nails and other simple but mighty useful items.

[rockriver]

i was finishing a little project. needed some nails. at lowe's i grabbed a 1 pound box and headed on down the isle.
got to thinking about what all you can do with a nail. and what i can only "backyard rig" without a simple nail.
i made a uturn and got a big tub of nails.
yep cost a lot more. but a lot cheaper per pound.
and where are you gonna get a nail if you are concerned about leaving your driveway?
-
not many people add nails to their prepping list of things to buy.
i'm gonna add "nails" to my list.

so...
what else is cheap compared with the utiltiy of the item... that
you've added or will add soon to your storeroom?

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Excellent thread!
Nails, Screws and a Bolt Bin. I never throw them away cause they come in handy!



I keep nails and screws in the truck tool box as well as the house "junk droor" and then i keep me a heavy stash in the garage. Plastic bottles work well for staorgae of them too.
I believe that things like this will be very important after an event. I used a ton during the cleanup efforts after the tornadoes in fixing and bracing things.

[Grand58742]

Plastic bottles work well for staorgae of them too.

Coffee cans (metal or plastic) work good as well. The thicker plastic on the Maxwell House works pretty awesome and the lids clamp on tight.

I tend to collect old screws and bolts as well. Have at least a half dozen boxes of odd screws and bolts. Nails I don't seem to get as many of since I end up bending them out of place most of the time. They end up in the recycling bin along with rusted or stripped screws (hate, absolutely positively hate Phillips and Pozi head screws. God bless the inventors of Torx, anyway...) where I eventually turn them in with the remainder of the scrap steel and other metals for a little cash. Not a lot, but it adds up eventually.

[tech]

Excellent reminder! I started buying nails, bolts and nuts, then expanded to washers cotter keys, o-rings, etc....you get the idea :)

[Grinnan Barrett]

It is funny but I was going through some of my Dad's old stuff and he had used everything from baby food jars to mayo jars with the lids screwed into boards so the jars could be seen for their contents with all sorts of stuff like nails, screws all the way to gaskets and tapes. I still use some of the stuff my Dad put away. Back in those days all the jars were glass. Now with plastic they aren't so bad about breaking. I had gone to the cabinets with small drawers but it is difficult to see the contents like the old way. Lots of labels. Don't forget adhesives for putting together things like PVC pipes for your water systems. Generally PVC adhesives are two part products.

[LizardKing]

I'm a packrat when it comes to things like this, I'll never throw away a nail, screw or even a rusted bolt. Last year I dumped many containers out on the garage floor and sorted it all out into like items so I can at least find what I'm looking for. In a pinch, a nail with the head cut off can be used as a drillbit.

[WiseOwl]

When I used to do construction on the weekends, I would collect anything of use and put it in buckets. Man, I got a bunch of crap still.

Even those roofing nails with the orange plastic circles on em, everything has a use one day. I used to collect all the copper scraps too until the scrapyard started wanting my ID just to cash in scrap. I kept it figuring it can be used in some sort one day as well.

[Benn Gleck]

I always buy a bigger box of whatever I need for a project and keep the leftovers.

Recently I've been cleaning out my Mother's house and garage and found my Dad's stash of nuts, bolts,, nails and screws. Like Grinnan's Dad they were in glass jars, I've been putting mine in clear plastic peanut butter jars.

[DIM TIM]

Don't know of many folks who don't do this.

I scrap metal all the time there Wise Owl, and I know what you mean about the ID. Copper thieves have made it the reason they do it. Don't like it much either, but what ya gonna do ? You want to scrap, ya gotta play by their rules. I still save all my copper and brass, and some cast aluminum. May have to learn how to cast parts some day soon, and we'll need stock to melt.
Any usable nut, bolt, screw, fastener, switch, part, etc,etc, is removed before I take something to throw on the piles I save for the scrap heap. Everything is fair game now, because I have a few project builds that I'll be starting as soon as warm weather comes back around, and I look to all sorts of things now for reuse. Just saved a couple metal shelf panels recently to use as mounting surfaces for a couple projects I've started. Loss of $$$$ from sale of scrap was minimal compaired to $$$$ I'd have paid to buy something like it.

I've been a terrible packrat in the past, but I have learned to let go of some things. I still save all my hardware, even bent nails can be straitened. By the way, Lumber and other building materials set aside if you have the room is a good thing as well. I have quite a bit of this stuff set aside. Not enough to build another house, but enough for some repairs and some emergency repairs if needed.
Tarps are another good thing to have around for this as well. Can't have too many of those for sure.

[xdpatriot]

Bailing wire! It fixes everything. Yee-Haw from Texas!

[jimmydiablo]

Never thought of nails.

[rockriver]

as a kid i made a small raft i had nails and rope
i pounded nails with a rock. the rope was old and poor.
--
bottom line of that story was -- i needed a hammer.
in my little project that started this. i couldn't find a good hammer.
found my large framing hammer. old and with a split ahandle.
--
hammers are on my shopping list.
a couple.. or three.

[monkeybird]

Grinnan-Barrett: My dad did the same thing, attached jar lids to a board hung on the tool sheds wall and then screwed the jars to the lids. When he died, the jars were full of all kinds of nails, screws, washers, etc, etc. Everything is just as he left it, my son uses it now.

[1Admin]

At first glance it APPEARS that buying the 1 lb. box when you only need a couple is a better choice. Then when you figure it's probably 20-30 miles to the store one way, the 25 or 50 lb. box looks appealing. It's there when you need it then.

Logistics. All this is part of a good logistics train.

Black Friday sales at Lowes are a good time to pickup some less expensive hand tools. Their "Kobalt" brand is OK in my book. Not exactly top notch but not Harbor Freight either. Lowes often runs deals on various small hand tools if you scan the isles.

Keep in mind also your not just thinking of "spares" with the tools, your also thinking of potential extra hands that are with you. More than likely these folks will have bugged out not with their uber cool toolset from home, but with fighting gear, some food and weapons.

Their will be projects to do around the retreat, things to fix (isn't there always?). Be silly to have people standing around looking at you when for the want of a $5. hammer they could be helping also.

[Rmplstlskn]

Yep, it is good to not have to run to a hardware store when a FIX comes along... Organization is KEY, keep like items together but seperated! Sort things now, then as you add, it is easier, as you already have a place for the extras. This stash, and the ability to FIX THINGS in a societal downslide will prove valuable...