Subject:
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Re: Sorting tray suggestion.
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.storage
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Date:
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Thu, 9 Jan 2003 16:47:04 GMT
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Viewed:
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5541 times
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Tobbe Arnesson wrote:
>
> Hi!
>
> I've read a lot of threads about what to use when sorting and/or building.
>
> Most seem to favour the old plastic trays that came with larger sets.
>
> I got another idea when I was doing some serious cleaning in the kitchen. In
> our drawers we have trays to keep the forks separated from the knives...
>
> These trays are often;
>
> 1) Cheap
> 2) Sturdy
> 3) Has rounded corners for easy cleaning, great for small part pickin'
> 4) Easy availible at home decoration stores such as IKEA
I have yet to find the ideal sorting tray. So far, the old plastic
inserts work the best for me. The 24 compartment trays from the
Christmas calendar sets are also highly useful.
Another useful thing I have for sorting is a shallow serving tray. It
easily sits on my lap and will hold a couple hundred parts pretty
easily. With it's rounded edges it is easy to scoop parts out of it. It
is also useful for building small sets (I build the new mini-Star Wars
sets using this tray).
I'm not sure how often people have talked about actual sorting
strategies, so I thought I'd share some key points:
- I do a 2 stage sort
- In the first stage, various types of parts are sorted by general
category.
- In the second stage sort, these types of parts are sorted into final
categories.
- Several of the 24 bin trays have nearly permanent part assignments for
final sort in the 1st stage. One holds small specialty plates and tiles
with each of the common types having their own compartment (each type of
1x1 with clip, 2x2 round plates, 1x2 plate with bar down the side, each
type of tile [1x1 tiles go in the same bin as 1x8 since the 1x8s can be
pulled out leaving the 1x1s behind), 1x2 grille tile, etc. etc.).
Another holds many of the common small brick types (1x1 "headlight", 1x1
round, 2x2 round [semi-color sorted], transparent [all - unsorted -
needs 2nd stage], 1x2 corrugated, 1x1 cones, 1x2 hinge brick parts,
etc.). This second tray has some variable bins. The permanent bin
assignments allow for very quick blind sorting of those parts. One tray
is for slopes, which are close to final sorted for up to 24 types, other
slopes go into a big bin for a 2nd stage sort).
- Some of the large quantity parts (such as common color 1x2 and 1x4
bricks) are sorted into drawers in Sterlite 3 drawer units which are
about 9" square and 2" deep for each drawer.
- One key for 2nd stage sort is to empty some of the 1st stage trays for
use in the 2nd stage.
- There is also some final sorting at the first stage for very common
parts (and depending on the set, temporary final stage sorts may be
assigned, for example, when I was sorting 18 Hagrid's Huts, the 2x2/1x4
hinge bricks were final sorted, normally they go in a big bin of
hinges).
- I use three methods of pulling parts from the serving tray:
1. start picking out part X until I have a handful,
depending on quantity and need for variation, I
either start with a new part or continue. If I am
sorting new sets, I count the number of each piece
so I can be sure I get them all. Usually I start with
the largest pieces, with high contrast colors being
another determinant.
2. When there are few parts left in the tray, I do a
"shuffle board" sort where I start to shuffle the 2
or 3 types of parts each into their own corner of the
tray. This is quicker than picking them out, especially
since the last part type to come out is the smallest.
The way this works is you tease parts around, and don't
always move them all the way to their corner. The idea is
to minimize hand travel, and maximize the number of pieces
moved when you do make a large hand move.
3. Sometimes I will do a shuffle board sort to get one type
of part out of a larger batch.
Sometime I need to take a picture of my sorting trays to give folks a
better idea of the distribution. Note however that you will need to
evolve your own tray assignments based on what your final sorting
strategy is. A 2 stage sort may not be necessary for smaller
collections, and sometimes a 3rd stage might be necessary. Many trays
hold types of parts which generally go into the same final storage bin
(most of my final storage is in slider lock resealable bags stored in
bins of various types), though this is not perfect.
Frank
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Sorting tray suggestion.
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| (...) I use a 8457 Power Puller box that I ripped the lid of. (...) I do this too, plates, bricks (and slopes), Technic bricks, special parts and Technic special parts (anything Technic that's not a brick or plate). (...) In my second stage sort (...) (22 years ago, 10-Jan-03, to lugnet.storage)
| | | Re: Sorting tray suggestion.
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| (...) <> (...) <> (...) Yes, I too have yet to find the ideal arrangement. I have been using the 3-drawer Sterlite and variable clear plastic boxes. (...) Sounds like a good idea. Thanks. (...) [snip] (...) [snip] (...) Permanent bins sounds like a (...) (21 years ago, 4-May-03, to lugnet.storage)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Sorting tray suggestion.
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| Hi! I've read a lot of threads about what to use when sorting and/or building. Most seem to favour the old plastic trays that came with larger sets. I got another idea when I was doing some serious cleaning in the kitchen. In our drawers we have (...) (22 years ago, 3-Jan-03, to lugnet.storage, lugnet.build)
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