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Tip: Parts Bin Labels

David Paule

Well Known Member
I've got my airplane hardware in parts bins with little clear plastic drawers. To label the drawers, I'm using a white on clear tape. This lets me see past the labels into the drawer, and because the printing is white, it's easy to see when the bins are up against the wall and there's not a lot of light.

The label tape is for any labeler that uses 1/2" TZ tapes. Its TZe-135.

My Brother labeler lets me adjust the spacing between labels and print out a string of them without cutting them. That saves tape. When I've got a convenient batch printed, the labeler can cut the tape, and then I'll snip them off, one by one.

Dave
 
I've got my airplane hardware in parts bins with little clear plastic drawers. To label the drawers, I'm using a white on clear tape....

Dave,

It would be helpful if you posted an image of your work so we could get a better idea of the look you prefer. Certainly, your choice of clear TZ tape will allow the observer to see into the parts bin slightly better than a solid color tape will and that is fine and obviously works for you. All things considered, I settled for the look of black print on white in various widths of TZ tape as the case warrants because some bins might be subdivided into up to 3 sections. For me at least, the overall effect of black print on white background seems to offer an enhanced visual contrast and in most cases one can still see the contents of the bins well enough.

For those builders considering using a Brother label maker, it would be nice if they had the opportunity to compare.

30931aw.jpg
 
parts

For the lighter weight stuff like washers and small anchor nuts I tape a part to the drawer with clear tape. For the heavier stuff tape a picture of the part as well as the part number if desired.
 
This works for me:
Husky model 17185073 hardware organizer.
DSCN3004.JPG


I have a Brother label maker, but I got lazy and just wrote on a sticky label and stuck it inside the bin. I figure the contents of most bins will change next month when the wing kit comes, and I'll have to redo them anyway. For the empennage at least, none of the bins were so full as to cover the label. I may look at changing my approach if any items in the wing kit fills a bins; maybe multiple bins with the same item. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a second organizer anyway.
 
White on Clear

Here's a photo of the test labels that I tried. The particular labeler that I'm using lets me adjust the font and size.

I apologize for the poor photo quality, but it'll give you an idea of the readability of the various tapes. These bins don't have anything in them but with the clear tapes I can easily see inside past the lettering.

no6oae.jpg


Dave
 
Good tips. Using plastic water bottles for rivets here, even if you knock one over with the cap off most of them will stay in the bottle.

pk


358ni9f.jpg
 
Plastic Bottles

Great idea on the water bottles! I have flipped my rivet bins more than once with a stray airhose.
 
Until recently I kept rivets in a the bags Van sent them in. Then I stumble across these storage plastic storage boxes/drawers at Office Max.

http://www.officemax.com/office-fur...ne~1^region~1^param~return_skus^return_skus~Y

The beauty of them is the handles on the drawers (one front and one back) snap onto the lid and hold it in place, so if there were a catastrophe where the drawers came out of the box, you wouldn't have a nightmare on your hands with 16 kinds of rivets mixed together. They're convenient to use with the lid off when riveting, too.

The size of the boxes are about right and I used two of them. In one I keep all the flush head rivets and in the other the round head and the pulled rivets. About my only gripe is I wish the handles snapped on a little more firmly. So far, no problems.
 
This works for me:
Husky model 17185073 hardware organizer.
DSCN3004.JPG


I have a Brother label maker, but I got lazy and just wrote on a sticky label and stuck it inside the bin. I figure the contents of most bins will change next month when the wing kit comes, and I'll have to redo them anyway. For the empennage at least, none of the bins were so full as to cover the label. I may look at changing my approach if any items in the wing kit fills a bins; maybe multiple bins with the same item. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a second organizer anyway.

You stole my picture! No..wait.. Guess not. :D :D

I love those bins...and since I still need to move things around, it's great that they are mobile. Some other smaller parts in smaller trays that all slide into a little caddy, too.

emp-hardware2.jpg
 
Good tips. Using plastic water bottles for rivets here, even if you knock one over with the cap off most of them will stay in the bottle.

pk


358ni9f.jpg

That is freakin' genius. I've flipped trays of rivets more times than I care to think about.
 
and for the lazier among us...

After I got tired of transcribing the P/Ns onto the bottles, I settled on dumping the parts into the water or pill bottles, then used scissors to cut a strip with the part number from the bag, wrapped it around the bottle and secured it with good ol' scotch tape. The black numbering even gave pretty good contrast against the light brown pill bottles.

Also fairly easy to peel and re-label the bottle for re-use.

This also works on light colored parts bins, baby food bottles, AND resealable sandwich bags.

Clear skies,
Dave
 
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