Offcut storage

[glenn bradley]

Glenn, I'm attempting to get my garage (aka "shop") in some order. After searching for an off-cut solution, I came across one in an old ShopNote mag picture. It is exactly what you have, only constructed from MDF. I looks compact and separates pieces by length. By the way it is in ShopNotes issue 94.

I had to go check my Shopnotes archive. That is exactly where I got the idea. I made my containers separate because it would be easier to handle modules and stack them; I'm not getting any younger. This turned out to be a good idea. I ended up adding dividers and additional modules to handle shorts of a similar length but narrower width.

IIRC I set the dimensional divider at about 10". This meant the large cubbies could hold cutoffs of the varying lengths from most material picked up at the lumber yard. The smaller 4" section could take those thinner offcuts that are still large enough to be useful for drawer runners and such but, that would make the larger cutoff area cluttered and difficult to sort through; DAMHIKT. An unintended beneficial side effect of going modular.

[Stan Calow]

Every time I generate some offcuts, I look at each and decide whether its trash, firepit/bbq material, or something to save and reuse. Separate plastic bins for the first two, and try to minimize the keepers. Long thin keepers go into a rubbermaid trash barrel so I can see them.

[Edwin Santos]

At the warehouse. When he wants one, the drones drop it off within hours.

Touche!






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[scott vroom]

My off-cut storage system

[glenn bradley]

My off-cut storage system

LMAO. I think I'll add one of those to the back yard.

[Vince Shriver]

I had something similar. What I didn't like was stacking the sheet goods both horizontally & vertically, dependent upon their dimensions, sides resting next to sides. After accumulating a pretty good size stack of ply sheets, it was kind of a PIA to rummage thru them looking for something at the middle or bottom of the deck. I went with a 4 section rack to stack panels vertically only. They can now be easily found and pulled from their section by their long edge. 2 of the sections have a shelf to accommodate shorter sheets.

[michael dilday]

If I throw it away it goes in a 13 gallon galvanized crash can then we burn them in the evenings. For keepers I have a 10' miter saw cabinet that has drawers in the middle and about 4 foot side shelves on each end. The shelves on one side is where my keepers go.

[Michael Drew]

I have one that style. I just finished going through it a couple of weeks ago. It’s unreal how much firewood it collects.
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I added the piece of PVC when I cleaned it out for doweling. You can store sheet goods on the backside.

I need to build that....

[Jack Frederick]

I built a lumber rack for the long stuff a few months ago and have a similar set-up to Glenn's, but mine is vertical orientation. For the overflow or overstock my SIL's both have SoloStoves and are constantly asking for wood/kindling. That has solved the overflow this winter and this summer, as they like it so much, I am going to let tham store the over flow. BTW, those Solostoves are excellent.

[George Yetka]

Anything big enough to make cutting board gets made into a cutting board
Anything big enough to make into coaster gets made into coaster
Anything too short to make a coaster goes in the bottle stopper/pen turning box

Everything else is either considered large enough to store standing up or small enough to be put into 1 drawer.

[John K Jordan]

What do you use for short offcuts and other lumber storage? I have seen several good ideas on YouTube, but wondered what works for you.

Doc

I use wire shelves for holding wood both for drying, small pieces cut for turnings, and offcuts. (I love these shelves - I think I have 8 of these for wood, more for tools and supplies, more in the garage and in a storage unit.) On some shelves I make vertical dividers from stiff welding wire to help organize so I can find things quickly. Most are turning "squares" but some shelves have small flat stock. I usually write the name of the species on the end and the length of the piece so if I'm looking for a certain length it saves time pulling them out to check.

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Long pieces are stored on the tops so they don't stick out and get in the way. Very short pieces, still useful for woodturning, go into shallow bins. If I use tall bins I can't find anything!

I store some bigger pieces of slabs and boards standing vertically along along isle leading to another part of the shop.

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Works for me. (These pictures are only a small percentage of the wood. You think maybe I have a hoarding problem? )

JKJ

[Brian Tymchak]

A timely thread.

I am considering making this or something simiar.

Attachment 427777

I built something similar.
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But it is heavy to move when I need access to the irrigation shutoff behind it. And I need more storage, so I doodled this design a couple days ago for a bin to sit in the corner of the shop.

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It will store offcuts on end, with some sorting by height, reserving a short bin on the end to store dowel-like pieces. But then I priced out plywood (even cheap HD stuff) and am having a hard time pulling the trigger on the project. Geesh, what happened to plywood prices lately? So, I'm now thinking of alternate designs to cut the costs. Maybe a pine frame with thin OSB walls might be cheaper.

[Andrew More]

I've got a couple of carts, I don't think it matters that much what you do, as long as you can find stuff again. If you cannot find things, or it's getting in the way, time to purge the herd.

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I've got a two car garage, so I might end up getting rid of the cart in the background, we'll see what happens. Right now I've got the space, but I might want to add a tool or two in the future.

[Myles Moran]

I have a shelf in the basement right outside my shop for the big pieces. I also have a big tote in my shop for the smaller pieces. Seeing that my basement is currently in process of being (re)finished I'm now contemplating replacing them with some stair step cubbies that fit under the stairs, as I'm hoping to box off the mechanicals from the shop area for dust control.

The tote kind of works, but my previous solution was a paper bag or 2 and the shelving on the wall. The adjustable metal shelf racks do a decent job for the larger pieces though.

[Justin Rapp]

I have a box for cut-offs and a wire drawer rack on the wall but I have been trying hard to use up the shorts or make the call to toss them in the burn box Of course i don't light up the fire pit often and my smoker is in need of a replacement. What this means, I pull out scrap from the burn box for use at times.