How do you manage your parts inventory?

[Ctrl4Smilerz]

I want to transition from have bags of parts lying around my workbench and am curious about how other people are managing their inventory. I'm also working on setting up a spreadsheet to track my parts.

 

[KR Sound]

I desperately need to start getting my parts out of boxes and into some sort of organizer. I’ve been inventorying my ICs, transistors, pots, and diodes at least.

 

[Guardians of the analog]

Organization is everything. I don't do fancy spreadsheets. Every time I do an order I do a simple visual inspection and order anything that looks low or I know I'm about to burn thru it. Keep everything within arms reach if you can.

 

[KR Sound]

I need something modular and easily movable as I’m working in my office/music room. I’m going to head to harbor freight or a big box and see what I can find.

 

[DGWVI]

I need something modular and easily movable as I’m working in my office/music room. I’m going to head to harbor freight or a big box and see what I can find.

I like these for my odd value parts, knobs, and boards




But, I keep the more commonly used bits in drawers (I make no apologies for the current clutter)

 

[scheffehcs]

I recently moved my resistors into an old Rolodex style card holder, and I find that it makes picking resistors a lot quicker.

 

[DGWVI]

I recently moved my resistors into an old Rolodex style card holder, and I find that it makes picking resistors a lot quicker.

Before I started taking this seriously, I used some old Magic: the Gathering boxes in this same way

 

[jimilee]

For over 10 years now, they are stored in the bags they came in. Each part type ibag is stored in larger bags. All the bags are stored in 2 drawers. Hardware is in one and the rest in another.

 

[derevaun]

I keep parts in their bags and have migrated to storing the bags in clear-lidded takeout containers. It's a little easier to add a new odd value to a resistor decade, etc. The cabinets are given over to hardware, I have a separate cafeteria tray for each active project, and boards in the queue are in ziplock bags with their build doc. Everything is still a pathetic random mess.

 

[Locrian99]

My bench is a “work in a progress”. I have one of those drawer things posted above coming today actually Amazon had a good price I thought. Akro-Mils 10144, 44 Drawer Plastic Parts Storage Hardware and Craft Cabinet, 20-Inch W x 6.37-Inch D x 15.81-Inch H, Black https://a.co/d/dhOa0XC for hardware and ic’s transistors. This I find works awesome for resistors and caps though. I have one binder with resistors and diodes and another with caps. Some values like 10k, 100k I buy in large quantities and just refill when needed in the binder. Just those card pages you can find anywhere and was a cheap setup.

 

[Fizz]

My bench is a “work in a progress”. I have one of those drawer things posted above coming today actually Amazon had a good price I thought. Akro-Mils 10144, 44 Drawer Plastic Parts Storage Hardware and Craft Cabinet, 20-Inch W x 6.37-Inch D x 15.81-Inch H, Black https://a.co/d/dhOa0XC for hardware and ic’s transistors. View attachment 39223This I find works awesome for resistors and caps though. I have one binder with resistors and diodes and another with caps. Some values like 10k, 100k I buy in large quantities and just refill when needed in the binder. Just those card pages you can find anywhere and was a cheap setup.

Those are baseball card pages? You wouldn't happen to have a direct link would you? That looks perfect.

 

[Locrian99]

Those are baseball card pages? You wouldn't happen to have a direct link would you? That looks perfect.

36 Pack 9 Pocket Page Protector, Sooez Trading Card Sleeves Pages Baseball Pages for 3 Ring Binder, Card Sheets for Standard Size Cards, Sport Cards, Game Cards, Business Cards https://a.co/d/1hFdIvZ

There’s a ton of options on Amazon. I got mine at a local store like a small Walmart. But you can get them almost anywhere like Walmart target etc.

 

[Fizz]

36 Pack 9 Pocket Page Protector, Sooez Trading Card Sleeves Pages Baseball Pages for 3 Ring Binder, Card Sheets for Standard Size Cards, Sport Cards, Game Cards, Business Cards https://a.co/d/1hFdIvZ

There’s a ton of options on Amazon. I got mine at a local store like a small Walmart. But you can get them almost anywhere like Walmart target etc.

Cool.. thanks for the link. I'm going to get some of these after I measure my bags and make sure they will fit perfectly. I also got a couple of these for $25 each on Black Friday week but for my resistors and caps, I think those sheets will be a much better option.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017ASRTI?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[Locrian99]

These are all great ideas but I am curious

Cool.. thanks for the link. I'm going to get some of these after I measure my bags and make sure they will fit perfectly. I also got a couple of these for $25 each on Black Friday week but for my resistors and caps, I think those sheets will be a much better option.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017ASRTI?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I like the sheets for resistors and caps. I ussually just go through the pcb and fill in the resistors in order of value so I’m not flipping pages back and forth a ton. The tayda bags fit great up to I think 40 or 50. One downside is they can slide out so make sure to always keep it upright. I had a kit from Amazon I bought when I first started and the values were hard to read so I did the masking tape. I probably wouldn’t if they are all in bags. Handy to leave a couple open spaces too here and there in case you get an odd ball or new value.

