How do you store your resistors

[Bryan]

Ah, that's right, forgot about that, would end up like George Costanzo's wallet.<g>

https://youtu.be/yoPf98i8A0g

[RoGeorge]

I am thinking now just using coin envelopes and storing them in those old school business card holders. The envelopes should fit in the plastic sleeves

Card holders are good enough for SMDs.
For TH, I found them cumbersome to extract/put back parts with small terminals, so I put the parts into a small zip lock bag, then the bag was put into card holders. Adding one extra layer, the plastic bag, made them too annoying to fiddle with, so I discontinued them as a TH parts holder.

[Robert763]

I have a very old RS component case. It was designed for the job. It's a medium sized plastic case with a foam insert carrying an array of plastic tubes long enough to hold reistors. It even came with a set of labels. Only E12 but I've annotated for E24. Higher precision are in polybags in a Realty Useful Box. No point in keeping every E48 or E96  Unlike the modern books the RS box can hold a usable quanity of resistors in each tube not just 10 or so. Shame they don't sell them any more. I do have a spare.

[Wallace Gasiewicz]

I use the plastic sheet protectors for SMD parts. I use a FUSE iron for making custom pockets, WeR Memory keepers, a scrapbook supplier
This is essentially a soldering iron with a roller tip. It welds the plastic sheet protector together. I just bought the tips and put them into an old soldering iron, which is temp controlled. Takes a little practice to get the temp and the speed of rolling correct. Pretty easy.
This is like what Zapta showed, but full size paper sheets, in regular loose leaf binders, of course you could make them any size and you could get a bunch of Franklin Planners cheap from Salvation Army...apparently no one uses these things anymore...

https://www.scrapbook.com/store/brand/we+r+memory+keepers.html?msclkid=d4fa19667f6313496bfa78958d53c6dc&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search+-+Text+-+Brands+-+We+R+Memory+Keepers&utm_term=we+r+memory+keepers&utm_content=We+R+Memory+Keepers+-+General

You can make different pockets in cheap plastic sheet protectors, Pennies each protector.

I use 4x6 index card boxes for axial lead regular parts. You can tape the parts to a 4x6 card and "file" it or put small plastic envelopes behind cards or use 4x6 mailing envelopes...or all these combinations.
Card boxes are from Salvation Army, Again Cheap.
Boxes labeled Resistors, 1% Resistors, Caps, Inductors ETC....
Bigger parts are in plastic shoe boxes with cardboard filing dividers.

ICs are a problem, I use parts boxes from Harbor Freight, the kind with multiple pull out "drawers" Never seem to have this under control...

Wally

[mc172]

For SMD resistors, capacitors and the like I use these: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/compartment-boxes/1016551

You can get them elsewhere, which is good since I refuse to use RS as a result of what they've done to their webshite. Anyway, I like them because the vials are small - you don't need large vials to store several hundred 0805 resistors and the lids come off without any force, so you don't risk jolting and spilling them everywhere. On the other hand, it's in your best interests to make sure you don't drop the tray.

I number the lids of each vial and have a reference insert in the lid.

They do smaller ones too: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/compartment-boxes/1016539

[mazurov]

Where did you get those cylindrical holders, or what are they called.

Specimen (or sample) containers (or tubes). Widely used in clinical labs around the world to pack cheek swabs, pap smears, PCRs, etc. Can be had for free - huge amounts of them are thrown away when expired. Get connected with a clinical lab worker or a janitor, you'll have plenty in no time.

[rsjsouza]

Something I learned from my late dad is to use small paper envelopes to store small PTH parts (and I also use it to store SMDs as well). The advantage is that you can write any information on the envelope.


Drawer bins and plastic container boxes are used for the larger parts (ICs, power transistors, etc.)

More photos at:
https://sites.google.com/view/vbeletronico/componentes

[trophosphere]

I use Resistor Kits from Analog Technologies. If I need to breadboard a circuit then I use one of these adapters to convert the SMD resistor to a more bread-board friendly variant.

