The sorting problem

Building the rack

On this page13

Count before buying One size, repeated Small, because the quantities are small Clear, because the first check is visual Straight sided so the tray packs Lidded, because points and inserts roll Numbers on the body, in permanent marker or a printed label Keep the wax away from the parts Buy spare lids at the start Put the weighed check in the system Keep one jar for unknowns Leave room References

The same jar twenty times. Same conclusion as every other sorting craft here.

Count before buying

Three point weights, four insert sizes, two nock systems with three sizes each, and several fletching types. Twenty containers before anything unusual.

One size, repeated

A tray of identical jars stacks, shares a spare lid and is read at a glance. Twenty different jars is a drawer you search.

Small, because the quantities are small

45 containers at 30 mL or under and 86 at 60 or under. A dozen inserts in a 250 mL jar is a hunt every time.

Clear, because the first check is visual

96 clear containers. You should be able to narrow it by looking and confirm by reading.

Straight sided so the tray packs

101 PET single wall jars and 33 PP single wall jars. Round jars in a rectangular drawer waste the corners.

Lidded, because points and inserts roll

A knocked jar of 100 grain points scatters across a garage floor and comes back mixed with whatever else was down there.

Numbers on the body, in permanent marker or a printed label

Grain, thousandths, system and size. A label that survives being handled with waxy fingers.

Keep the wax away from the parts

Bow wax migrates when warm and a waxy insert will not glue. Different part of the tray, and ideally a different tray.

Buy spare lids at the start

They crack, go missing and end up on the wrong jar. A single neck across the rack is what makes a box of spares possible.

Put the weighed check in the system

A small scale beside the rack means a doubtful point can be settled in ten seconds rather than guessed at. It is the only way back from a mixed jar and it is cheap.

Keep one jar for unknowns

Anything that came loose, anything swept off the floor, anything whose jar is in doubt. One labelled unknown jar stops contamination spreading through the rest of the rack.

Leave room

A component collection only grows. A half-full tray is what stops the next three sizes arriving in whatever was to hand.

References

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. The archery shelf is 647 rows: 277 containers and 370 closures. 5 mL to 500 mL with a median of 118; 30 containers at 15 mL or under, 45 at 30 or under, 86 at 60 or under, 142 at 120 or under. 117 PET, 87 PP, 64 glass, 9 steel. 227 jars, 27 bottles, 12 tubs and pails, 9 tins, 2 tubes. 96 clear, 51 white, 33 amber, 28 natural, 27 black. Closures: 297 continuous thread, 27 dome lids, 18 lug and twist, 9 liners and sealing discs, 6 round tubs, 5 phenolic, 5 specialty. Necks: 56 at 89-400, 56 at 70-400, 36 at 58-400, 16 at 53-400.

The archetype behind this shelf is store-small-dry: 15 to 500 mL, wide mouth, PP and PET and glass, cold, solid, chunky, scooped, with "small dry parts, wide mouth to get fingers in, clear so you can see what is inside" as its stated reason. Four of the five leaves are small dry parts and the shelf is 227 jars against 27 bottles, which is the closest archetype-to-shelf match in this library.

Written from 26 U.S.C. 4161(b) and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. No tax rates, percentages or thresholds appear here: they are in the statute and its regulations, they change, and a container catalog quoting them would be wrong within a year. Whether assembling arrows makes somebody a manufacturer for excise purposes is a determination for a tax adviser. Hunting rules, broadhead requirements and draw weight minimums are state wildlife agency matters and are not addressed.