[aviationgeek84]

Hey All,

What is the best way to organize all of the hardware from the tail kit (RV-8)? I have it all inventoried, but right now, left it in the bags they come in.

What's the best way to keep all of this straight and organized throughout the build? I should say that I had several "drawers" for the hardware that came with the practice kits - but I'll need more of those to handle all of this hardware. Just looking for other ideas.

Thanks!

 

[AlexPeterson]

I've tried a couple methods, and the one I like best is to use the little cases one can get at sewing stores, with about 2" x 2" compartments. But, put the hardware into zip-lock bags prior to stashing in the compartments. Get the kind with the white marking areas. This way you can put several bags in one compartment when it makes sense. Another advantage to this is that if the thing dumps over, you won't have to re-sort. It is also easier to grab the little bag and bring to the work area.

 

[Flyfalcons]

Got these for three dollars each.

 

[D-Dubya]

Hardware Drawers

I got some of those hardware organizers from Lowe's Aircraft Supply; Home Depot and others have similar ones. These are the kind of clear(ish) slide out drawers in a cabinet that's probably 18" square. I mounted mine on the wall up above the workbench, and I got the ones that had a mix of small and large drawers.

After each kit got delivered, we'd sit down and unload the bags of hardware into the drawers, labeling the front with one of those Brother label makers. If one drawer gets emptied out, the labels were easy to peel off.

I'm sure others have done it many different ways, but that's what I did and it worked for me.

 

[Ironflight]

I like to use the little boxes for "generic" bits and pieces - rivets, bolts, nuts, washers. On the current -3B build, we're using some of the racks of little drawers - essentially the same thing.

For Van's bags that hold "special" parts, or that are complete for a particular assembly (like a bag of wing spar bolts, or "Canopy Hardware"), I keep the bag together, and only pull it out when I am working on that sub-assembly. So I organize with a mix of philosophies. I think a lot depends on how your mind works, how much you depend on the instructions versus the drawings, etc.....

Paul

 

[Dan Langhout]

Stanley Organizers

Like this . . . .

I have a bunch of these as well as several of the deeper ones with larger containers. Whats cool about these is if you have several, you can mix and match the containers in each box to get the most useful size mix of containers for your situation. They are very heavy duty.

I really like these and keep all of my rivets, bolts, terminals, bushings, etc. in them as well as some of the smaller kit parts themselves.

I got mine at Target but they are available from lots of places

 

[Vlad]

Some good tips are here http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=48505&highlight=organizing.

In EAA Museum I saw this

 

[aviationgeek84]

Thanks for all the tips. I will try to come up with something that works for me based on your suggestions which are great.

My main thought was - should I try to keep all hardware for particular sub-assemblies together? Probably for sanity reasons..

 

[TomRV8]

Combo approach...

When I built my RV-4 I used storage bins exclusively. For my under construction RV-7A, I'm using a combination of storage bins, large storage boxes, and my current favorite... zip lock plastic baggies impaled on finish nails on the workshop wall and labeled with a sharpie. Easy to see what is what, easy to remove and use, easy to stick back on the wall...

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/4613/pictureorvideo069.jpg

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/8290/pictureorvideo067.jpg

Hopefully the pictures will show...my first shot at this...

Tom
San Antonio

Flying my RV-4 for almost 21 years and 1300 great hours
Building the -7A for IFR travel...

 

[HighSchoolBuilders]

What I do

I labeled them both by bag number, and by the hardware name/part number. The bag number will allows you to cross reference with the inventory sheet that comes with your kit. It works for me

Hope this helps!
Hank

 

[RV10Man]

rerganization

I did what Dave and Paul did. Used the plastic drawer cases, labeled the front with the bag number, then when a part was called out on the plans, I cross-referenced with the inventory list and went directly to the drawer/bag number. With larger items, did just like Paul did. I know it's kind of time consuming or monotnous to look up a part number then go to the drawer, but, it sure keeps things neat and tidy. The thing is, I noticed pretty quickly, is Van's doesn't put things or bolts and washers that look kind of similar in the same bag. Thay kind of "spread them out" so it's pretty obvious as to what you're looking at in each bag. As for the rivets, I put them in a separate drawer case and labeled each drawer.

Marshall Alexander
RV10 N781DM

 

[William Slaughter]

Another vote for Stanley

The Stanley organizers Dan depicted are just great. Interestingly, they were originally designed and produced by an Israeli company before Stanley bought the program. I keep all of the rivets, screws, nuts, nutplates, electrical terminals, and etc. in the Stanley organizers, but keep the larger and/or more specialized items and assemblies in the original bags. I use my labelmaker to show what's in each of the moveable bins inside the case. I have a dedicated "bag" shelf where they all reside. If the paper bag starts to let go, I just put the whole thing inside a ziploc bag.

 

[Rick6a]

I've been collecting hardware for years and by now includes an inventory that goes well beyond items needed to support an RV.
I generally use the widely available stackable type parts drawers found everywhere. All rivets are organized together. Same for
bolts, screws, washers, nuts, nutplates, cotter pins, grommets, adel clamps, etc.

When I'd recieve the little brown hardware bags from Van's, I'd just organize the contents into bins I already had.
An electronic labeler makes organization and reorganization quite simple.

