Small parts cups

[mklotz]

When I disassemble intricate mechanisms I like to keep the small screws/nuts/etc in a little dish on my workbench so they don't get lost. If retrieving the items from the dish with your fingers, said dish should not have any corners lest the items get trapped there and are impossible to pick up.

The domed bottoms of aluminum drink cans work perfectly in this application. Mark the bottom of the can with a Sharpie held on a block of wood (a la a height gauge) and cut with a cutoff disk in a Dremel. (It's very difficult to get a nice clean cut (so the cup isn't tilted in use) with scissors.)

I find that the resulting cups are too light as is; they tend to flip easily if bumped. My remedy for this is to run a bead of glue around the inside circumference of the cup bottom, then fill with bird shot. After the glue dries, pour the unglued shot out and save for the next cup.