Organizing/Sorting blank and kits

[DLGunn]

How do you keep your blanks and kits organized? I haven't turned much lately and was just going through my kits and blanks. I have about 12 kits and enough blanks to do probably 50 pens (at least.) Just trying to get some general info here. Do you buy a kit and blank together and keep them together with plans to make that particular pen? Of do you just buy a bunch of blanks and kits and then pair them up? I paired up a few blanks with my kits. But as I was doing it I figured there has to be a better way to keep up with this. So what do you guys do?

 

[Smitty37]

I don't think many of us are all that organized. I have blanks and I have kits - if I want to make a particular style pen, I grab a kit and then go looking through the blanks until I find one that strikes my fancy - then I turn a pen.

If you have only 12 kits and 50 blanks count yourself lucky - many of us have hundreds of each.....

 

[monark88]

I use the plastic organizers with 12 large drawers and about 16-20 smaller drawers. I put the kits in the larger drawers and bushings and small stuff in the smaller drawers.

I use large 'Sterlite' plastic containers for everything else, such as mandrels, pepper mill kits, lathe tools. I'm pretty messy and I have to have everything in a designated place or it gets lost.

Takes time to set up, but once you do, you know where everything is when you need it.

My wood just gets put in a cardboard box/es. I have about 200 plus wood blanks.

I don't know if this helps or not, but this is what I do.
Russ

 

[longbeard]

I've still got wood in the frb that they came in! about 5 i think, overall, enough to last me a few years. My wife says i'm addicted to wood, i really dont see a problem :bulgy-eyes::bulgy-eyes::bulgy-eyes: Kits, i have them in organizers, 12 bin stack-on style with the bigger draws.

If you look thru the build, shop fixtures, you'll see alot of great ideas.

hers one link, but there are ALOT more of creative ways to get things organized
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f30/organizing-bushings-93367/

 

[Crashmph]

I have Stanley Vidmar cabinet that I got off of craigslist for a steal. It has individual slots for separating out different component sets. You can find them on eBay as well.

 

[alphageek]

Organized.... Hmmmm hold on while I get out a dictionary as I don't know the meaning of that word....

I'm pretty sure the answer is to just get more stuff??

All kidding aside - I have a couple different bin systems. I find that grouping blanks by type is good... And kits by style/type.

I don't really pair them up until I go to make the pen..... I'll usually do more than one to save time... So I'll decide to do say 5 cigars. I'll go pick out 6 blanks (ill do an extra in case I don't like one when its done). Prep all 6... Turn all 6... Etc. sometimes all 6 end up as pens, sometimes not.

No hard/fast rules for me though... Sometimes just pick a kit and blank and go (especially when I have something special in mind or just want to see a new pen done). By mixing it up it stays more of a hobby than job.

 

[mick]

This is my storage for my plastics and acrylics. It's something my wife picked up at a thrift store. I've got a smaller one on my desk with all my speciality blanks. My wooden blanks are sorted similarly just a lot more of them!
My kits hang on a 4x4 pegboard above my desk. Sorted in rows according to type and plating. I usually work on 6-10 pens at once, just pick the type and blank as suits my fancy or according to orders.

 

[dabbler]

I use lidded bins sorted by material type for blanks. I have about 250 in 4 bins. Different kits are in smaller lidded bins that hold 7-8 larger kits and about 14-15 slimlines. More common ones are also sorted by plating. I suppose I have about 15 in use currently and about 100 kits (I think).

I just scrawl the content's name in black marker on the front for quick ID. They're all placed in a cupboard on shelves around "arm height" for easy access. So far it sort of works and better than having everything randomly scattered about the place.

If someone has ordered a specific combo or I think a combo might go well together, I usually pull the blank and kit then put them in a larger ziplock baggie along with request info.

 

[Hendu3270]

I have a handful of old steel catalog drawers that I was able to get from work when we moved everything over to computers awhile back. I have a drawer for each pen style I turn that has the bushings, trimming sleeves, kits and blanks (if I've purchased a specific blank for a certain kit). I also have a drawer that has misc blanks, and several jars of PearlEX. One drawer is full of nothing but slimlime/trimline kits waiting to be put into the "assembly line". I also have a shelf with various pieces of burl that I've purchased over the past several months that I slice from when needed.

