For boxed cutters just use a sharpie to write the diameter so it's easy to see and store in size order

If you are into lists then just a text file on a computer will remind you if you actually have that item. Doesn't need to be in any format you can just use a find on page to check. The only list I have is clock wheel cutters. Just saves going through the drawer the check what I have. At £70 a pop I don't want doubles.

The other things that really are worth storing sensibly are drills and taps. You do a lot of fetch execute cycles for drills and taps so savings in time mount up quickly, providing you put them back. I just use normal drill stands and wooden blocks for the taps.

As Andrew says dn't sweat it you will be amazed at how well you remember stuff in that little linked list in your head, it's next to the so and so, on the wossname'

If you do actually end up losing something the best way to find it is order another and then put it away somewhere sensible. You will find the original just next to it. All tools are quantum objects and every time you use them it refreshes their specific existance. Use something rarely and it kind of eveporates back into it's wave function. Buying another collapses the wave function and you get the original tool back. This is known as Schrodinger's Boring Head* or sometimes as Heisenbergs 'Oh B*gg*r it" test.

regards Martin

* I've actually done this.

Edited By Martin Kyte on 03/06/2020 10:35:17

Edited By Martin Kyte on 03/06/2020 10:36:47

Edited By Martin Kyte on 03/06/2020 10:37:09

Keeping a list of tools is unnecessary and for the hobbyist bureaucratic for no reason – or so I thought until the grand sort out of the garage/workshop during lockdown when I found several duplicates that I have bought because I had forgotten I already had one and it was not immediately obvious in the pre tidy chaos.

I have no doubt a second set of metric hand reamers and 2 sizes of indexable boring bars matching 2 others in a different drawer may come in handy, but a list would have saved me the money!

On a work project we had the asset register spreadsheet linked to a similar printer, so on receipt of an item at goods-in you updated the spreadsheet for each item and then it generated the matching labels which were then affixed to each item before it went into use.

Barcoding was also an option which allowed the inventory to be checked at intervals. Nowadays you'd have the labels RFID enabled to make it all contactless and doorway scanners to allow you to monitor when an item leaves/enters an area…rather OTT for the home workshop but worthwhile in industrial applications.

I have started documenting my Insert tool with Ever Note (Free Download)

Just so I know what the inserts are when I come to purchase more. But I also store and capture other information when I can

I have an inventory on Excel that I made up some years ago itemizing all of my tooling & where it is located e.g. blue wall cabinet – #1 cupboard, milling cutters in their respective plastic containers in plastic separation box's ( fisherman tackle box )- red tool chest, etc etc.It stood me in good stead 5 years ago when some low life managed to break into my garage/man cave & helped themselves to some items including my first engine build.

Fortunately we managed to disturb them & they managed to make a rapid exit as the police arrived within 1/2 hr ?. the itemised listing certainly helped insurance co. resolve my claim swiftly, anything new gets added to the inventory as & when.

George.

I use and recommend rdex, a freeware database from pnewman.com. It's very simple to use and is available for PC and Android.

I've got a Brother label printer Derek – are the labels "reasonably" waterproof?

Regards,

IanT

Just make sure your shiny tools are not in contact with wood or paper, especially ones in the back of the drawer and seldom used. I put aside the stronger plastic food trays as liners and subdividers. Worth remembering that they can be reshaped a bit with a hot air gun.

Taps/Dies/Reamers are all stored in A4 size "Bisley" drawers with a simple hand written label on the drawer. Regularly used cutters are in Ikea wooden drawers with the size range written on. Most other cutters are in a selection of boxes which I sort through to find what I need. I can remember where most stuff is but with several hundred cutters it sometimes takes a search.

I have a Bisley 10 Drawer unit to store various varieties of taps and dies and ER 25 collets.

Because I have damp problems in my garage/workshop most of my equipment is stored in plastic food boxes.

Drill chucks are also stored in a plastic box at the tailstock end of the lathe.

Standard drill are stored behind the chucks.

Special drills stored on the shelf behind the lathe.

Because of the damp, sensitive measuring instruments, gauges etc are kept in a cabinet which is stored in the house. The photo also shows two ring binders which currently list power tools and workshop equipment These contain print out of photos, user manuals and where possible purchase receipts. This is for insurance purposes (we all know what a bunch of crooks insurance companies are). It will also help my executors when I go to the great workshop in the sky.