Hello all, I was interested in how you all store your scrap lumber in the shop. I am referring to the cutoffs of hardwood and plywood in the 2-3 ft range. I am looking for some ideas to help get organized and still tell what lumber I do have. Thanks in advance. Dale
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Replies
Dale,
I use 35 gal fiber containers that I get from an industrial firm that otherwise destroyes them after using the contents. Works well.
Doug
Dalewood,
I store the shorts under the workbench...and when that is full, it's time to discard the less qualtiy pieces and save the better. Likewise, the Ply has a limited space too. Otherwise I'd save everything...
There is a rumor there's some wood stored in the spokes of the bicycles in the garage....but that is just a rumor....
Edited 1/23/2004 1:16:58 PM ET by BG
I store scraps 42" and under in pull out shelves under my lumber rack. The rack is 42" wide 8'-0" long, the bottom lumber rack shelf is 40" above floor. The shelves are 3/4" mdf that slide on runners . I have 9 shelves altogether. This setup is very convenient for me.
mike
I use an old Tall Kitchen garbage "can" (plastic), which is rectangular. I can't abide by round storage things, they waste too much space, IMO. Since most of my scraps are under 3', anything taller than one of these just makes me work harder for no reason. I like the vertical approach, because it's easy to judge length and easy to grab a piece and pull it out, but it only works well if there's a logical place to put it, like under the lowest shelf on my main lumber rack.
forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks to all of you for your responses. Those are all great ideas. Dale
I have gone to several areas for storing scraps....er valuable small pieces of wood that I can't bear to throw out. These definitions have evolved over the years, and if I ever build proper storage areas, I will make shelves or bins for these categories.
Currently I have a cardboard box for small pieces that are used for glue blocks to test cuts like "how will this combination of router cuts look on an edge" or as custom clamping pads, or even to scroll-saw christmas ornaments.
A small shelf for long (up to a foot or two) thin pieces that can be used for shims or measuring sticks (custom cut to the height of a drawer, or the depth of a dado, for example).
A coffee can for pieces so thin that they could be called veneer scraps. Not that I would ever make a mistake, but this is where I would go if I ever had to shim out a tenon that is a little loose.
A shelf for "flats" - small pieces of plywood - that are often used for jigs or bottoms of the little boxes that I make when I get too much other scrap.
A corner for longer thin pieces of hardwood that are candidates for edging plywood.
A pile of short pieces of "full size" hardwood - up to about 18 inches long - too short for most projects, but too long to call scrap. This is where I start if I need a small piece of "real" wood.
Regular storage with sections for sheet goods, hardwood, and softwood.
And finally, the pieces of hardwood that aren't used immediately, but are too long for the shop, go to the attic.
One might also note that if I weren't so cheap about using the smallest piece of stock possible, I might get a lot more done. ________________________Charlie Plesums Austin, Texashttp://www.plesums.com/wood
You'd feel right to home if you came to my shop. I have a small alcove back in one corner of my shop where I built a rack and put up a sign up that says "everthing to short to keep". Anything else is standing in any availible nook or cranny, stacked under the machines, cardboard boxes,coffee cans,wherever there's room. Can't bear to discard a piece good wood. I just know I'll have a use for it sometime down the road, but that rarely happens,never the less,I keep on stashing.Be not afraid of going slowly. Be afraid only of standing still. chinese proverb
Excellent filing system, Charlie! I've been using some of those categories myself, and may take a printed copy of your post out with me when I start the "clean this da*%ed place up" project tonight, LOL. I have a coffee can too, it holds glue-block sized pieces, and when it gets full, I use about half of it in a cardboard flat to serve as a fire-starter for the wood stove.forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I often thought that a wood stove would solve many of my storage problems, since fuel is a legitimate use of wood, especially small pieces. But I now live in Texas....________________________Charlie Plesums Austin, Texashttp://www.plesums.com/wood
Like most of us, I save too many cutoffs.
I have a big old stainless steel workbench that has a shelf under the top. This area is about 18" to 20" high, 10' long and 48" deep. Its nearly full and fairly well organized, I swear :o).
