workshops

[Buck Buchanan]

At 09:58 PM 6/25/99 +0930, Budweiser [FtS] wrote:
>I was wondering what everyone has for standard electronics
>parts in there workshop. I am sick and tired of having to make a
>trip to the electronics store for a simple schematic that ive found
>on the net. I figured I should do something like get 100 of every
>type of 5% resistor, and the same for various capacitors. The 

Hi Bud, 

If you're going to stock up over a short period, you'll have to spend some money.  I'm sure you'll get a 1000 suggestions there so I'll hold off on that.

But I will say that no matter how much money you spend, you'll always be held up for parts on a regular basis (I *feel* like I've bought the entire Digi-Key catalog but I still gotta keep going back).  But yes, having a stock really helps to keep the ball rolling.  It allows you to make due till you get the right part too.

Organization is key.  Little bags seem to be the answer for me at least.  Those little drawer things are neat at first but if you try to keep your whole stock in there you'll be bummed soon.  They're best for random things you're wasting time by organizing - misc. toggle switches, random jacks, hardware, etc.

Cheswick sells little bags in bulk.  My organiztion system is based on little 6mil ziplock bags 5 1/2" x 3".  These fit perfectly in most shoeboxes - you just thumb through them.  I recently started using Rubermaid "magazine" storage boxes that fit two rows of these bags perfectly and have a latching top - great!  It's about $50USD for 1000 bags from Cheswick.  70 pound white cardstock cut into rectangles that just fit inside the bag are used to mark the part, sometimes pinout, supplier, price, etc.  Use a separate bag for each part or value.  It's easy to keep stock on your resistors for example because you just run though the bags and  see what's empty or near empty (however you decide to define that).

Have fun!

Buck