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Nuts & Bolts

J

JPGraphicsMI

Premium Subscriber
So we have been doing a large number of color change wraps. We are one of the few shops in our area that do things properly and take a lot of pride in the quality of our work.

With doing this, we are always removing lots of parts, and dealing with broken or missing nuts, bolts, clips and washers. I have a decent assortment, but the trips to the local hardware are a pain.

I'm hoping to purchase an assortment, or a prefilled "bin" of common sizes that we can go to for replacements. We already have all the standard plastic push pins, door clips ect. Does anyone have recommendations for either some pre-filled storage containers, or maybe a list of the most common pieces you find yourself purchasing?

I don't need grade 8, hardened or stainless. Anything requiring these, I'm okay with making the trip for, but mostly looking at hardware for mirrors, headlights, taillights ect.

I have no problem spending a few hundred dollars to have what we need, when we need it.

Thank you in advance!
 
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ikarasu

Active Member
Buy a dozen or so small magnetic metal trays. Label them - front driver door, frost passenger door.. bumper, etc. Keep all the screws in there as you take things out.


There's so many different sized bolts and screws, getting some of each will nearly be impossible - there's too many variations... As I'm sure you've already found out with your plastic assortment. It feels like everytime we lose one and goto our bin of 1000 plastic pieces, we have to use something that "is close enough" but not exact, or were making a trip as well.
 
Notarealsignguy

Notarealsignguy

Arial - it's almost helvetica
I agree with ikarasu here, you should figure out how to stop losing these fasteners rather than finding an assortment or them that will never seem to have exactly what you need. I'm not saying we never break anything but we pretty much never break anything. If something is old and there's a risk in taking it off then leave it on. You will save yourself a lot of time in the long run. Also make sure you are using the proper tools to remove plastic clips.
If you're dead set on it then make your own assortment. I got deep plastic carriers from harbor freight and keep 10-32 and 10-24 screws, serrated flange nuts, #8 nuts, nylocks, 1/4-20 flange head, lock washers, flats, bonded washers, rivet nuts, Jack nuts, tek screws etc. Mainly all stainless. I have another with rivets, 1/4, 3/16 steel tribulbs, brazier head, monobolts and tons of different buck rivets. Same with electrical connectors, have 6 cases, fuses, heat shrink terminals, regular terminals, weatherpacks, Deutsche, skirted relays, circuit breakers. These are all kept in a locked cabinet because once an employee gets a hold of them, kiss it goodbye. Might as well just throw it all in a big tote if you're gonna leave it accessible to everyone
 
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ikarasu

Active Member
Notarealsignguy said:
These are all kept in a locked cabinet because once an employee gets a hold of them, kiss it goodbye. Might as well just throw it all in a big tote if you're gonna leave it accessible to everyone
Click to expand...
hahaha... glad We're not the onlyones. We have a "Specialized" set of tools in a big toolbox thats under lock and key - only Me and the owner have the key... And if someone wants a tool, its a quick what do you need, and we unlock it. We do have a set of community tools - Everyone has their own screw driver / knife / etc... Then anything rare / unique that doesnt get used everyday has its own slot in the toolbox - We used to go through 10+ wrenches / socket sets a year... now we barely do. It'd be nice if people could clean up and put stuff away after themselves...
 
N

netsol

Active Member
JPGraphicsMI said:
So we have been doing a large number of color change wraps. We are one of the few shops in our area that do things properly and take a lot of pride in the quality of our work.

With doing this, we are always removing lots of parts, and dealing with broken or missing nuts, bolts, clips and washers. I have a decent assortment, but the trips to the local hardware are a pain.

I'm hoping to purchase an assortment, or a prefilled "bin" of common sizes that we can go to for replacements. We already have all the standard plastic push pins, door clips ect. Does anyone have recommendations for either some pre-filled storage containers, or maybe a list of the most common pieces you find yourself purchasing?

I don't need grade 8, hardened or stainless. Anything requiring these, I'm okay with making the trip for, but mostly looking at hardware for mirrors, headlights, taillights ect.

I have no problem spending a few hundred dollars to have what we need, when we need it.

Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...
hardware stores & auto parts stores have suppliers that sell "assortments" (for them, not for us)
i have a piece of steelshelving that is covered in assortments
c-clips, e-clips, snap rings, etc. hollow wall anchors, electrical connectors, grommets, caps & plugs
whenever i make a trip to the hardware store to fill an immediate need, i follow upwith an amazon/ebay/google search for the appropriate assortment. if i need it once, it will be a useful addition to the arsenal.

it's a shame companies like Dorman don't market like snapon does, reaching out directly to end users...

i remember a trip to home depot with one of my guys about a year ago
he wanted 3-1/2 inch deck screws. i picked up the 10 lb bucket & he said "but i only need 7 screws"
he uses them every day now, i have had to replenish twice

if you fabricate, you should have a section of supplies that eliminate the need to run to the hardware store so often.
 
brdesign

brdesign

New Member
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