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Does anyone have a method to make sorting pieces easier? I have several
tubs of Legos which still need to be sorted, but am feeling a bit lazy about doing
it.
Duane
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Subject:
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Re: Sorting
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.storage
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Date:
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Tue, 20 Oct 1998 22:47:29 GMT
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Reply-To:
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jmkopp@projsolutions.com^antispam^
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Viewed:
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1992 times
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Duane Hess wrote:
> Does anyone have a method to make sorting pieces easier? I have several
> tubs of Legos which still need to be sorted, but am feeling a bit lazy about doing
> it.
>
> Duane
When faced with that problem, i have tried several ways to speed up the sorting
process.
As an engineer type person, i will not be satisfied untill i find the fasted way. My
current method is
as follows: (note: i use hardware style bins for storage)
If I am faced with a 'tub' of peices, i start by dumping them (or half of them) on the
floor. I turn
the floor in fornt of me into a 2 section area, untouched, working, and done piles. i
grab a handful of peices from
'untouched' and look through them for one type of peice. then move the sorted handful
to 'done'. by one peice i mean
a peice that is very common, such as a 2x1x1 or a 2x1x2 and such. by eliminating the
most common peices
the bulk of your pile goes down much more rapidly. after i have removed the stadard
type peice(usually acounting for
60-80 precent of the bulk of the pile) i can move on to the special peices whitch i
sort on the floor and then move in to
the drawers to lessen the number drawer openings i make. Also, before ever starting,
i always remove BURPS and
other such lare mono-peices (including plates of about 6x6 or bigger).
i hope this helps. i have put way too much anal-retentive based so i would feel much
better about my spent time
if it helps someone else :)
--justin
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> Duane Hess wrote:
>
> > Does anyone have a method to make sorting pieces easier? I have several
> > tubs of Legos which still need to be sorted, but am feeling a bit lazy about • doing
> > it.
> >
> > Duane
>
> As an engineer type person, i will not be satisfied untill i find the fasted
way. My current method is as follows: followed by 12 sentences of detailed
instructions.
I've been married to an engineer for 20 years now, and feel compelled to offer
you some advice on sorting (knowing the engineer type so well).
Lighten-up, slow-down, throw all the basic bricks of one color in one bin, all
the special by theme in another. If all else falls bake cookies for the kids
to bribe them to do it.
My husband says I live life in the slow lane, and ya know what, its nice
in the slow lane.
Make it a good day.
Louise
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In article <F14roo.GzG@lugnet.com>, "Duane Hess" <DNJHESS@ZDNETMAIL.COM> wrote:
> Does anyone have a method to make sorting pieces easier? I have several
> tubs of Legos which still need to be sorted, but am feeling a bit lazy • about doing
> it.
For Technic sets, I work on a big table, and use
a "coordinate system" of piles of same-type pieces.
(When building, I value form over aesthetics, so
all colors of a given part go in the same piles.)
x1 x2 x3 x4 x6 x8 x10 x12
bricks ->
beams ->
1x plates ->
2x plates ->
I do something similar with technic shafts
(and more recently, connector pegs). I find a
terrycloth towel useful for keeping round bits
from falling on the floor.
Roof bricks, round pieces, and other specialty
stuff go in their own piles.
Works for me...
-Tim
--
Tim and/or Shelley Rueger - rueger "at" io.com
WWW page: http://www.io.com/~rueger/
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Justin M. Kopp writes:
> by • eliminating the
> most common peices
> the bulk of your pile goes down much more rapidly.
This is the key insight to sorting fast, I think. When I am trying to digest a
big set (or sets) I look through the bags before opening, looking for bags that
are similar (or exactly the same for multiple set copies). Then I dump all the
bags and cherry pick the most common pieces for that bag set. I don't try to
get every last one, either. When the pile is down to 10-20 percent of the size,
I push it aside and start on the next pile. Sometimes the odds and ends of one
pile are the high volume pieces of the next.
I've chewed through 2 technic shuttles in 20 minutes using this technique.
