Your Way To Keep Track Of All The Pieces

[richard b miller]

I've done a few projects so far and have tried different ways to keep track of all the cut pieces. Do you write on the wood? Use sticky notes? How do hou keep track?

[Lee Schierer]

Ordinary black board chalk works great for labeling parts. It doesn't mar the wood, has good visibility, doesn't affect any finish and can be changed if needed.

I also use a HB lead pencil for joint assembly marking. I put the marks where they won't be seen after assembly.

[Erik Christensen]

fiber pen on blue tape - no way to indent a fragile wood surface - can remove & replace when sanding - no marks to worry about when ready to finish - only thing to be aware is on very light sensitive woods like cherry to keep things covered if going to be more than a day or so to avoid a having wood under tape not color match rest of surface

[Doug Hepler]

Richard,

Like Lee. I number the parts in chalk when I am laying out cuts, corresponding to my cut list, and then while they are awaiting assembly. I usually use a soft pencil to mark cut lines, reference edges, etc.

Doug

[John Lankers]

Soft pencil on (cheap) masking tape, easy to peal off and can be reattached on a face not being worked on at the moment.

[Andrew Hughes]

I mostly use a pencil if there will be a lot of shaping I use a sharpe.Even a pencil mark can get rubbed away and hard to see.
Blue tape is too expensive

[Jim Becker]

Chalk is what I use to mark components when it's necessary to do so.

[glenn bradley]

Yep, chalk for rough cut pieces. As final milling and joinery proceed I find a place that won't show after assembly to mark like parts that may be confused.

[Fred Falgiano]

Sharpie on blue tape for me. I write on the tape before I peel it off the roll to eliminate any risk of bleed through.

[Ole Anderson]

Only time I needed that level of detail was on my kitchen cabinet boxes using cut list for the plywood breakdown. I printed up the stickers that were a part of the program.

[Wayne Lomman]

If it's mass produced items, batches with the parts procedure on a clip board with the pallet. If it's a small job, I just organise it to match my cutting list. An good cutting list is essential. After a couple of machining processes, the parts are then recognisable anyway. If any chance of confusion, I use pencil where it won't be seen. Cheers

[andy bessette]

I write with ordinary pencil on the surface to be glued or on mounting surface.

[Frederick Skelly]

Sharpie on blue tape for me. I write on the tape before I peel it off the roll to eliminate any risk of bleed through.

+1. I do the same.

[Bradley Gray]

This:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/b9/85/d6/b985d6062e7c6cce5c494ae62abdc2e4.jpg
with chalk or soft pencil depending on the wood. If there is more than one drawer or panel, double or triple the bottom line or a side line.

This also gives you the orientation of the part.

[Jim Becker]

Bradley, I'm happy to say that I've used that "triangle" method for many years, although I didn't read about it documented as you have previously. It just makes sense. :)

[Larry Edgerton]

I use the triangle method, sort of. Sometimes circles, parallelograms, etc. All of the work I do has styles, rails face frames and panels made out of consecutive cuts from the same board whenever possible so I have to be a bit creative at times. Worst was 572 pieces that all had to go in just one place so at times I have to be creative.

I also use number stamps made for metal often. For example drawers and doors will have a stamp on the inside or bottom corresponding to a stamp on the cabinet on the bottom of the top rail so I do not have to sort after finish. I stamp and fill the number after with a super fine point so it is visible after finish. I work alone so do not haul in a cabinet with the parts attached because of weight, so this works well for me. It would not work in a production environment, but I never want to go there again anyway.

[Martin Wasner]

Rail and stile door parts are labeled with the size on the face in pencil.

Face frame parts, the top rail is labeled in shapie, all of the parts for that frame are stacked up on edge behind it until it gets to the next face frame, which starts with a label again. No notes other than the top rail

Box parts, just a cabinet number written on the top edge, or the front edge on decks.

Drawer parts don't need labels.

[Joe Calhoon]

This:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/b9/85/d6/b985d6062e7c6cce5c494ae62abdc2e4.jpg
with chalk or soft pencil depending on the wood. If there is more than one drawer or panel, double or triple the bottom line or a side line.

This also gives you the orientation of the part.

.Cabinetmakers Triangle for me as well. Thank you for posting this drawing Bradley. This is sometimes difficult to explain to others. Its really good for sash, door and frame parts when it comes to tenoning, doweling and profiling. I have been thinking for a while about getting the metal stamps larry mentions for keeping track of sash, doors and their frames.

[Ralph Okonieski]

I use pencils, sharpie or pens on post-it notes, and same on various colors of painters tape. I also use the various colors of painters tape to identify faces and edges that are NOT to be routed or cut further.

When I've used chalk, it tends to fade or get rubbed off by the time the project is assembled (I'm not the fastest woodworker).

[Charles Lent]

For those of you who mark your parts with pencils, it sometimes helps to know that standard pencil marks that don't indent the wood can be completely removed with alcohol. Just a wipe or two and it's gone.

I'm usually a chalk user, but have been known to occasionally use a soft pencil, when the chalk keeps rubbing off. I've tried tape and label stock, but keep going back to the chalk.

Charley

[Bradley Gray]

I like to use chalk on dark woods and soft pencil on light.

[Prashun Patel]

For light woods, pencil. For dark woods, sharpie (it actually comes off quite easily during planing or sanding) or blue tape and sharpie on that.

One bit of unsolicited advice:

Use letters or numbers or symbols with easy and unique orientations. While I should have learned this lesson long ago, I can't tell you how many times roman numerals or the number "1" without head or base has left me head scratching when trying to reorient the piece.