I’m looking forward to my bin thing like you linked coming today for hardware mainly. I got knobs and jacks floating all over and will put my ic’s and sockets in there I think. I’ve had a couple situations lately where I couldn’t find something and I spent way too long looking for it.

 

[fig]

AI

 

[Synchrony Pedalworks]

My bench is a “work in a progress”. I have one of those drawer things posted above coming today actually Amazon had a good price I thought. Akro-Mils 10144, 44 Drawer Plastic Parts Storage Hardware and Craft Cabinet, 20-Inch W x 6.37-Inch D x 15.81-Inch H, Black https://a.co/d/dhOa0XC for hardware and ic’s transistors. View attachment 39223This I find works awesome for resistors and caps though. I have one binder with resistors and diodes and another with caps. Some values like 10k, 100k I buy in large quantities and just refill when needed in the binder. Just those card pages you can find anywhere and was a cheap setup.

Really good idea. Thanks for sharing

 

[giovanni]

I also use trading card sheets with two binders. It’s an excellent system. I do have some plastic bins for knobs, pots, ICs, jacks, etc. I still have more ICs than I can store so I keep them in their bags in a small cardboard box, but most of them are in the pipeline for projects.

 

[Phil hodson]

Here is my little corner. I second @Guardians of the analog and believe on keeping things neat as possible. It saves so much time.
I get these drawer systems when they are sale and keep most of my parts in them. Rarely used parts go in other bins kept on top and I keep them in their bags for identification.
Pedals for trouble shooting go in little baskets under the drawers. To be worked on again one day when I have finished cursing at them.
Tools and testing gear is to hand.
Good lighting (and now magnification ) make a big difference too.
I stole the idea of lifting the bins off the table with a home made shelf from @fig !!
I usually collect a few boards to build up in one go so make a spread sheet for all the parts I need then go through my bins to make sure I have enough. Most of the time if I need a part I will order more than required. Especially if it’s a common part then after time you can easily build up a collection to cover most normal builds. With the price of shipping nowadays it pays to keep a good stock of parts. Shipping is generally the most expensive part of a build!!!!
You will find what works for you in your space. I’m sure you will go through a few ideas and systems until you find the best one for you.
@Guardians of the analog does have a very nice looking scope that I don’t have yet though. Not jealous at all

 

[KR Sound]

Here is my little corner. I second @Guardians of the analog and believe on keeping things neat as possible. It saves so much time.
I get these drawer systems when they are sale and keep most of my parts in them. Rarely used parts go in other bins kept on top and I keep them in their bags for identification.
Pedals for trouble shooting go in little baskets under the drawers. To be worked on again one day when I have finished cursing at them.
Tools and testing gear is to hand.
Good lighting (and now magnification ) make a big difference too.
I stole the idea of lifting the bins off the table with a home made shelf from @fig !!
I usually collect a few boards to build up in one go so make a spread sheet for all the parts I need then go through my bins to make sure I have enough. Most of the time if I need a part I will order more than required. Especially if it’s a common part then after time you can easily build up a collection to cover most normal builds. With the price of shipping nowadays it pays to keep a good stock of parts. Shipping is generally the most expensive part of a build!!!!
You will find what works for you in your space. I’m sure you will go through a few ideas and systems until you find the best one for you.
@Guardians of the analog does have a very nice looking scope that I don’t have yet though. Not jealous at all

That’s perfect. Wish I had a dedicated space for electronics. The third bay of my garage is my wood shop and workshop, and it’s not so conducive to pedal building, especially in the winter.

I went from random bags inside of bags inside of boxes to at least this today. At least everything has its space and is somewhat organized.

 

[RetiredUnit1]

I'm up to 5 small drawer organizers now. 3 for high voltage amp parts, and 2 for pedals. The capacitors are way too large and numerous to store in drawers, I have about 50 pounds, which I keep in the safe. And a equally large number of resistors are in a very large box in bags, I only bring that down off the loft to restock the drawers.

But I just made my first pedal in July 2022 and was just realizing it's time for another 64 drawer organizer from lowes. https://www.lowes.com/pd/IRIS/5013715647 they're a pretty good deal at just around 50 bucks.