Compared to some of the pics in this thread, I have nowhere near as much as most.

 

[Dan Hintz]

This is my storage for my plastics and acrylics.
View attachment 89837

I love this, Mick.

Though it wouldn't work for me... I simply have way too much. I found the boxes for Tasso coffee machine packets are an ideal size. Around 6x8x18", give or take, they fit a god number of pens and are quite stackable in a bookshelf. Every box has a sheet on the top telling me what kits are in there, quantity, manufacturer, and cost of a single (gives a good suggestion on pricing / profit and lets me know how much it will cost to replace when quantities get low).

For blanks, well, I have thousands of pounds, so storage amounts to open-top boxes stacked on top of each other. It could use some more organization, but I (mostly) know where things are... just might take me a while to shift things around and get to it. The cheaper stuff (like spalted / ambrosia Maple) is at the bottom, and the more expensive pieces (Amboyna burls, etc.) are closer to the top. No listing of what I have, but again, I keep a rough idea in my head.

 

[Hendu3270]

This is my storage for my plastics and acrylics. It's something my wife picked up at a thrift store. I've got a smaller one on my desk with all my speciality blanks. My wooden blanks are sorted similarly just a lot more of them!
My kits hang on a 4x4 pegboard above my desk. Sorted in rows according to type and plating. I usually work on 6-10 pens at once, just pick the type and blank as suits my fancy or according to orders.

View attachment 89837

I like how those blanks are all separated into color groups. And the fact that you have a butt load of them!!

 

[mikespenturningz]

I use a rack that I purchased at Sams Club that has plastic containers on it.

 

[mick]

I like how those blanks are all separated into color groups. And the fact that you have a butt load of them!!

Thank Chris,
I wish my woods were as organized. Most species are stacked and taped into blocks if I have that many. Others are just grouped together on 6x6 shelves I built specifically for that purpose.



This is how I organize my kits so I just reach up and get the one I need. I'm actually low and need to make an order as show season has started.

 

[Justturnin]

I throw all of my kits in a box and just toss my blanks in a big tote. When I want to make a pen the hunt is part of the fun.

 

[InvisibleMan]

I have boxes of stuff jammed into a cabinet. When I need something, I search until I determine I don't have one.

 

[plano_harry]

Here are some bins that I am planning to get for kits and bushings. They are the same as what you see in Lowes to hold much of the hardware they sell.

Amazon.com: Quantum Storage Clear Tip Out Bin - 5 1/4in. x 23 5/8in. x 6 1/2in. Size: Home & Kitchen

There is a guy on ebay that sells them cheaper than Amazon. Going for the 5 drawer units to hold kits; 9 drawer for bushings.

I like my blanks in large shallow pull-out trays so I can see the grain and color better.

 

[Turned Around]

my only problem is organizing my drill bits. been looking for plastic test tubes or something, but can't find anything that will fit all of mine consistantly. i use rubbermaid drawers for the blanks and a pegboard for the kits

 

[plano_harry]

Since I have dedicated bits for my pens, I put them in size order for all the different kits I make, then drilled holes about an inch apart in a 2x2 strip of maple about 12" long. The bits are stored in that block attached to the wall next to my drill press. I can remove a bit and do a quick check of tube fit in the hole, so I don't need to squint to read the bit size or label anything.

my only problem is organizing my drill bits. been looking for plastic test tubes or something, but can't find anything that will fit all of mine consistantly. i use rubbermaid drawers for the blanks and a pegboard for the kits

 

[dabbler]

Slowly getting so I keep drill bits with kits. Means some excess $ tied up in bits but I find it handy. Bit marked at tube length, usually with red nail polish.

 

[philb]

HELMER Drawer unit on castors - white - IKEA

Don't know if you have these in USA? Great for kit storage, and blank storage.
Have two with kits, one for acrylics and one for special woods! The other woods are in a heap!

Can get about 40 kits in each draw, just made some card dividers and can seperate platings inside each drawer!

 

[papaturner]

This is how I store my kits. Blanks are in plastic shoe containers(no photo).