[Jewelry making - Article 00593] - Re: [Orchid] Tools organization ideas

[Kathy Johnson]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========


    I use lots of beads in my work. I got two tall plastic multi-drawer
    chests from Sam's Club. Each chest has 4 drawers that are about 3"
    deep, three drawers that are about 8" deep, and has casters so it can
    roll. I discovered that the frames that support each of the drawers
    snap apart with some difficulty, but reassemble easily. I rearranged
    the drawers so that all 8 of the 3" drawers are on one rolling base,
    above one of the deeper drawers. The other five 8" drawers are on the
    other rolling base. This gives me lots of shallow drawers in which to
    store beads. 

    I get hundreds of film canisters for free (I love that word!) from
    the local photo studio/film developing shop. They save the canisters
    and give them to whoever asks for them first. I go in every few
    months and clean out their canister collection box. 

    Each temporarily strung strand of beads is unstrung and carefully
    put into a canister. One bead from the strand is glued to the
    canister lid. There's usually at least one less-than-perfect bead on
    each strand that can be sacrificed as a marker bead. If not, I use
    silicone sealer to attach them, so that a still-usable bead can be
    easily pulled loose if it's ever needed. 

    Information about the beads (size, material, price) is put on a
    label that goes on the side of the canister. These film canisters
    full of beads go into the shallow drawers, sorted by color so I can
    find things later. I just glance into a drawer, and can easily see
    the bead I'm looking for on top of the canisters. I only use the
    translucent white canisters for bead storage. That makes it easy to
    see when I'm getting low on something without having to dump it out
    and count the beads. 

    Each drawer of beads is labeled by color.  The big drawer on the
    bottom holds all the various packages of small zipper bags that are
    both a blessing and a curse to those in this business. 

    For larger beads that won't fit into a film canister, I got some
    larger tubes from a coin shop which are meant for holding stacks of
    bullion coins. They hold full strands of big beads nicely, and still
    fit into the shallow drawers of the plastic chest. 

    In the chest with the leftover 8" drawers, I keep shipping supplies
    such as labels, pens and tape, as well as small display pieces, photo
    background papers/fabrics, signs, maps and other show-related odds
    and ends. 

    For tools on the bench, I got a wooden remote control rack from a
    discount department store. I think it cost $9. It is two-tiered,
    perhaps 10" wide by 8" deep. It easily holds 20 pairs of pliers when
    the pliers are positioned so that the handles straddle the sides and
    center divider of the rack. In the two deep slots that are meant to
    hold remote controls, I can stand taller tools that can't straddle
    the wood dividers, such as files and scissors. 

    And now an organization question--- When I bought my previously-owned
    shop equipment, I got a large box of various sizes of casting flasks
    and rubber sprue bases. Does anyone have any suggestions for storing
    them in a relatively organized fashion? Right now they're in a
    plastic laundry basket, and it's difficult to find the size/height
    flask and matching base without dumping everything out on the floor. 

--Kathy Johnson
Feathered Gems Pet Motif Jewelry
http://www.featheredgems.com


____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________