We'll see now, I broke down and got a Costco card so I could get 4 of those
divers sets. :-)
++Lar
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Louise Belles writes:
> Lighten-up, slow-down, throw all the basic bricks of one color in one bin, all
> the special by theme in another.
Ah, the canonical sorting debate has arisen. There is a camp (myself among the
adherents) that feels that sorting by color is a total waste of time (except
for green :-)). Far more important to sort by size and type.
When rooting for a part, which is easier, finding the blue 1x3 bricks in a bin
of 1x3s, or finding the 1x3s in a bin of blue 1x2s, 1x3s and 1x4s? The former.
Trust me. Blue jumps out at you far easier than three studs of length.
Being anal about sorting is a good thing. It lets you have more time to build.
When I'm on a building run, I want everything at hand because the models flow
from my fingers the same way code does when I'm on a coding run.
> If all else falls bake cookies for the kids
> to bribe them to do it.
This never works for me. They want to build using the parts already sorted
instead. (1)(2) But baking cookies is fun, though.
1 - Kids are entropy agents in a big way. Order is NOT their friend.
2 - and it's hard to get mad since building IS fun, after all.
++Lar
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> Ah, the canonical sorting debate has arisen. There is a camp
> (myself among the adherents) that feels that sorting by color
> is a total waste of time (except for green :-)). Far more
> important to sort by size and type.
Yes, yes, we've all heard. By sorting by color, you can easily see
how many pieces you have available for a particluar construction,
whereas sorting by shape lets you get to them quicker.
So both have their advantages.
So for that very reason, why not just sort by BOTH color AND shape?
Stack and line up a grid of bins, each row is a color, each column is
a type. So that way, if you want a ton of, say, 2x4's, you just go
over to the 2x4 column and grab a bunch of all the colors you want.
Or if you want a bunch of reds, you can grab then all from the same
row.
It has the added bonus of being able to peruse your bricks at a glance.
It's just easy to glance over and say "oh, i'm running low on yellows"
as it is to say "look at all the 2x2's I haven't used yet"
Sean
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"Sean M. Kenney" <sean@seankenney.com> writes:
> So for that very reason, why not just sort by BOTH color AND shape?
Yes, but I feel that using too many sorting bins is a waste of space
because there's always going to be a lot of bins that are nearly empty.
And if you have too many bins, you cannot stack them all in front of you
when building, so you need to run back and forth to get the pieces you
need.
So one needs to compromise, and my compromise is to sort by shape (or by
function).
Fredrik
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Duane Hess wrote:
> Does anyone have a method to make sorting pieces easier? I have several
> tubs of Legos which still need to be sorted, but am feeling a bit lazy about doing
> it.
>
> Duane
>
> ======== Posted via the LUGNET discussion group web interface ========
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What works best for me is to use lots of Chinese carry-out soup containers and paper
plates.
I set up 10-20 soup containers (depending on the size of the set). I sort by brick
size and element category (windows, tools, plants, etc.). I sort on the paper plates
(easier to sort on a white background) making it much easier to transfer the pieces to
the tubbies by folding the paper plate into a cone. I don't have to try to get a grip
on 15 gear shifts, they just slide into the container.
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What I have done so far with the pieces I have sorted is:
1. Put all pieces which currently have a classification in my system in one pile
and all unclassified parts in another.
2. Sort all of the classified pieces into three catagories
a) bricks
b) plates
c) other
3. Sort the bricks by size and put into their final containers.
I have continued to break down each pile into smaller catagories, until I finally
have several unique piece piles. Except for a stiff back (from working on the
carpet) things have gone much quicker than expected. I am about 1/2 way
through.
Duane
Tim Rueger writes:
> For Technic sets, I work on a big table, and use
> a "coordinate system" of piles of same-type pieces.
> (When building, I value form over aesthetics, so
> all colors of a given part go in the same piles.)
>
> x1 x2 x3 x4 x6 x8 x10 x12
> bricks ->
> beams ->
> 1x plates ->
> 2x plates ->
>
> I do something similar with technic shafts
> (and more recently, connector pegs). I find a
> terrycloth towel useful for keeping round bits
> from falling on the floor.
