The pile is growing. I’m wondering what should be kept together, if anything.

There are 4 hammers,3 triggers, two loose barrels & 4 cylinders etc. on the table in this picture. If everything comes from the same frame I’ll keep it together, but is there any reason to associate spare triggers with matching hammers for example?I kinda doubt that they are somehow fitted to each other.

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If I replace say, a standard hammer and trigger with wide target ones, I keep the standard parts tied together because they actually are fitted to each other at the factory. I also have a "pile" of hammers and triggers that don't match each other but I keep them separate by frame size. L frame hammers are the trickiest to distinguish.
Sewing kit boxes work well for part storage.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Mike

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Mike
S&WCA #2470

I use tackleboxes. They have perfect size drawers and are easy to store and access. And they are cheap.

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Remain Viable

I have a decent library of parts kits and I've had to face the same issue....how to store everything, what to keep together, and how do I find what I need in the pile?

When I break down a kit, the first step is to inspect the stocks and put them together loosely with the stock screw and a tag identifying the frame size. If the stocks are numbered, the serial number goes on the tag. That's more for identifying the age of the stocks than anything else. Stocks numbered to guns that I own go into the back of the safe when they're not on the gun they came with.

Next, the small "generic" pieces go into a divider box. These are the strain screws, bolt/bolt spring/bolt plunger, sideplate screws, orphan stock screws, stock pins, cylinder stop springs, thumbpieces and nuts, hammer blocks, rebound springs, rear sight screws, barrel pins, rear sight assemblies, hammer springs, and orphan yokes, hammers, triggers, hands, cylinder stops, and rebound slides.

The major parts are made up into packages. The barrel goes into a small snack bag by itself. The cylinder, yoke, and ejector assembly go into another small snack bag. The trigger, hammer, hand, cylinder stop, and rebound slide go into a third small snack bag. These 3 sub-groups are then put into a sandwich bag that is numbered and has a short description written on it with a sharpie.

Sideplates are stored in a flat box with alternating layers of bubble wrap keeping them from scratching each other.

The bags are stored in a locked cabinet, the bin box is under my workbench, and the sideplate box is on the shelf with the stocks.

The bag number and a description of the contents are kept on a notepad on the workbench in my own personal shorthand. For example, "53 - 4" M15 .38 TB NR full N" means that bag #53 contains a 4 inch Model 15 in .38 special with a tapered barrel, non-recessed cylinder, it's a full kit that isn't missing any pieces, and it has a nickel finish. When I use a kit for a project, I use the very high tech method of drawing a line through it on the list. If I don't use all the pieces, the orphans go into the small parts organizer box.

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SWCA #3942 / SWHF #988

I just realized that I didn't answer the question of what to keep together. Every piece you put into a gun has the potential to require being fitted. I've found that there is less fitting (sometimes none at all) when parts that originally worked together are replaced as a set. Cylinders and ejector stars have to stay together because they are fitted to each other. I keep the ejector rod and springs in the cylinder just because it's an easy way to keep track of them.

I can set the cylinder gap between an unrelated cylinder and barrel in a new frame, but there is less fitting if I use a barrel and cylinder that were already a pair. I can fit a new hand and cylinder to each other, but there is less fitting if the cylinder and hand are transferred together. I can fit a double action sear to an unrelated trigger, but there is less work to be done if the hammer/sear assembly and the trigger it originally worked with are moved together.

For me it's all about reducing the amount of work that has to be done in order to create a cohesive unit that works well and looks good. If I can't find a set of parts in a kit that work well together in a frame and the pieces have to be completely fitted from scratch, I prefer to work out of my orphan pile and leave the kits together.

This is what works for me now at my stage of learning. I've only done 25-ish projects so far and not all of them have been complicated enough to use a full kit. I expect things to evolve as I gain more experience.
Someday I may be comfortable enough to fit anything to anything and I can just have a big pile of parts that I stir with a stick.....or be like Steelslaver and just make what I need. The "sets of parts" method seems to work well at the moment.

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SWCA #3942 / SWHF #988

I had a metal cabinet with the little pull-out drawers for S&W spare parts, and I labeled each drawer with name and part number. It is nice to have everything organized.

Thanks for the tips. Should have a K38 & 15-3 soon, time to play tinker toys.

I always liked and still use cigar boxes. Not the best way to keep the stuff sorted out down to the exact part, but it keeps them together by mfg at least.
Takes a moment or two swishing thru the box to usualy find what I need.

Stuff like sights are just sorted by Rear sights, Fronts sights, Sight inserts, etc and each has it's own box. All dif mfg'r types are in the same box. A few are tied together like a front& rear for a Winchester 73, or a Rem Mod 8 ,,stuff like that.

Grips & Clips are in several boxes marked ..Grips. or Clips! They really should be sorted out by mfg'r and labled I guess.
I know what they are.

Not much of a system. But it seems to work ok until I can't find something.

I have 3 plastic boxes with partitions. Triggers, hammers, main springs center pins, center pin springs and collars ejector rods, rebound slides and springs, screws are all grouped by and divided by sizes. Cylinders are in plastic buckets by 44&45, 38&357, 22&32 and the same with barrels. My reamers, taps, dies, and other specialty tools are in a drawer separated in cut down clear plastic juice containers and the like.

I have a very large dedicated tool box that I keep all my spare gun parts in. I use very heavy duty zip lock bags that I buy from Uline and they have white label sections on them that I use to indicate what is in each bag. If the bag contains parts I have accumulated for a specific type pistol or firearm I will just label as such. If the parts all come from one particular gun I will put them all in the same bag and label them with the model, serial number and if they are original to that gun. I also have parts I have purchased in bulk like special recoil springs, trigger return springs, side plate screws, etc and I keep them in their own bags but not mixed up with any specific gun I have replaced parts in. I also try to label them accurately and every single part, screw and spring has a light coating of RIG Universal grease on it as that is the single best rust preventative I know of and will last decades. I also like to take all the small parts bags for a specific model and put the into a larger bag so every part I have for a specific gun model is all in the same master bag.

I also have quite a few grips and I wrap them in thin packing foam and then insert them into individual small bags that I have punched air holes in with a paper punch. I have found that if air is able to circulate through a plastic bag, the grips will fare better over the long haul. I've got really nice grips for almost every handgun I own and most are either brand new or like new just incase I ever need one of them.

The key to my madness is labeling every bag accurately so years later I will know exactly what in inside and exactly what the part are for. If down the road I choose to sell a gun that I have changed springs or strain screws on, I will return all the original parts back to that gun as I never want to be liable for an accident due to lighter springs or actions. Any original springs, screws, etc I change out on a gun I own gets coated with Rig, put in a small zip lock bag and stored in side the gun's box & labeled accordingly. This way if something happened to me prematurely, whoever gets the guns would know exactly what has been swapped out and have the exact factory original parts. The gun gets sold as I originally bought it with all the original parts. I do that with grips as well if I have installed other grips on a gun I am selling.

I rarely sell a gun but should probably start selling some of the ones I rarely use anymore. Unfortunately, my Daughter has no interest in guns and my Son's wife (DIL) is not a gun person so he has yet to express any interest in inheriting them. We'll see about that as time goes on. Worst case scenario they will be sold and my kids will enjoy the cash from them - lol. I am still laying awake at night trying to figure out how to take some with me - lol!!