Air Nailer nail storage ideas??

[reible]

So I need to do something with all the nails I have collected over time. I have a collection of 23GA pin nails, a collection of 18GA brad nails, a collection of staples, a collection of 16Ga nails and a less collection of 15Ga angle nails.

Right now they are sitting on a shelf in more or less stacks by gauge and type. When I need a size it becomes a game of guessing where it might be and as you know it is always in the last place you look.

What adds to this dilemma is that the containers are an eclectic bunch all on their own. As an example this is the 18 GA bunch. I think there is one box missing but that is another story......

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So what say you other owners?

Ed

[robinson46176]

Hi Ed:
You will notice that you didn't get the usual flood of responses on this one. That's because nobody has a great answer for this question... Actually I've decided that there are not even any "fairly good" answers...
The problem is not your air nailer nails. It's all of the other stuff already in most of our shops.
What I am working on right now is eating peanut butter, a lot of peanut butter. It helps keep my cholesterol down and I save the clear plastic jars. They are 40 oz jars 4" in diameter and about 7" tall. They are easy to label and easy to see what is inside. They sit nicely on a 1" x 4" shelf. Not much of an answer for the two cases of framing nailer nails or the two cases of roofing nailer nails but they will work for all of the smaller stuff...
OK, "most" of it.

[RFGuy]

IF going in a drawer, why not make dividers similar to a utensil drawer with dividers for all of the silverware? You could unbox all of them and put them each in a divided section with labels to mark them. IF staying on the shelf, you just make a simple box with the dividers in it to accomplish the same thing. Just a thought.

[edma194]

I have plastic bins and organizer drawers all over the place but they're all full of assorted pieces that don't have convenient little boxes so 3 or 4 small packages of finishing nails for the gun go in a small cardboard box. Then a 100 lbs. or so of framing and roofing nails sit in much bigger cardboard boxes on a shelf all ready to go in case I decide to build an extra house.

[JPG]

You like to make 'cubbies', so make some for these. Are they marked on the end of the boxes/plastic containers? They seem to be about the same height? Width varies.

Also pegboard will work for those so designed.

[DLB]

A twist (pun intended) on the jar idea. Dad attached the jar lids to the bottom of a shelf with a couple of screws so the contents were clearly visible and each jar had a home. You just twist the jar off the lid instead of the other way around. They don't slide around and it frees up the top of the shelf for more clutter. I mean treasure. It is especially useful on higher shelves because the contents are much more visible.

I'm very impressed with your selection of 18 gauge brad nails. Seven sizes from 5/8" to 2"... Wow!

- David

[Ed in Tampa]

I do not like containers such as jars or anything that requires removing the nails out of their boxes. Reason it seems that once a strip is out of the box it becomes very prone to breaking apart. Soon my jar or containers are filled with nail strips of 5-10 nails which become a pain to load in the gun.
I keep mine in their original box and stack these on a shelf. 18 gauge in one stack 15 gauge in another, various staple in their stacks. I do the same with nails, and screws. I usually try to buy the same brand of products since most manufactures use similar boxes for each size.

I can look into my cabinets at the shelf that holds these and know instantly what stock is where and which needs to be replenished. Has worked for me for years.

Huge supplies like a bucket of nails or coils are kept overhead and taken down when needed.

I have a small box of 16d nails on my shelf and also a bucket of them over head. When I need a nail or two I grab it from my shelf and for a larger job I have a bucket of them overhead.

I like manufactures boxes as they usually label them very clearly with what they are and most are design to best protect the product.

[reible]

So what I ended up doing was to empty a drawer of router gear and put the nails in it. There is no room for the 15 Ga nails but that is OK as I now have them over my the nailers. I still have some 23 Ga nails in another location but I think they will all fit. I also found the 18 Ga 1-1/8" nails not pictured but they are now in the drawer.

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Now I have to figure out what to do with the router stuff that had been in the drawer..... just stuck it in a box for now.

I do wish that I could still get the nails in those nice squarish boxes but now most of them are in those plastic clam shells.

Ed

[edma194]

I do wish that I could still get the nails in those nice squarish boxes but now most of them are in those plastic clam shells.

Ed

You aren't buying enough quantity. Buy them by the 1000s and they come in nice squarish boxes. But each box may be as big as your drawer