>
> Roof bricks, round pieces, and other specialty
> stuff go in their own piles.
>
> Works for me...
> -Tim
>
> --
> Tim and/or Shelley Rueger - rueger "at" io.com
> WWW page: http://www.io.com/~rueger/
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Once upon a time, "Larry Pieniazek" <lpien@NOSPAM.ctp.com> wrote:
> Louise Belles writes:
>
> > If all else falls bake cookies for the kids
> > to bribe them to do it.
>
> This never works for me. They want to build using the parts already sorted
> instead. (1)(2) But baking cookies is fun, though.
I hear you. My kids are really bad about building from sorted bins.
For about a week after I've done major sorting, they'll come up with
creations made from all 1xN plates, or only round pieces.
Thought about sorting by colors vs sorting by shape: my kids'
creations would probably end up looking better if we sorted by color.
Because they tend to work with whatever is in front of them. So, if
they had one bin of various blue bricks, they'd tend to make blue
stuff. They wouldn't be any more (or less) creative, but the apparent
quality of their end products would go up. But it would drive me
*insane* to try to find the exact pieces I need in mono-colored,
multi-shaped piece-bins.
Steve
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Subject:
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Re: Sorting
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.storage
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Date:
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Thu, 22 Oct 1998 18:14:20 GMT
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Reply-To:
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c576653@cclabs.#Spamless#missouri.edu
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Viewed:
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2385 times
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Fredrik Glöckner wrote:
> "Sean M. Kenney" <sean@seankenney.com> writes:
>
> > So for that very reason, why not just sort by BOTH color AND shape?
>
> Yes, but I feel that using too many sorting bins is a waste of space
> because there's always going to be a lot of bins that are nearly
> empty.
> And if you have too many bins, you cannot stack them all in front of
> you
> when building, so you need to run back and forth to get the pieces you
>
> need.
The situation you describe needn't be the case. You mention two
problems.
If empty bin-space is a problem, you are suffering from one of two
difficulties. Bins too large for your collection. Or a collection too
small for your bins (see my auction). RoughTotes are great for 1x2s and
2x4s but you need smaller bins like the plastic bin racks used by many
hardware stores to display/organize screws and such.
If you have these standard plastic bins, rank and file as was described,
you could set up a technic/mindstorm track in front of them and then
build with a computer at hand having your little lego servant bring the
pieces(or bins) that you need.
my $.02,
Christopher Weeks
central Missouri, USA
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On Thu, 22 Oct 1998 06:26:01 GMT, "Larry Pieniazek"
<lpien@NOSPAM.ctp.com> wrote:
> We'll see now, I broke down and got a Costco card so I could get 4 of those
> divers sets. :-)
You spent how much to save how much? *confused*
Why didn't you just get someone to buy some sets for you and send them
to you? SOme of us have our own Costco cards for other reasons.
Sarah Heacock
Sarah@eskimo.com
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Christopher L. Weeks writes:
> If empty bin-space is a problem, you are suffering from one of two
> difficulties. Bins too large for your collection.
So THAT's why my collection is so big! I sort into Sterilite shoe boxes (1) and
no matter how hard I try, I haven't yet filled a shoe box with Technic 1x1
beams. :-) OR silver bricks. :-) :-) Gotta buy more sets, I guess.
> If you have these standard plastic bins, rank and file as was described,
> you could set up a technic/mindstorm track in front of them and then
> build with a computer at hand having your little lego servant bring the
> pieces(or bins) that you need.
Finally, a practical suggestion.
1 - 88 cents each at WalMart.
++Lar
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Sarah Heacock writes:
> On Thu, 22 Oct 1998 06:26:01 GMT, "Larry Pieniazek"
> <lpien@NOSPAM.ctp.com> wrote:
>
> > We'll see now, I broke down and got a Costco card so I could get 4 of those
> > divers sets. :-)
>
> You spent how much to save how much? *confused*
40 bucks. How much is the least I could get this set for elsewhere? I got 4
copies of it, 2 of the sharks and 2 of the Dark forest set. I also got 100
bucks worth of food and a laser pointer for having fun after dark (1).
