How do you keep bolts organized when disassembling things

[kschachn]

Baggies with labels and lots of cell pictures.

Me too. Dollar store generic zip-lock sandwich bags are economical.

 

[Bud_One]

Bolts in cardboard is good, baggies with marker is good, but usually I don't take stuff apart and wait weeks before getting back to it. So I usually just have a mess and hope I remember where it all goes.

Will say, sometimes I can thread the bolt back into whatever place it came out of, after removing the bracket or whatever. No labeling required.

Those little magnetic trays, those can be nice, place several on a vehicle, wherever the bolts came out of.

Same here , small carboard box and a magnetic tray(s).
And hope I remember... even though it may only be a day later

 

[paulo57509]

When I did the timing belt on the LS, there's A LOT of stuff that needs to be unfastened and moved/removed to get to what actually needs to be unbolted in order to reach the objective.

I either put the fasteners on the floor with the offending assembly that was now out of the way or into a small plastic bucket. Sometimes, I just thread the fastener back onto it's hole after the assembly is removed.

After I got the engine running again, I was left with 8-10, 6mm bolts that I have no idea where they came from. When I re-assemble, I look for any empty bolt holes; when there are none I move onto the next assembly.

When I did the starter 18 months later, I retrieved the left over hardware to see if I could find where they went. Nothing came out of that bucket.

Nothing has fallen off the engine or caught fire - yet.

I do use Sharipie-labeled, ziplock bags on occasion.

 

[bdcardinal]

Haven't used these personally, but they look very handy.

View attachment 215694

Boltster- Home of The Original Flexible Bolt and Fastener Organizer

The best bolt and fastener organizer available! Great for aviation, woodworking, junk yards, mechanics, and much more. Better than your old magnet tray or push through cardboard bolt diagram by far! Never lose your bolt and fastener orientation again!. Heat resistant, chemical resistant, and...

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I have these and they are awesome.

 

[anderson]

i use a random cardboard box or bucket. no organizing required except for bearing caps and other internal engine parts

 

[Pablo]

Metal cans and muffin tins as well

Glass jars not good IMHO.

 

[thastinger]

labeled zip lok bags

 

[D60]

I also use muffin pans. I think it helps to take brake cleaner to them to get rid of the non-stick coating. When new even sharpies don't really work, and I label each compartment with a permanent marker (Markzall, technically)

 

[awguy]

egg cartons

 

[Exhaustgases]

For the photo memory bunch, doesn't work good if the item is torn apart for months on end waiting for parts, and other items are in the works as well. I've had many projects at places I had worked at in the past where I had something torn down for over a year or so.
Give it a try, and do a hundred jobs as that memory one sits. Yes if its all the same item your working on everyday its easy to remember stuff, but when its many different things and makes its not so easy.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Multiple harbor freight magnetic parts trays.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

zip lock plastic quart bags for small items. I used magic marker black pen to label each. Gallon bags for larger items....

 

[dfarr67]

Dont miss the bolt under the distributer gear.

That's a good one- I drilled a drain hole in the casting.

 

[GSCJR]

same

+2

For the photo memory bunch, doesn't work good if the item is torn apart for months on end waiting for parts, and other items are in the works as well.

Yes, if it's a going to be a while for whatever reason, I use small clear bags to sort and organize.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

I usually just make piles in a way that makes sense to me. Not even necessarily in order, but if it’s a job I’m not familiar with I will give more thought to laying piles of fasteners out in a certain order.

If needed I will use brake clean or aerosol spray can lids to group fasteners together because they’re free and our shop owns our tools, thus I won’t bring in anything of my own (turns into the shops property).

 

[Nyati]

I recently dropped an oil pan on a 3/4 ton Chevy. I also had to drop the front axle a bit. On the way to the shop where I did the work, I picked up a box of 1/2 cup canning jars. I took the tops off and arranged the jars in a row. As I disassembled things, I place the bolts in groupings in the jars, starting at the left and working right. With the jars being clear I was able to clearly see the bolts. When re-assembly everything I just looked at the jars and brought out the bolts and nuts and worked right to left. It was a great way to keep me organized. I'll certainly do it again. What works for you?

When I did a ground-up restoration of a pre-A 1954 Porsche i took photos of each assembly and put bolts And nuts in ziptop baggies with stickies inside indicating what it came off. Worked well, because it took over 4 years to complete, and I have problems remembering what I had for breakfast that day.

 

[Snagglefoot]

One thing that should be considered is the ORDER in which these bolts come off. Arranging your storage in a linear fashion, helps jog the memory in the order everything goes back together. “ oh yeah, I can’t put the line holder on until AFTER, I tighten the differential to frame bolts because the line holder would be in the way.”

 

[Snagglefoot]

Metal cans and muffin tins as well

Glass jars not good IMHO.

Butter fingers.

 

[Pablo]

Butter fingers.

I mean when they say swinging wrenches......