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BigJohn

Well Known Member
Hello All from the snowy northeast. My tail is coming Tuesday. (My wife insists on making lewd jokes whenever I say that!) Since I haven't done this before, I am wondering what I need to get organized for the unpacking. Could some of you experienced builders give me some hints as to what kind of bins, containers, small parts boxes etc. you have used to get your stuff organized after inventorying it? Any suggestions would be appreciated. John
 
John,
If you have a Harbor Freight store get some of the gray bins for your rivets.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=41949 (Usually on sale much cheaper)
It's really nice to just grab a bin of the correct size and go to work.
I have them up on the workbench wall ... easy to see and work with.
I also purchased a couple of clear plastic divided boxes for bolts,nuts,etc.
Labeled all for ease of use.
Good luck with your build!!
 
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My Storage Solution

Here is what I do with all of the hardware. The tailcone kit hardware fits in one rubbermaid storage container. I bought a box of coin envelopes from Staples and during inventory, for example, sort and count the washers, then place each washer type in a coin envelope, then I place all of the coin envelopes containing washers in a zip lock bag. Did not want to place everything in small bins or drawers. Afraid of what one would have if the bins tipped over. See the very beginning of my blog for pictures of where I store the sheet metal components.

IMG_2575.jpg
 
i spent $10 on a labeler at an office supply store, its working wonders for labeling my tool box drawers, bins , etc. also using it to label the parts as i am making them, for instance you cut one piece to make 2 parts and now its the same number but "A" and "B". if you dont have a bench grinder with scotchbrite wheel, it should be required, also some cleco-clamps, they are not on the avery kit but imo should be, i use them all the time. Also drill stops are nice to have and fairly cheap but not on any of the tool kit lists.

i laid the 10 foot crate sidways and screwed it to a wall in the garage and turned it into shelves, and used the top of the crate for top on one of my tables.
 
My method

I wanted to make it easy to find things after they were inventoried and things were sitting around for weeks and or months. I also did the QB wing/fuselage and tail kit all at once. I bought some chrome wire racks (sold at Costco), kind of like you would see in store. They have five shelves and my thought was for the bigger parts this would allow air to move around and prevent trapped moisture. For the smaller parts I but them in translucent plastic bins like you would use to store bank checks. You can find them in bulk packs at some stores. In these bins I put a piece of tape on top with the bag number from the inventory.

I like a box sold at home Depot for the hardware. It has adjustable partitions and they stack up nice. I have one for rivets, one for AN3 bolts, AN4-5 bolts, screws, nuts, blue fittings etc. These are organized in a rack made of aluminum angle and of course riveted together. I have been building for close to a year and have not had trouble finding anything. If I have not been able to find something I check with the original inventory and find that the part was never shipped. This has only happened with a handful of parts.

I think I have some pictures of this stuff on my log site, the link is in my signature block.

Welcome to the club, you will love it.
Cheers
 
Good ideas all. Your storage system depends on what you have or can get inexpensively and personal preference. My own scheme (so far) for the small parts and rivets is to use old medicine bottles. I cut out the printed label part of the plastive bag they come in and tape it to the outside of the bottle as a label. Easier than trying to write on the small curved bottle and no transcription errors. I agree that putting those rivets and other tiny parts in open bins is asking for trouble. Much to easy to tip over or knock them off by accident. I also use emply plastic coffee cans for the smaller aluminum parts. In fact, I put each of the "subkits" (from the inventory sheet) into individual cans and labeled them by subkit. Easier to find the part on the inventory sheet and then go to the correct coffee can than to dig through a pile or search though shelves. Have fun!
2-cents,
Dave.
 
what worked for me.....

i found the best solution was Stanley Professional organizer cases (you can get them at Home Despot.)
They're available in shallow and deep models - get at least one of each. All the rivets, bolts, etc fit in the shallow one, and the bigger hardware, like rod-ends, brackets, etc, will go in the deep one. The bins inside are removable. When you want to use a bunch of rivets, for example, just take out the yellow bin, put in on your workbench, and go at it. When you're done, drop it back in the case.
The cases are stackable, and the tops are clear, so it's easy to find what you're looking for. I also have the wall-hung bins that so many guys use, but I use them mostly for larger stuff - I find them excellent for clecos, for example.
Anyway, there's my .02 cents.
Pete
 
Good suggestions. There are several kinds and sizes of rivets, and small parts bags. Be sure you know where they are and what they are so when you need them you can find them quickly.

Don't just throw parts in a bin and think you'll remember whats in it.

One tool that I'm headed out today to find is a power screw driver for deburring holes. I'll add a 6 bladed deburring bit to it and it will have some time deburring holes. They turn slow and lite enough for good control. I got this tip from Ken at Vans.

Congrats on your decision to build. This is a great kit and the instructions are very good. It is really fun to build, maybe your wife can get her tail involved.:rolleyes: My bride is in the "curious stage" and coming out to the shop more frequently "just to look".;)
 
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I started out with a variety of bins from Harbor Freight. You can see pictures of them here. I kept adding more the the yellow containers as I got additional kits for my RV-10. I'm now just getting the fuselage kit and recently upgraged to these storage units from Home Depot.

