"Knolling is a particular style of overhead photography that involves arranging similar objects in a parallel or 90-degree fashion. When the objects are laid out in this manner, you can both distinguish them individually and furthermore see how they play into an overall concept"
OK this is someone else's definition of knolling but it sums up the basics of this fascinating hobby. Without being too sexist I think it's a man thing. If you see someone purposefully packing shopping with an exact precision in the supermarket it's usually a man. When you think of someone forming massive collections of virtually identical stamps or coins it's usually a man. We're anal - we just can't stop ourselves. Whilst not all knolling involves dissecting the object being photographed I like to think of this as a specialist sub-genre. Some time ago James May did a great TV series in which he took apart complex items screw by screw, down to their very essence. Then he spent hours putting them all back together again - all live on primetime TV !! My skill is much simpler - I do the first part, photograph the bits then throw the whole lot in the bin. There's a great satisfaction in the whole process and it's a great way of sorting your recycling materials.
. One comment I would make is that you need a reasonable selection of tools. Not necessarily expensive ones but a set of jewellers screwdrivers (which you can buy online for a few pounds) and a set of miniature pliers, wire cutters and tweezers are essential. If you want to take photographs of your work you might be limited by the size of the board you're working on - plastic mouldings can take up a lot of space and bear in mind that you need to be able to hold your camera horizontally at a reasonable height over the centre of your work to maintain the horizontals and verticals in your photograph.
A few plastic trays for the big bits and one or two lidded jars for the very tiny bits (of which there will be many) and you're ready to go.
Everyone makes up their own rules but mine is to remove all internal and external wiring (including plug leads). I've seen photographs which include all the wires and cables but in my mind they look messy and destroy the exact precision which your trying to achieve. Remember to keep things grouped and square at all times - especially the overall outline.