Whether you’re a professional whose maker skills keep a company running or a hobbyist designing your own projects around the house, the right supplies make a huge difference when you sit down to build something. Often, site maintenance at industrial companies involves creating custom machines to do work uniquely suited to the business, and that’s when your skills at welding, fabrication, and other industrial arts come into play. On the home front, those same skills allow you to build in your own features and even furniture, but you need the parts on hand to finish the project or it just sits. So what do you need?
Hardware Basics
Finding suppliers for your basic parts can be the most important step to keeping your workshop project-ready. Basics like screws and nails are easy to predict, but you might be surprised how often you need simple solutions that allow you to tackle complex tasks, like stainless steel roller bearings. It’s also a good idea to review other bearing types in case you need more than just roller bearings. Hinges, handles, and other options for fastening are also important, as is a complete material supply line to support welding and other techniques you plan to use. Once you have a good list of all the things you’re likely to need for upcoming projects, try to identify the most common parts. Those are the ones you’re probably going to want to keep in stock on a rolling basis because they’re likely to pop up frequently when you’re planning new designs.
How Much Inventory To Hold
Figuring out how much to order when you restock can be a little harder to manage because it typically takes the experience that comes from doing a few projects. The key is to order in quantities large enough that you won’t run out completely before your next planned supply purchase. You’ve also got to look at the total costs, and that might mean planning to run out of some less commonly used parts to stay under budget. Within a couple of order cycles, you should have a handle on your supply use, and that makes it a lot easier to keep everything in stock.
Save Time and Money With Standard Parts
Casters, roller bearings, and other simple parts that facilitate complex tasks are a great way to literally avoid reinventing the wheel, so look for any chance to stock up on standardized parts you can use across builds, especially when they keep you from having to figure out how to build your own mechanical process to do the work.