Why Glass Jars Deserve a Place in the Workshop

Most of us have a cupboard full of empty jars that we keep meaning to do something with. Before you send them to the recycling, consider what they could do above your bench. Glass jars are transparent, so you can see exactly how many 4mm screws or 8mm drill bits you have left. They are airtight enough to keep damp away from steel fixings, they are free, and they are far more robust than they look when treated sensibly.

The real trick is not stacking them on a shelf where they collect sawdust and hide behind each other. It is screwing the lids to the underside of a shelf and hanging the jars beneath, so the contents drop into your hand rather than being fished out with a finger. Once you have used a setup like this for a week, you will wonder why you ever kept fixings in a biscuit tin.

Choosing and Preparing Your Jars

Not all jars are equal. Look for ones with a straight-ish side and a metal screw lid rather than a plastic one, as plastic lids tend to crack when you drill or drive screws through them. Preserve jars and sauce jars both work well, though the wider the mouth, the easier it is to get a handful of nails out. Very tall, narrow jars are best kept for long items such as dowel offcuts or cable ties.

Preparation matters more than people expect. A grubby jar will transfer grease to your fingers and contaminate anything you store inside it.

• Wash everything in hot soapy water, then rinse thoroughly.
• Soak off stubborn labels in warm water with a spoonful of washing soda for twenty minutes.
• Deal with the glue residue using a little white spirit on a cloth, then wash again.
• Dry the jars upside down on a rack overnight, and make sure the lids are completely dry too.
• Check the rim of each jar for chips. A chipped rim will not seal and may cut you, so put that one aside for the recycling.

If you are storing anything that rusts, drop a small silica gel sachet into the jar before you close it. It costs nothing and saves you a fortune in corroded fixings.

Fixing the Lids to the Shelf

Work out your layout before you drill anything. Take each jar, hold it up under the shelf and mark where you want it. Leave roughly 20mm of clearance between the jars, otherwise you will knock them against each other every time you reach up, and leave the front row for shorter jars so you can see past them.

The method is straightforward:

• Unscrew the lid and place it face down on the bench.
• Drill two pilot holes in the lid, about 3mm across, positioned on opposite sides of the centre.
• Hold the lid against the underside of the shelf with the thread facing down, and mark through the pilot holes with a bradawl.
• Drive two short countersunk screws through the lid into the shelf. Two screws matter, not one, because a single screw lets the jar swing and spin.
• Screw the jar up into the fixed lid, hand tight only. There is no need to force it.

Make sure the shelf or batten you are fixing to is solid timber, not a thin hardboard panel. A full jar of 50mm coach screws is heavier than it looks, and you do not want the whole row coming down mid-project. If your shelf is flimsy, screw a length of 20mm batten underneath first and fix the lids to that.

What Goes Where

Think in categories, not in single items. One jar for 3mm to 5mm wood screws, one for 6mm to 8mm, one for wall plugs, one for washers. Brushes sit best in a jar with the bristles up and the handle down, which keeps the shape of the bristles and stops paint pooling in the ferrule. Small offcuts of dowel, trim and sanding belts can share a jar as long as you can still see what is in it.

Keep the heaviest jars at the back of the shelf and the lightest at the front. Reserve one jar near the bench for the things you reach for constantly — pencils, a small rule, a craft knife, a handful of elastic bands — so you are not opening three drawers to find a pencil.

Labelling So You Actually Use It

An unlabelled jar is a puzzle, and puzzles slow you down. A strip of masking tape on the glass with a bold marker does the job, and you can peel it off and rewrite it when the contents change. If you want something more permanent, a chalk pen works well and wipes off with a damp cloth. Write the size as well as the item: "40mm screws" is far more useful than "screws".

Label the lid as well as the jar if you can. When the jar is hanging under the shelf, the lid is often the only part angled towards your eyeline.

A Few Sensible Precautions

Glass is tough but not indestructible. Keep the rack away from the vice, the anvil and anywhere you swing a hammer, because a stray knock can shatter a jar and scatter fixings across the floor. Do not store solvents, petrol or white spirit in glass jars, as the seals are not designed for it — leave those in their original containers. Finally, never over-tighten a jar onto its lid, particularly if the glass thread is worn; firm by hand is plenty. Treat the rack kindly and it will quietly organise your workshop for years.