Do It Yourself

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How do I sort screws for reuse? (feddit.online)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hi all,

Recently got myself a popcorn maker from the thrift shop that unfortunately refused to work. Wanted to try and get it operating as it should again, but it seems the issue wasn't so much something being broken in the machine, but rather extremely cheap build quality.

Repairing the thing just didn't seem worth it, so I disassembled it and am recycling the individual parts. However, I am thinking about making a toolbox so that I can learn some repairs and all, and am hoping to save the screws that I've salvaged from the machine.

My question is this. How does one sort and categorize the screws they keep? Are there codes the screws have, or does it come down to personally measuring and determining the length and type of screwdriver needed for them? Currently just keeping them in a sandwich bag for the time being.

Thanks for any help in advance.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

Mine are sorted by wood and machine, then by length. If I were to go further than that I would have to increase my separators exponentially.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

I think you could lose your mind doing this. In my garage I have a few pots of various screws sorted by the material they’re made of.

I keep entertaining the idea of sorting them by size, for example, one pot for M8 nuts, bolts, screws, etc. just because it’s obviously easy to tell the difference between a nut and a screw, but not easy to tell the difference between an M8 nut and an M10 nut.

Most stuff just goes in the recycling though.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I tend to loosely/grossly sort them by type and size. Machine screws go in one pile, bolts in a different pile, sheet metal screws in another pile. Otherwise, I have a number of adjustable slotted cases where I just drop them in. When I need a random screw then I have a decent idea the size and type I need and I can quickly find it without additional sorting, in most cases.

https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage-organization/parts-storage/24-divider-storage-container-94458.html

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Type (machine/wood/bolt) , then size (diameter of shaft), then head type (pan/flat/pancake/countersink) then pitch (for machine screws) then length.

A screw organizer is crucial. I tend to split things up between different organizers by Type first (one organizer for Wood, etc).

I have a small organizer for "around the house" screws.

Those HF organizers are the way to go. I've never seen them cheaper anywhere else. And they often have coupons for them.

HF Coupons app for Android https://www.hfqpdb.com/android-app/install.html

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Get something like this

https://www.amazon.com/Thread-Checker-Standard-Wall-Mountable-Identifier/dp/B0C8ZN9HZV

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago

Or to take up way less space, a small manual thread checker. For sure by thread is the answer to bolt/screw sorting