How many spare parts do you keep on hand?

[Pulse]

So, I was rummaging around my shop the other day, and holy moly, I've got a ton of just in case parts! It feels like every time something's on sale, I tell myself I'm gonna need it down the road.

What about you, do you keep a little stash of spares, or do you go all out and stock up big time? And what parts do you like to keep on hand, just in case?

 

[Circuitsmith]

I can totally relate! I began with just a small box of spare parts and now it’s taken over a whole drawer. Like to keep a good stash of extra resistors, capacitors, a handful of regulators, and some common connectors just enough to rescue a project whenever something breaks or goes missing

 

[capacitorkid]

I always keep a little stash of parts around. I learned my lesson when I ran out of resistors in the middle of a project. Now I always get extra resistors and caps, just to be safe.

 

[barfle]

Once upon a time, I had my own shop, and I had inventory of just about every part needed to build all the stuff I offered. Alas, profitability was a serious issue with that venture, and it folded. But I kept all the parts “just in case.” Forty years later, I still have every 5% Allen-Bradley 1/4W resistor, drawers of capacitors, 7400 series TTL ICs, 4000 series CMOS ICs, and a bunch of LEDs, etc., etc., etc.

I did build up an inventory database about a year ago so if I actually do need a part, I can look it up before I go on a treasure hunt.

 

[Alan]

That’s really impressive! Seems like your collection has become quite the treasure trove over time!