I struggle with how to separate my parts. How specific do you get when organizing parts? Do you put together all IC's and dig through them when you need a specific number? It seems harder to keep inventory that way, but it definitely saves some space and keeps things more compact.

I've got a 'travel' set of items, but it's really more than I'd like to carry around. I leave behind what I can, but often bring it all for insurance:

-Tool bag (portable soldering iron, screwdrivers, ratchet/sockets, nut drivers, diagnostic equiment, q-tips, toothpicks, etc, etc, etc)
-Electronics organizer (IC's, resistors, diodes, connectors, BRs, transistors, etc)
-LED organizer

The organizers are quite nice, with removable and re-arrangeable part bins. I took a pic of some of my favorite tools that help me to keep things "light". The socket holder works well, it's nice and compact while holding things securely. The bit holder is one of my favorites, I hate having to carry around those bulky vacuum formed cases. The butane soldering iron is nice when I know I won't be getting into any PCB work, if I do need to, throw in the hakko soldering/desoldering irons.. I despise the need to pack those items.

At my house, I struggle with what to do with used parts, or bulkier items. Should I break down old flipper assemblies? Should I bother filing them in wall hanging organizers, or toss them into open bins?

I'd be interested to hear what others have done to organize their parts. Bonus points for compact/portable. My pictures show things in their current mid-organizing state

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This thread is getting buried! Must not be enough controversy. WoZ. MM. There, that should do it.

I guess what l've pictured does look kinda organized. .. but I've got a lot of the other bulkier parts in pinballlife boxes waiting for a home.

That, and those drawer organizers are mostly empty, I grouped most the parts that uside to reside there into more general bins in the yellow stanley carry organizers.

Im interested to see what others with spare parts do for storage!

A tackle box such as Gtown's is nice, but I know I'd find myself with a bunch of open boxes without any clear organization at the end of a job. That's just me. I like my open mouth bag for trips so I can quickly throw some of the bigger tools in and sort later. They all have a place (to a degree), and eventually they find themselves back there because they're open and easily accessible.

Here's an interesting thread on a similar topic:

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/my-new-pinball-repair-and-maintenance-cart#post-1217013

Oops.

I just ordered some more bins stackable for larger or used parts. I figure I'll build a shelf unit for them.

So I've been sorting through my mess of parts. I opted for some parts bins of various sizes, but mostly smaller ones. I've got them sorted out into fairly general groups, for example:

Flipper Coils
Specialty Coils
Plunger Assys
Coil Stops
Plastics
Rubber Rings
Rubber Posts
Bulbs
Screws/Bolts
Nuts
Washers
Leaf Switches
Micro Switches
Playfield Switches
Diodes
Etc etc etc.

This is a lot better than my previous "cardboard box filled with random shit" method. I've got a french (freedom) cleat system in my shop. I plan to build some tilted shelves with lips so you can easily see and rifle through each bin without having to remove it. Here's a pic of my (dis)organization:

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