it off. The bagged rivets I keep organized by type and size and just sift through them to find the right length. 90%+ of the riveting is -3, -3.5, -4 so that's what I keep handy.

Quart-sized nut jars work great for storing random stuff and misfit clecos for later tune-up.

I use a couple 6x12x6"-ish containers with the lids off for the 3/32" clecos. Makes an easy target to throw them into and pick up from.
 
Water bottles

Tough to beat water bottles, but more important is to find a process that works for you Dave is my Mentor. I use water bottles too. I keep 426 bottles and 470 bottles separated in baskets. Since they are separated, the top can have a simple 3-4, 3-4.5, etc marking. It's very easy to find a size. Printed labels are on the side of each bottle. Pop rivets are in pill bottles in another basket.
When riveting, I write the size in use on a piece of tape and apply it to the inside bottom of a paper bowl. Pour in a few and rivet. Usually the bottle is also in the bowl to add some weight. Pour the excess back in the bottle after use and peel the tape off. Bowl is good for the next session.
 
Viewtainers

I've been using Viewtainers for a long time now.

1. Easy to get contents in or out -- just a squeeze & shake.
2. They don't spill their contents when dropped -- or thrown :)
3. Different Colors for different types -- I chose Red for AN470's, 'cause Red makes me angry, and so do AN470's ; see #2
 

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Dan.

That's a LOT of spices!

After several failed attempts to well organize my rivet stock, I think I have come upon the way to keep things in order. My requirements were simple, it had to be hard to spill, but quick and easy to access rivets. I wanted to be able to easily see remaining quantities. My solution? Empty spice containers. Flip cap makes them easy to access, and hard to spill. Clear containers make quantities easy to see. You can purchase them on amazon with red or black caps. I did black for AN426, and red for AN470, with the diameter and length specs on the outside of each bottle. The poker chips are ordering specs for re-order when the bottle gets low.

Everyone probably has their own way to do this, but I thought I would share this in case it might help someone else.
 
Rivet storage

A rack on one end of my build table holds cans that D&L nuts come in. They have secure lids that twist on/off. Rivet types & sizes are organized by rows and for most jobs I work out of the top row. I have a larger stock of rivets stored on a shelf in labeled containers.

Don Broussard
RV9 Rebuild in Progress
57 Pacer
 

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Ice Breakers

My dad loves Ice Breakers. They make great storage containers for rivets. Now I just need him to like some other flavors to color code things!
 

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Parts Bins

I bought two of these and they keep all the rivets and a few other small tools.

s-l640.jpg
 
I have a small stack of these, that I use to organize small quantities of screws, rivets, etc. for my flying RV-6. While building I can see that larger quantities would be better, but for general repair and modification work these containers carry more than enough. They'll survive a drop without spilling, and when you want a quantity of one size for a short time you can remove the individual cups to take with you (and minimize the spillage if you accidentally tip it over).

https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Cons...partment-Professional-Organizer/dp/B00005QWYF
 

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Tic Tac

For my master supply of rivets I use the drawer storage noted above, but when bringing a small supply of rivets to the airplane, I now use Tic Tac boxes. You can write on the white tops the size with a sharpie, the container doesn't roll around, and it can be closed when not in use.

I previously used 35mm film canisters, but those are rare nowadays, and they do roll.
 
Got around to getting this into final form.....
 

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I'll second the Stanley method. Have 4 total (only use 3), mix and match containers among them. One holds rivets, one holds screws, nutplates, etc, and a misc. box. HD also sells them online. Beware HF sells a knockoff but they are not compatible (might have gone all HF if I had started that way).
 
I put them in little plastic storage bins I got from the grocery store. Labeled the bins, separated them into flush and round head groups and arranged each group by size. Small batches of special sizes are kept in plastic bags. I built the shelf to hold the bins and it migrated to different places in the shop before ending up on this wall.
ACtC-3canN48jHbawcClWdMO6ggwlGcOGT_gHZla_z4NaFLN_tDgfL3j6Oq4j8xqcL4l8NEg11rE6EPZJCQ7qyoXFFD4w8i33l8_A8X8zChZE6wmcRil65ziLoB4tBELNgRgWOCrMxv0luHdYLcXk1hx7e2q=w900-h600
 
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