[Zero999]

I have a very old RS component case. It was designed for the job. It's a medium sized plastic case with a foam insert carrying an array of plastic tubes long enough to hold reistors. It even came with a set of labels. Only E12 but I've annotated for E24. Higher precision are in polybags in a Realty Useful Box. No point in keeping every E48 or E96  Unlike the modern books the RS box can hold a usable quanity of resistors in each tube not just 10 or so. Shame they don't sell them any more. I do have a spare.

Snap.

Funilly enough. I thought you copied my pictures. I took them over 11 years ago.


https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/component-organization/msg12987/#msg12987

[david77]

Component drawers, ziplock baggies, repurposed photograpic paper boxes, sorting boxes. I try to keep all E24 values in stock in THT, 1206 and 0805. u

[Jester]

I use one of these rotating cubes, one side is for resistors, one side for capacitors etc.

[rfclown]

The small envelope thing has worked great for me. I have one box with most used parts: 1, 10, 100, 1k.... 1M resistors, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 uF capacitors, 2N3904, 2N3906, etc. Then one box with all other resistors. An old Velveeta box is the perfect size for the small envelopes.

[Zucca]

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg3971501/#msg3971501

[DeanA]

Not that I have that many resistors, but they used to be a tangled up pile in a small plastic tub.

Where did you get those cylindrical holders, or what are they called. One could label the top of them and really maximize space by stacking them vertically.

They look like 2 dram vials, https://toolcraft.net.au/Plastic-Vials-1-Dram-to-50-Dram~116 if you don't want that plastic hanger thing on the top, I store my SMT bits in them.

[Vovk_Z]

Some portion of my wired resistors bought as kit from China are stored in a box:

[gbaddeley]

I scrolled thru the entire thread to see if anyone does what I do. The post above is easily the most cost effective and simplest means of storing and being able to quickly find and get out components - little plastic baggies standing up on in a box with values written in permanent marker. Much better than opaque paper envelopes.

[PlainName]

The baggies are OK for bandoliered resistors (the plastic is not so hot for loose resistors with pointy ends floating around). But I don't think it's very successful for 'components' that aren't overall flat, or otherwise bulky. Or tiny.

[rsjsouza]

Well, not to mention the plastic bags don't hold their shape as well as the paper envelopes, which may make things a bit messy inside a box. Sure, the envelopes don't also hold bulky things; that is why I have multiple solutions for storage, including plastic bags for loose capacitors, for example. Not one size fits all.

[PlainName]

What might be a useful mix could be a paper/card envelope with the front mostly a transparent window. The tree stuff should keep the plastic stuff in shape and you get the benefits of both. No idea if anyone does those, though (maybe a business idea there!).

[Cubdriver]

What might be a useful mix could be a paper/card envelope with the front mostly a transparent window. The tree stuff should keep the plastic stuff in shape and you get the benefits of both. No idea if anyone does those, though (maybe a business idea there!).

Or perhaps a piece of manila file folder or index card cut to fit the plastic bag and inserted as a backer to hold its shape.  Bonus is you could write the value on the card stock in black sharpie and it would be easy to see and not rub off as  it might if written on a poly bag.

-Pat

[ledtester]

Or perhaps a piece of manila file folder or index card cut to fit the plastic bag and inserted as a backer to hold its shape.  Bonus is you could write the value on the card stock in black sharpie and it would be easy to see and not rub off as  it might if written on a poly bag.

Like the way this guy does it:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/resistor-kit/msg3578649/#msg3578649

[PlainName]

Nah, far too practical 

[kallek]

This way. In the 10,12 drawer for example there are 10, 100, 1K... and 12, 120, 1.2K... resistors. If I run out of stock any E6 value I buy 100 of them. I have own drawers for the E3 and E6 values. I have marked every tape with marker so I can easily identify them.

[RJSV]

So happy to share this tip:
   Try those 'Pill Organizers' for small resistors, maybe.
But for small springs, fuses, screws, tiny LDR light sensors, etc etc

Bon Appetite !

[rcjoy]

2"x3" 4-mil zip-lock poly bags from McMaster-Carr:

https://www.mcmaster.com/1959T71

Less than $3.00 for 100.