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
[OP]
Contributor
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
As Cort would say: Fools are the only folk on the earth who can absolutely count on getting what they deserve.
Contributor
Offcut storage is the Holy Grail of the wood shop. Find a good solution and you"ll be up there with Jeff Bezos.
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I have a 2' x 3 'x 2' rolling bin I store mine off cuts/short scrap in. Honestly, I would be better off if I "stored" more of it in the wood stove. My rule is that I don't allow myself to keep more short scrap than what fits in the (overflowing) bin. I need to break down and use about a third of it in the maple sap evaporator. It is getting where I can't move it without stuff falling off the top and onto the floor.
Anything longer than 3' that is still a decent width gets stored in the wall lumber rack. I try not to keep anything narrower than about 2 inches on that. It could use a little purge as well.
Contributor
I built a 7 foot tall cabinet carcass using 2x4s. Before assembling, I dado'ed the 2x4s so that I could install 2 rows of 1/2" thick shelves. I put the cabinet on casters. Then I bought a number of long plastic bins that sit in the cubbyholes created by the shelves. I sort offcuts among the bins by size, material (ply, 2x4, hardwood) and shape (long and narrow, big squares, little squares, etc). For me, this has been a HUGE improvement.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
I went with a stair-stepped design.
re-vamped wood stash (1).jpg
With some random scrap plywood, it grew.
Scrap Bins V3.jpg
This has proven to work well for me. I occasionally empty a slot and thin the heard while waiting for glue or finish to dry.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
Member
Just keep storing them. You can almost always find some open space to store a few more. As you start using flat surfaces like bench tops for storage you will find that you only need to save one clear area for a work surface. As the need arises to use a different work surface it isn't too much work to temporarily clear the needed area by moving offcuts from one surface to another to another to another as work on a project progresses.
Just don't toss them or you will waste time looking for that piece you know you save 2 years ago but accidentally got tossed. Don't ask me how I know.
Moderator
I have a bin on wheels that I store my "shorts" and off-cuts in. I recently moved it out of my shop space and upstairs where the rest of my lumber storage is. It's about 4' lone and 2' deep with several individual cubbies so I can "moderately" sort by size/length. I'm kind of a pack-rat when it comes to material and really like being able to go into that bin to find just the right piece I need for something. But I also realize that occasionally I need to cull stuff and lately I have been moving more to only saving the better examples and trashing more waste since I'm also producing more at this point.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Short offcuts go into a 32 gallon trash bin for use as kindling in my fireplace. Long skinny ones that might have a use go horizontally onto a wall mounted rack. Shorter usable offcuts go onto a shelf under my miter saw station, or a vertical rack (bottom of which is 4 feet off the floor) near my router station or sadly, just leaned against something.
NOW you tell me...
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I'm with Bob.Originally Posted by Bob Grier
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ha ha ha ha!!! :d
If at first you don't succeed, redefine success!
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Wow, didn't even know he was a woodworker. So how does he store his offcuts?
Contributor
At the warehouse. When he wants one, the drones drop it off within hours.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
Contributor
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.
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I am considering making this or something simiar.
rolling cart.JPG
Contributor
I have one that style. I just finished going through it a couple of weeks ago. It’s unreal how much firewood it collects.
21C76C30-3050-4342-9954-90DE09A261DE.jpegA643C88F-1F4A-45D8-BB3E-86AFA55AA505.jpg
I added the piece of PVC when I cleaned it out for doweling. You can store sheet goods on the backside.
Last edited by Mike Delyster; 03-12-2020 at 9:17 AM.
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