Topic: Labeling method

[theslayedsaint]

So I've got a question for all you old timers to help out the new guys...
So I've completed two full rebuilds and each time I go into it with great plans to not lose a bolt or forget how things go back together.... However every time I lose something and forget how something goes back together hahah  my method at first is "great" I'm a super clean person that stays really organized so when I'm removing everything I keep bolts and nuts together and lay everything out how I found it and try and take lots of photos. But then comes time to clean the dirty parts and I put them in parts cleaner.... And at this point I have no clue what goes where. I would love to hear how other people go about keeping these together and organized while cleaning parts? Or just thoughts on how to be cleaner and better organized in the shop.

[Mantree]

Go slow and take pictures

Sent from my ME302KL using Tapatalk

[Scott S]

 Ziploc baggies and a Sharpie are your friends.

[calj737]

Once organized into piles or baggies, print out the parts fiche of that relevant section (for instance, shift cover) and keep it with the baggie. Clean that baggie by itself, and check off the pieces as you put them back. When reassembly comes along, just assemble per the parts fiche. Simple enough.

Or, rebuild about 12 more bikes and you'll be able to identify every bolt (clean or dirty) from a pile on the floor from 10' away and will scoff at anyone who uses Sharpies, Baggies and Parts Fiches. 

[przjohn]

Yup, Zip Lock Bags, a Shapie and lots of pics.

[70CB750]

Cal's method - I mean experience - works the best, but if you keep parts by sections, it is easy enough to put them together correctly.

When I really care and it all looks the same, I use a box with sharpie plan and stick bolts in the correct pattern - like head bolts.

Some parts - like cam towers - I marked with steel letter punches.

[evanphi]

Some parts - like cam towers - I marked with steel letter punches.

Or even just a single punch, 1-4 dots to tell them apart.

Example: My 3-4 cam tower

[70CB750]

The guy I worked for in a car shop would get a fender bender every so often.  His method was to put the car on a lift and start taking it apart - he would leave all the parts in neat little piles next to the car.

After few days when the bumper/fender/hood was ready to come back on, we would end up wlaking round the car with a bolt or bracket or nut in our hand looking for where it came from.

I would not trust him to take care of concrete steps

[flybox1]

My F3 engine came to me like this, with all the bolts in those plastic bins.


I cleaned and labeled all the individual screws and bolts by size....so when the fiche said M8 x 50mm....i could easily grab that bag.

[Deltarider]

Pieces of carton is all what it takes. Push the bolts and screws through the carton (so they'll stay there) in the same pattern they are on the bike. If needed you can write something on the carton like 'cylinder head cover' and an arrow that indicates the front or simply left and right.

[DH]

Pieces of carton is all what it takes. Push the bolts and screws through the carton (so they'll stay there) in the same pattern they are on the bike. If needed you can write something on the carton like 'cylinder head cover' and an arrow that indicates the front or simply left and right.

I once disassembled a 302 ford using this method, and reassembled it 6 months later doing a rebuild. Never had a bolt left over. Just made sure it was stored in an area where it wasn't disturbed, and I.D.'d it all on the cardboard. I arrange everything in sub systems. Clean each subsystem's parts separately from the others, and put them back where you took them from before moving to the next group. If things get scattered, its good to have the parts diagram. Everybody does it a little different. Keeping track of everything and not getting in a hurry is the key IMO.

[martin99]

I'm another ziplock bag and Sharpie fella. I couldn't lay it all out like in your pic Saint, one swish of the old labrador's tail and I'd be fcked

[theslayedsaint]

Nice ideas guys!! I'll have to try some of these out on the cl350 coming up.