I like these much better. I can find parts much faster than I could previously.
 
deburring

I have also used a power screwdriver for deburring, but a builder who's way more experienced and smarter than me (well, most are, but this was none other than Rv / Rocket guru Tom Martin) taught me a cool technique that I now use most of the time.
Instead of going at each hole with a debur tool, just pass across the surface with a Scotchbrite pad. You can do a whole line of holes at once, and you get a really good result. As Tom pointed out, a lot of deburring efforts stray into countersink territory, because aluminum is soft, and the tools are only too effective. Scotchbriting achieves what you want - taking off the burr without enlarging the hole. I tried it both ways, and studied the results with a magnifier - Tom's way was better.
My other tip is to use a reamer to take prepunched holes to final size. It's just as fast as a drill bit, and leaves a rounder, cleaner hole that requires less deburring.
There you go - the wisdom of an idiot, all for free.
Pete
 
Parts Organization

I went pretty high tech on ours; I bought a box of sandwich bags, a large black magic marker, and two shoe boxes. I labeled the bags with the number on the inventory list and put them in numeric order. Now, we just refer to the inventory list and go to the two shoe boxes.
...now, if only I could get my partner to put the parts back in their proper place when he's done with them...
Meade and George
#16
We're done with the wings, and we're about 3 pages from the end of the fuselage kit, and we've done our check off for the tailcone.
Good luck, and read each page before you begin that page!
 
For me, I've split my storage a couple of different ways.

1) I keep all the smaller hardware in the drawer type boxes to begin with.
This includes rivets seperated by size and type. AN type hardware seperated by size and type. You get the idea. I also have other smaller items included in the kit that I'm likely to lose over time.

Once each piece has been built, I take the hardware associated with it and put it in a ziplock disposable container. These are great because they come in a fleet of sizes and have snap on lids. Then I'll take and run a zip-tie through the container and attach it to the part.

For example, all of my HS attachement hardware is zip-locked to my HS. All my rudder trim components (switches, indicators, clevis', etc) are attached to my rudder.

Work great for me and everything is always close by.

Phil


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/127/388704968_c4e9567a92.jpg?v=0
 
And now for the truly obsessive-compulsive...

Laugh, but at least I know who I am. I bought a series of storage bins from travers tool (travers.com part number 19-228 or similar). I separated all the parts into rivets, nuts, washers, platenuts, etc. I bought a dozen or so bolts in every size from -6 to -24 in both AN3 and AN4. Lots of additional washers, nuts, etc. along with a lot of half size rivets.

The one great advantage of all the spare parts is that often the plans callout is just a little short. With a stock of all that stuff, I can just get the next size. I think it has saved me a ton of time, although it did involve a couple hundred bucks up front.

For the larger parts, I put them into separate boxes, labeled in the attic. Particularly for all the fuselage parts, it kept them out of the way and easy to find.

I confess that I am having so much fun with the building process that I am bound to be a repeat offender. Having a really well organized hardware department in my garage is going to simplify the next plane as well.

Regards,

Michael Wynn
RV 8 FWF
San Ramon
 
I found these two things to be the only way to go. If I had to start another project, I would definately go this way again.

First pic is my red box, it holds all the revits, main ones anyway, that I used in the project. It houses little boxes that I remove and take over to the project, real handy. I don't know where you get these, but it was a fishing box that was given to me about 3 years ago. Very nice cause you can close the top and forget about it.
storebin2.jpg


this next pic is a wall store bin that I got at the aviation dept at Lowes. very nice and handy, I have them marked for different things, but what is handy is I can see the item I need and the boxes remove, for a handy usage at the work site.

storebin1.jpg
 
Cheapskates

Hey guys,

At this time of year you should have considered another option. For ten times as much money you could get your partner to buy you a jewellery box. Nice red lining. Lots of little compartments for rivets and other priceless objects ;-)

Happy New Year when it arrives...Keith
 
Different this time

On my first 7 I used the slide in drawers as some have displayed. Also a couple of the clear top parts bins that guys have displayed. The little drawer type are kind of a pain for a variety of reasons.

My neighbor is building a Lancair 4 and they provide several hard plastic cabinets with 5 drawers each. Very nice and sturdy. I found them at www.mcmaster.com part #67425T33. These seem high priced at first but when you figure you'll need a couple of the multi drawer units it is not that much different. And, these have more room.

For rivets, I stole the idea from RV buddy, Mark Chamberlin. He got these small clear tubes with a rubber cap base and top at (S)Lowes. They are about a $1.50 each. Slap a couple of labels on them and you have easy access to your rivets. I cut a small hole in the top of each. A quick shake and you have a rivet or you can shake out a few at a time. No more spills, drop it, kick it and you might lose a rivet or two. Sure beats a dixie cup or some other large opening device.

Hope this helps.
 
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