Every woodworker has that can. You know, the one that sits on your shelf and collects miscellaneous hardware and fasteners. Inevitably, I end up dumping out the entire can to fish out the odd piece that I need for a project. It was during one of these “fishing trips” that I decided to build the tray you see above.
This tray was inspired by a trip to the drugstore where I saw the pharmacist sorting pills on a similar tray. This allows me to easily sort through and pick out what I need. Best of all, the rest of the hardware can be then dumped back into the can using the “funnel” on the end.
The funnel on the end allows you to easily return all unnecessary fasteners to the container.
Construction. The construction of the tray is straightforward. The sides of the tray are attached to the front and back using tongue and dado joinery. The bottom of the tray is rabbeted to fit in a groove. For the sorting surface, I used a piece of melamine. The thickness of the melamine creates a recess on one end that allows me to shake the hardware back into the can when I’m done. If the melamine starts to get damaged and chipped, it’s easy to unscrew the melamine and replace it. Now, I can quickly take my can and empty the contents onto the tray.
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