Railway Workbench Storage & Ideas

[Brinkly]

Hi chaps,

 

This might seem like a really daft question, but has anyone found a good way of storing all those little bits and bobs that one accumulates over the years when building a model railway? I've bought Really Useful boxes which have helped, but what do other people do? I'm not so worried about the actually table or desk, just the way of storing all the little bits!

 

I've seen some lovely examples from our friends across the pond. 

 

This workstation for example is great:

 

But what do people store etched W-Irons, wagon parts such as axleboxes and wheels in?  

 

Be interested to see photos and hear ideas before I go out and either buy or make something.

 

Kind regards,

Nick

[kandc_au]

What a neat and organised work area!

 

Those clear tubs you have over to the left (blue clips on them) are available as quite small boxes....Have you considered those?

They are stackable.

Another is the takeaway containers, again clear, you can label them, stack them.

 

Khris

[JZ]

Used to use tobacco tins, until everyone I knew gave up smoking. Now tend to use those multi compartment boxes from places like The Range and pound shops.

 

As for the workbench above. A bit too tidy for my liking

[Paul Cram]

Aldi do a unit with small plastic drawers. I have 2 of these for storing small parts. The drawers come with dividers so can be split in combinations up to three sections. There is also one large drawer at the bottom.

[peter220950]

I think the main problem is that whatever you choose there's always something that's just a bit too big to fit. I have ended up with several solutions over the years. The base set up is Ikea units which are a great starting point.

 

The small bits are in Stanley boxes of varying size, the smallest being used for items such as wagon under-frames, people and lineside bits, couplings etc.

 

 

 

The larger stanley boxes with removable boxes are used for coach fittings, loco's fittings and suchlike.

 

 

I use a larger drawer system for things such as track components and gauges, card stock, paints.

 

 

And Really useful boxes wherever they fit for electrics, wire, solder and DCC bits. 

 

 

Behind the door is a store for strip wood, rail and long metal sections made from cardboard tubes stuck together and sprayed black.

 

 

When building anything I tend to use box type files which keep all the relevant bits together in one place.

 

 

Mainly using whatever space I can find, and using suitably sized containers to fit the spaces. It's also worth considering expansion, if you go for one off deals, and things which may not be available in the future, you might be in trouble if you want to increase your stock in the future, so sometimes it's maybe better to stick with the likes of Realy Useful and named brands. If not cheap and cheerful is fine.

[Kenton]

I could never be that organised. Everything is in its place - I know where I can find it - Its in one of the 100's of plastic boxes lying somewhere around my work room/office/study/den .... or somewhere in the garage among/under/on the unfinished layouts (good luck) or if an unstarted kit (hopefully with all required and necessary parts - wheels motor gearbox .... then it will be in a trunk in the loft!

 

Just don't ask me to find it just now!

 

I start each new kit with the intention of tidying up the bench first - but this usually just ends up as typing the cutting mat on its edge, polishing the steel RSU plate and rearranging all those most essential (of all essential) tools in an open space at the edge of the mat. Everything else just gets a shove to the back of the bench until the next time I find a use for it. I have a plastic box full of etch scrap on the floor.

 

Wo betide an unfinished (read incomplete) kit or it will go into a plastic box to be deliberately "lost" and sent to the bottom of the build list (the garage) until I have the presence of mind to chase/source the missing bits.

 

Athough I often have several kits on the go at once they have one thing in common - I can continue with any of them at any time, all their parts are waiting to be identified/removed from the etch/cleaned/added to the model - so I have little requirement for "spares" boxes.

[Fat Controller]

For anyone who goes to France shopping, or on holiday, it's worth having a look in Leroy Merlin, who are like a French version of B&Q or Wickes, but with much better ranges of some things. They're often to be found in the same 'Retail Park' (Zone Commercialé) as Auchan. I've picked up several 50 or 72 drawer units which have small (perhaps 5cm wide, 5cm deep, and 10cm long) transparent plastic drawers. Depending on the design, sometimes the drawers can be pulled out in their entirety, sometimes only opened, but they're invaluable for storing varieties of things like buffers, and even complete bogies, and generally come in at the equivalent of £10-£15. I did see similar things in the Axminster catalogue, but they were quite a bit more expensive.

[Guest 40-something]

Lidl have this on from Thursday...

 

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/SID-50335083-2409E576/www_lidl_uk/hs.xsl/our-offers-2491.htm?action=showDetail&id=5003&ar=11

 

Thinking of picking up a set myself

[Nelson Jackson]

Hi,

May I recommend this,

It is made from metal and the boxes are plastic, this could easily stand on the side of your workbench.

It's fantastic for storing humbrol enamel tins, you can fit 5 tins in each compartment. Then the rest are yours, buffers, wheels, axle boxes generally anything. Then at the bottom you have a large compartment and this is good for wagons, paintbrushes, loco bodies etc...

Here's where I bought it. I bought mine in Belfast and it was on offer £14 I think, can't remember.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/44-drawer-organizer-storage-cabinet-dimensions-510-x-307-x-147mm-29163

But now look at the price?

If you are planning on buying one then please, make sure that you, see before you buy, at the shop. To make sure it is right for yourself.(I don't want to be held responsible, for any bad purchases and someone saying that a certain loco/paintbrush doesn't fit)

Thanks

 

Edit: forgot to mention that you can add labels to the boxes, some of mine have fallen off, I didn't glue them on.

[Fat Controller]

Hi,

May I recommend this,

image.jpg

It is made from metal and the boxes are plastic, this could easily stand on the side of your workbench.

It's fantastic for storing humbrol enamel tins, you can fit 5 tins in each compartment. Then the rest are yours, buffers, wheels, axle boxes generally anything. Then at the bottom you have a large compartment and this is good for wagons, paintbrushes, loco bodies etc...

Here's where I bought it. I bought mine in Belfast and it was on offer £14 I think, can't remember.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/44-drawer-organizer-storage-cabinet-dimensions-510-x-307-x-147mm-29163

But now look at the price?

If you are planning on buying one then please, make sure that you, see before you buy, at the shop. To make sure it is right for yourself.(I don't want to be held responsible, for any bad purchases and someone saying that a certain loco/paintbrush doesn't fit)

Thanks

 

Edit: forgot to mention that you can add labels to the boxes, some of mine have fallen off, I didn't glue them on.

That's similar to the sort of thing I mentioned, except that the drawers seem to be in a translucent plastic, rather than transparent. The advantage of the transparent ones is that you can make cheap labels out of cardboard and put them inside the drawer, so they don't fall off. Being a cheapskate, I recycle old christmas cards and, even better, old business cards (my wife seems to have stacks of these; every time she's changed post on a project, she's been issued with new ones)- score them on one side with a craft knive blade, and you can fold them into a sort of 'L' shape, so the bit with the contents is clearly visible.