> Why didn't you just get someone to buy some sets for you and send them
> to you? SOme of us have our own Costco cards for other reasons.
No one else on the project has one! After factoring in the postage to have
someone far away send me the sets.... what's the net savings? dunno. I DID ask
on the .co group, I think, if anyone has one...
Besides, it says that if you're dissatisfied for ANY reason, you can return the
card for a full refund. I may wait a month, then tell them I don't think they
carry enough LEGO brand building block sets. Nasty ethical problem, that.
1 - don't point these AT anyone as they may turn around suddenly and get
drilled in the eye. Mostly I got it to use in meetings.
++Lar
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On Fri, 23 Oct 1998 00:37:00 GMT, "Larry Pieniazek"
<lpien@NOSPAM.ctp.com> wrote:
> No one else on the project has one! After factoring in the postage to have
> someone far away send me the sets.... what's the net savings? dunno. I DID ask
> on the .co group, I think, if anyone has one...
What is the .co group? If I'd seen, I would have offered.
> Besides, it says that if you're dissatisfied for ANY reason, you can return the
> card for a full refund. I may wait a month, then tell them I don't think they
> carry enough LEGO brand building block sets. Nasty ethical problem, that.
But then what would you do if they got more Lego sets in? I'll agree
that the ethical problem exists here. I would not turn around and get
a full refund because you've already done all the buying you want to
do. If you had a genuine problem with Costco, OTOH, then it would be
legit.
Note: The major reason *I* have a Costco credit card is one that, now
you have one, you might want to look into. The Costco at Southcenter
Mall here in Seattle has a gas station associated with it. The gas
there is, like, 94.9/gal when the rest of the city is, cheapest,
1.01/gal
And usually higher.
Sarah Heacock
sarah@eskimo.com
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Sarah Heacock writes:
> On Fri, 23 Oct 1998 00:37:00 GMT, "Larry Pieniazek"
> <lpien@NOSPAM.ctp.com> wrote:
>
> > No one else on the project has one! After factoring in the postage to have
> > someone far away send me the sets.... what's the net savings? dunno. I DID • ask
> > on the .co group, I think, if anyone has one...
>
> What is the .co group? If I'd seen, I would have offered.
The lugnet.loc.co newsgroup hierarchy. but maybe I'm hallucinating.
I appreciate your offer, really I do, but I didn't think it made sense to do
this by mail. I'm in CO and probably won't be in WA for some time.
> Note: The major reason *I* have a Costco credit card is one that, now
> you have one, you might want to look into. The Costco at Southcenter
> Mall here in Seattle has a gas station associated with it. The gas
> there is, like, 94.9/gal when the rest of the city is, cheapest,
> 1.01/gal
Worth looking into but I only run premium in my personal cars, and ethanol
free, to boot. Cheap gas usually is not all that good. Maybe I'm brainwashed
but I buy from the majors and get better performance. This is especially
important at 6000 feet and above, and especially important when you're a
leadfoot like me.
I already have a Sams Club, which is what was holding me back. Hm... well, now
that I have a costco if there are people that want more of these sets I can get
them and mail them but I think they may be running out of the two better ones,
they had lots of sharks left but I really had to root in the pallets to find
two dark forests.
++Lar
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> I already have a Sams Club, which is what was holding me back. Hm... well, now
> that I have a costco if there are people that want more of these sets I can get
> them and mail them but I think they may be running out of the two better ones,
> they had lots of sharks left but I really had to root in the pallets to find
> two dark forests.
I have a BJ's and now Costco. I got the Costco second, and got it because I
used to live in CA and really liked them. As for the 6079s, When I first saw
these at Costco, I got the last 2 left. Since then the selection dwindled
rapidly until about a week ago when they put out a whole new pallet with more
6079s in it. BJ's seems to have gotten in on the same deal too as they have
all three of the sets Costco has PLUS the 6765 Gold City Junction Wild West
set. (Although BJ's cost is 24.99 while Costco is 24.49).
