To store or not to store... that is the question

[John Donofrio]

Since the shops inception there has been a plan to reserve wall space for a sheet goods cart for storing sheet goods horizontally. Well now it's time to either commit or abandon the idea and I'm really up in the air, mostly (totally?!?) due to the limited area I have in the 22'x22' space. My interest primarily lies in working with solid woods but I can't seem to get past a burning desire to store the occasional few sheets of ply and the like.

For those with space limitations, have you ever regretted not having storage for sheet goods? I know several folks have written about breaking sheets down before bringing them in to the shop, which is fine provided the need is there and known.

I tried taking a panorama of the wall in question to help explain that once the chop saw station is setup and a router cabinet added the remainder would be taken up by the sheet storage (the blue tape on the wall is approx 9' from the right corner). Where would I put miscellaneous stuff? How often would I need said sheet goods? Was there life on Mars? These are the things that are driving me crazy.

Just another instance of paralysis by analysis I suppose but I'm still hoping for some feedback to help push me one way or the other.

PANO_20150722_190921.jpg

Yours truly,
Edge of insanity

[glenn bradley]

I despise storing sheet goods. Like you, I do have to keep a bit of it around; drawer boxes, sop fixtures, etc. I wanted to go horizontal but, again, like you the space was not worth what I was storing. I store vertically like books on a shelf and dedicate about 14" to it. Despite my best efforts to let the lumber yard store my sheet goods till I actually need them, I do end up with partial panels and those have to go somewhere ;-)

[John Donofrio]

Thanks for the reply Glenn. Looking, staring really, at it last night I think I'll try to keep the space open for now. If I need to cut into it with one of the stations or ductwork the space will shrink and what's left will be reserved for the larger ply cutoffs as you describe, what we call 'design development'.

[James W Glenn]

Im putting my shop together right now, which is comparable at 23''x23". I have a 2'x4' floor space reserved for a vertical plywood storage cabinet, with partions built in to organize smaller remnants. 64 cubic feet for sheet goods and no more. i dont plan on haveing to keep much plywood on hand beyond, material for shop furniture and jigs, except marine ply for boat projects, and then i save every little scrap. Up to the 64 cubic feet limit that is. The storage cabinet will also provide 4' of "wall" space that will be used for vertical lumber storage.