Short cutoffs and less quality pieces get thrown in a 2ft cube army steel box on dolly/casters to the right of the table saw. When this overflows I grit my teeth and restock the woodstove kinling bin.
Enjoy, Roy
Charlie has the right idea, and the right solution. Me ! you would not want to see my shop, but if it's too small for any thing, throw it out! Plywood and chipboard all goes in the trash, no use saving junk wood!
Furniture builders don't use only hard wood and solid wood in my shop!
I use alot of 5 gallon buckets. and scrap sure does accumulate. especially since i am a sucky woodworker and tend to screw up alot. hey come on screwing up still takes practice to get it right.
I size my projects so there are no scraps bigger than 3/4"x3/4"x?.
Dalewood, I generally permanently 'store' scrap under about 18" long in the skip (dumpster) or the fire. This satisfies my need to eliminate useless crud and clutter from my life. I'm not one of the worlds squirrels. In my case, all the wood I buy for one job generally gets charged with a mark up to a customer. The next project follows the same routine so, again, all the offcuts mostly get tossed.
Slivers can be handy for mixing glues, stains, polishes, etc.. Big chunks, over about 20" long I'll hang on to for a while, and offcuts about 1"square can be handy as stickers, but the rest, including odds and sods of man made board has to be dealt with ruthlessly to avoid turning the workshop into a storage facility. Slainte.
Rubbermaid containers...or similar.
Also, it pays to have some "perpetual" projects that require those small pieces. For me, it's picture frames and foot stools.
tony b.
I build very few small projects & with very limited shop space, I tend to cut scraps to 1/2" shorter then then one inside measurement of whatever cardboard box I'm filling for firewood. I do keep a few of the nicer pcs. for future use but most I try to give to other woodworkers I know who do make small projects.
A number of years ago before oak became popular, walnut was the wood for most of the commercial interiors the company I worked for did. The boss insisted that when we were starting a new job that we dig through the huge pile of walnut shorts & offcuts to find any pcs we could use before going to the lumber racks. This usually resulted in the ratio of wasting $10 worth of time to save $.10 worth of walnut. Didn't make sense to me then & still doesn't now. Besides, this way I have more room for the good stuff & still have room to work.
Paul
Dale,
I have a large rack on casters to hold sheet goods and boads over 3 feet. the rest is on the floor behind the TS and under the miter stand. In a pinch I look under my work bench and usually find some there too. I frequently find necessary hardware there as well.
Mike
if you make boxes like i do get into the habit of creating narrow pieces if you have to trime something on the ts and avoid tapered cuts when you can--what i am leading to is some nite when you feel the urge grab a small paint brush and a dish with some tite bond . glue the pieces together at random . you will have to do some sorting and cutting-- I end up with different sizes ie some only six by six up to 12 x 18 --it gets kinda sloppy but it kind of neat to see the pile of drops dissapear and know that you will have some of the neatist boxes in town -- plane them down and if there a rotten joint just zip it off and glue it back together--I even cut the final glue-ups on a bias and you should hear woodworkers try to figure that out-- I have been doing this for 10 years or longer and I have still got drops -I whole heartly agree with the one who feeds his stove --I did that when I was at my brother's place in N>H> but in FL that is not an option I don't think there is anything wrong if you glue up bigger pieces to make even bigger piecesmaybe for test cuts-- I have a new shop [1yr] 30 x60 and when I used to read every book and articile about how to plan a shop non of the so called "experts" said anything about where you put your "stuff" so I added 29 more feet but I think I should have added 39 more thanks for letting me getr wound up
I have a couple of cheap filling cabinets I picked up. I have one for long pieces and another with dividers for nice pieces for inlays and such. Works pretty good
I've got shelves and a large wooden box on wheels. I wheel it out from under a desk when needed. More importantly what do you do with your scraps once they've been stored. I've recently come up with a solution. When time permits I glue them up and do some segmented turning. Just got a lathe so I've got plenty of segmented turning stock to turn into shavings!
Adam
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