Rob
+-------------------------------------------+
| Rob Farver - rfarver@rcn.com |
| http://www.farver.com/lego/ |
| http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/rfarver |
+-------------------------------------------+
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Larry Pieniazek <lpien@NOSPAM.ctp.com> wrote
> When rooting for a part, which is easier, finding the blue 1x3 bricks in a bin
> of 1x3s, or finding the 1x3s in a bin of blue 1x2s, 1x3s and 1x4s? The former.
> Trust me. Blue jumps out at you far easier than three studs of length.
Trust him. It is.
For small amounts having "misc" bins works well, but I use a threshold of
about 2x4x2" of small parts before I split them out. This is because with
Technic I find it easier to remember where a given part is than to
scrabble through a bin looking for it. Especially the gray parts...
> Being anal about sorting is a good thing. It lets you have more time to build.
> When I'm on a building run, I want everything at hand because the models flow
> from my fingers the same way code does when I'm on a coding run.
Hmm, coding runs (I did most of my weeks typing yesterday morning, after
a week of head-banging a particular problem that my coworker couldn't
understand why it was a problem, let alone help with it. But I got it in
the end. Now to spend the long weekend building MS models I think.
(instead of building MS programs... now there's a scary symbol
overloading)
> 1 - Kids are entropy agents in a big way. Order is NOT their friend.
They love order - it makes the mess so much more distinctly their own :)
Moz
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Robert Farver writes:
> I have a BJ's and now Costco. I got the Costco second, and got it because I
> used to live in CA and really liked them. As for the 6079s, When I first saw
> these at Costco, I got the last 2 left. Since then the selection dwindled
> rapidly until about a week ago when they put out a whole new pallet with more
> 6079s in it. BJ's seems to have gotten in on the same deal too as they have
> all three of the sets Costco has PLUS the 6765 Gold City Junction Wild West
> set. (Although BJ's cost is 24.99 while Costco is 24.49).
Hmm... well we can hope that if there's a restock maybe Costco will have GCJ
too. I'd get more of those!
As for getting a BJ's card I think two of these is enough. Wish Sam's carried
better toys, I like them better overall.
++Lar
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Once upon a time, "Larry Pieniazek" <lpien@NOSPAM.ctp.com> wrote:
> We'll see now, I broke down and got a Costco card so I could get 4 of those
> divers sets. :-)
Maybe I missed something--which Divers sets are you talking about?
Steve
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Steve Bliss writes:
> Once upon a time, "Larry Pieniazek" <lpien@NOSPAM.ctp.com> wrote:
>
> > We'll see now, I broke down and got a Costco card so I could get 4 of those
> > divers sets. :-)
>
> Maybe I missed something--which Divers sets are you talking about?
>
> Steve
I don't know about Larry, but the Divers set in the Los Angeles area is 1782
Discovery Station. I bought one for $24.49 before tax.
Alan
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Seedling starter trays work great for sorting and they are cheap too. I
picked some up at a garage sale that are 4 compartments long x 7
compartments wide that are almost sturdy enough for a permanent storage
solution except they are too wobbly to carry around without some sort of
support for the bottom.
--
William Toenjes
(TooMuchDew)
ICQ UIN#17112614
wondering if someone else has ever asked your question before you post?
try: http://www.dejanews.com/home_ps.shtml (Deja News-Power Search)
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Alan Liu writes:
> I don't know about Larry, but the Divers set in the Los Angeles area is 1782
> Discovery Station. I bought one for $24.49 before tax.
Bingo.
++Lar
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Larry Pieniazek wrote in message ...
> Alan Liu writes:
>
> > I don't know about Larry, but the Divers set in the Los Angeles area is • 1782
> > Discovery Station. I bought one for $24.49 before tax.
>
> Bingo.
Blasted mainlanders. We don't even have that set out here. Had to get one
shipped in.
Jesse
__________________________________________________________________
Jesse The Jolly Jingoist
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