[sdiy] parts bins

[David G. Dixon]

> What are you guys using?

I go to Michael's Art Supplies and buy little plastic "notions" storage
boxes for $3 each.  They're about as big as a piece of paper and a couple
inches deep.  They're made of pliable (not brittle) plastic, with multiple
compartments and a tight-fitting lid, and are quite unbreakable.  I have one
for chips, one for electrolytics, one for switches and various hardware, one
for multipin pcb connectors, and one for various odds and sods.  Very handy.
I stack them up in a deep desk drawer.  I mark chip numbers, cap values,
switch types, etc. on little bits of masking tape with a Sharpie and stick
them to the inside of the compartments.  This works quite well for me.

Resistors I keep in the little tiny ziploc bags they come in from Lee's
Electronics on Main St., Vancouver (plug: shop at Lee's!).  I mark the
values in big numbers on the bag with a Sharpie, and store them upright in
whatever suitable plastic containers I can salvage from the kitchen.  As of
now, values of 10k or less are in one container, and larger values are in
another container.  Ditto for ceramic caps, and for other nonpolar caps.  I
find this more convenient than drawers, which take up space on the desk and
have to be reached for (and can be spilled or knocked over).  Also, most
drawer units are flimsy and waste a lot of space.  Better to just keep
things orderly in little bags.

Pots and jacks I tend to keep in the same ziploc bags they come in from
Small Bear, again in one of my desk drawers.  I tend to use mostly 100k
linear pots, although I keep a few specimens in other values on hand.  I buy
knobs by the 100, and I keep them in the cute little cardboard box they come
in, which fits them perfectly.

Blank pcbs and aluminum for front panels I store vertically like files in
one of my desk drawers, along with all the flat things which go with making
front panels and pcbs.

That's about it.