 

[tc1234c]

The system I use during construction:

I am lazy and it works for me. I use the packing list as index to locate bags. The plastic box is kept under my work bench. I also use a small plastic bin to hold AN326AD3.5 rivets when I am riveting. For less used rivets I just pick them out from the bag. After using them I file those bags back based on the bag number.

After a kit is done I do sort the left over in plastic trays for future use.

 

[rbibb]

The most important thing is not what you end up storing the bits and pieces in but being able to locate the correct item quickly when you need it. Having all your stuff in nice looking organized drawers or boxes won't mean a thing if you have to open thirty five drawers to find the item you are looking for.

A simple excel spreadsheet, or other database listing, linking item number to drawer number solves the problem. Each will have his own method but the key is to have one.

I confess to having a haphazard one before and am creating a much more rigid system in my current build project.

 

[larrynew]

Just like Ted

I think Ted took a picture of MY parts bin. I used exactly the same method for the tail and it worked fine. I do plan on getting drawers like Rick when the wings arrive, though.

 

[aviationgeek84]

Thanks, all, for the suggestions. Great ideas... I think I'll be getting some bins and trying to keep things organized that way - perhaps trying to keep the bag numbers in tact as the inventory sheet seems to be a nice way to find where one piece of hardware may be hiding.

 

[Jim P]

I used the clear plastic bins as mentioned by Ryan and Hank. I found that taking all the hardware and sorting it into it's own bin worked best, not worrying about keeping it with the bag numbers. The plans call out the actual hardware so it's easier to go find an AN3-5 in the bin labled AN3-5, then it is to go find a cross reference with a bag number. I actually wish that Vans would just send hardware sorted by type, rather than assembly.

If you'd like, and this should save you some time, I've created word documents for Avery Lables format at http://adap.com/rv7/ideas.htm and includes sheets for bolts, rivets, screws (lots of screws!), washers, nuts, and misc. stuff. The Avery format should be the Avery 8167 Return Address labels.

 

[Steve Barnes]

Altoid Boxes

I don't use Altoid boxes to organize my hardware. However I have plastic pull out bins for my rivets. These bins I can reach into and grab a hand full of rivets, if I want. What I do is keep a small hand full the commonly used rivets in altoid boxes. The labeled Altoid boxes are placed in the bins of like rivets. This way I never have to fiddle with loose rivets on small jobs, just reach in and grab the box. Steve

 

[walter]

http://rv7-a.com/118_1894.jpg

No need to unscrew a top to dispense, just squeeze the correct amount
or rivets.

 

[Phil]

Mine looks EXACTLY like Ricks.

Rick, you haven't been snooping around in my garage - have you?

I like to drawers more than the portables.
1) I'd dump over a portable and have a mess.
2) The portables would help add clutter to my work areas. Personal pet peeve.
3) The drawers are removable, so I can carry them to the job and then put them back in their place.

Works great, everything can be found in under 5 seconds, and keeps the workspace clean...

 

[Auburntsts]

I did the same thing Ted did, except instead of a plastic box I used a cardboard tray that a case of sodas came in (the kind that holds 4 individual 6-packs, not seperate 24 cans. Not sexy but works like a charm and is very portable.

 

[andrew phillips]

another idea

I have the plastic bins too but another idea that has worked for me came from the dump. Somebody had thrown out lots of unused tall paper cups like McDonalds uses for soft drinks. I filled up a drawer with them. You just slide the drawer open and you can see what is in every cup. They are also removable if you need to take the cup with you. That way if you know over the cup you only spill one kind of fastener unlike knocking over the plastic trays with lots of fasteners...ask me how I know

 

[C-GRVT]

whatever you use

set it on a secure surface where it won't fall off. I carefully sorted all of it (rivets, nuts, bolts, washers, screws........) into four cases of nicely labelled plastic pull out drawers, put them side by side on a wall mounted shelf at a convenient height, beside the workbench, under the rail for the garage door, and watched horrified as the whole thing came crashing off the wall (don't ask).
Set me back a few hours.
Bill Brooks
Ottawa, Canada
RV-6A finishing kit

 

[Veetail88]

Parts list.

I used the little plastic parts bins from Home Depot's aviation department as well, labled each drawer for the proper parts bag number dumped the corresponding parts in the bin.

Problem is still locating the right bag for the part number. Going through van's list was way to time consuming the way it is. Graciously, my sister in law typed the thing into a spread sheet so it could be sorted by part number alphabetically.

As you're buildin an -8, my list may be of use to you.

Saves tons of time.

Bob Ellis has the list posted on his web site.

http://www.rv-8.co.uk/

The file is located at the bottom of his "downloads" page.

The best way though is probably to just make a seperate bin for each part number and sort them. Takes LOTS more bins that way though.

 

[wingtime]

Like this . . . .

I use these as well. When I first found them they were made by Zags. They come in two different depths. The nice thing is the individual compartments lift out so you can take a tray of a particular size rivet to the workbench. I labeled the lids of each one and each tray with my label maker. The totes interlock for stacking too. So I labeled the handle of each one such as rivets, fuse hardware, etc.