Sheet Material Storage

[Chris J Anderson]

Hi to All,

I am at the point now of needing to properly set up storage area's for sheet material, i.e.: Lasermax, acrylics etc.
The largest sheet we have is 4ft x 2ft.

How do you all store you sheets / part sheets and offcuts ?

I'm interested in other ideas before I make up my own.

I was going to stand the sheets vertically against an angled sheet of cheap wood material against the wall, so that they stay flat but at an angle.

Oh - and one other thing....
How do you stop the blinkin' static when you separate sheets etc ? - ouch...

Cheers,
Chris

[Joe Pelonio]

I stack them flat, with shelves that are 12x24 (the size I always buy to fit the laser) one for each color full and one for each color of scraps. I never had a static issue, but there are anti-static sprays that you can use right before handling them. I used to use it on my shop carpet when I was in a commercial space.

[Michael Hunter]

Sheets of 3/8" ply just over 4' x 2', with 2x1" battens along the long sides.
About 20 of these stacked up works well for me, holding all my Rowmark and acrylic.

Unfortunately, not too economical to make, unless you have a use for the left-over ply

[Dee Gallo]

I like to store my acrylic and wood flat, but when I do use upright storage I try to keep it straight and not at an angle. Thin stuff tends to bend a little and that causes focus problems. So really close shelving works for easy access instead of heavy stacks that have to be moved every time you want something... I like 8" or 10" apart.

[David Somers]

Morning all!

I remember a while back Dave Sheldrake was talking about issues he had with humidity changes affecting his flat stocks. How are folks dealing with that? Dave was indicating the moisture contect really changed the cutting characteristics of his stock, to the point where he was replacing much of it and storing the replacement stock in a more climate controlled environment.

For what it is worth, I think Dave's climate in Great Britain is similar to ours here in the Pacific Northwest coastline. Warm temps and low humidity in the summer, and moderate temps and high humidity in the winter. Most of the US would be high temps and high humidity in the summer, and low temps with lower humidity in the winter?

Any thoughts on this?

Dave

[Matt McCoy]

My experience in North Texas has taught me that it helps to store materials you intend to use in a climate controlled environment. The species, thickness, as well as the construction of certain plywood can sometimes dramatically affect how well stock will store.

I generally cut everything to an easily manageable size and store flat on shelves. Thinner stock and veneers have thick MDF on top to help prevent curling or warping and is labeled with the species of the wood. I also have a heat press to flatten veneer if it gets too rowdy. This also works for cork, leather, card stock, and such. I have a bin of scraps that I go to first to try and squeeze every last bit of usable material.

Acrylic is also cut to size and separated by color on rows of shelves.I keep new clean sheets on the bottom and the miscellaneous bits on top.

I have a style guide of (almost) every material and font I like to offer mounted on a wall.

-Matt

[Bert Kemp]

I use mostly 1/4 & 1/8" BB in 12 x 12 or 12 x 14" sheet size. I store it flat on shelves from HD, with a 1 in 12 x 12 approx. marble slab on top of the piles. I went hunting for a piece of marble slab to use in leather work, I found a place that had a scrap pile , they said take what I want. so I grabbed a half dozen pieces approx a foot sq. I can go back any time and get more if I need it.

[Joe Pelonio]

I never have problems due to humidity or heat. When in a commercial space I kept the heat on at night to about 65, and my shop here at home gets the same heat/cooling as the rest of the house. Even thin veneer seems to remain flat when stored flat.

[Robert Walters]

Carpet Anti-Static Spray (test in an inconspicuous spot first)

In a spray bottle, mix in one part Downey liquid fabric softener and 3 parts water, shake well.
In a 32oz spray bottle, that would 8oz Downey + 24oz water.

It'll take 2-3 days for it to become effective, but should reduce the ESD gradually.
You'll still have to spray periodically each week especially if you have heavy traffic.


MATERIAL STORAGE

I use those chrome wire racks you find in restaurant supply / costco.
I combined the shelves from two of them to have a single rack of 6 shelves 10" apart.
Place 1/8" hardboard on top of each wire shelf to prevent ending up with "scalloped" material.


Vertical storage would be awesome if you could find a way to "compress" the material.
I thought of a "bench vise" type thing or sliding end cap would be great,
but might damage the bottom edges of the sheet material when it's being open/closed.

[Mike Null]

Years ago I was able to buy a steel storage fixture from a hardware store that was going out of business. It is about 28" wide and I was able to make particle board shelves (about 15) to hold quarter sheet material 12" x 24" which is what I normally buy for my name tag-label business. 15 shelves are not quite enough but it serves pretty well.

I keep my scrap in the boxes they ship the plastic in. It's not great but is the best I can come up with for now.

I store my metals vertically except for my three higher volume numbers which I keep in separate boxes.

[Michael Reilly]

This is what I built for our old studio which unfortunately was lost in a fire. It worked reasonably well. It was designed to store acrylic at the 10 degree angle that acrylic manufacturers recommend to prevent warping.
IMG_5055 (1).jpg

IMG_5056 (1).jpg


I was inspired by this. Thinking of trying to build something like this for our new studio, though if I want to do it at 10 degrees it will be really involved.
00c0c_4IEVOmM9ydS_600x450.jpg

[Chris J Anderson]

Thanks heaps for all the replies so far, and special thanks Michael Riley for the pics, much appreciated.
The 10 degree thing is great info.

Am still considering my options...

cheers,
Chris

[Scott Shepherd]

Chris, here's a link to a thread where I posted one we made. I think there's another photo or two from other's there too.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ighlight=table

[John Frazee]

For my metal engraving sheet stock for the rotary engraver I have an old metal rack that was used for storing and selling poster board. The metal I store in it lays flat but the rack stands at an angle. For my plastic sheet stock for the laser I use the heavy duty boxes that Marco ships it in. I wrote on the ends of the boxes the color in each one. I then have those stacked on a four shelf free standing shelf. I must have between 25 to 30 boxes on it. Works great.

[Keith Upton]

It was designed to store acrylic at the 10 degree angle that acrylic manufacturers recommend to prevent warping.

First time I've heard about this... good info. Thanks.