On Sat, 1 Dec 2007 07:44:24 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Dec 1, 4:25 am, "dadiOH" wrote:
Storing sheet goods isn't all that bad. A PITA but not too bad. I
generally buy enough for a project (2-20 sheets) and lay them flat on
the floor on 2x4s.

However, I am inevitably left with some nice, less than full sheet
pieces of various sizes. No immediate use for them but I *know*
they'll be handy someday. Until "someday" comes, they are leaning
against various walls. I try to organize them by size but it is a
mess so my question is...

How do you folks store all those cutoffs from sheet goods?

--

dadiOH
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I don't have any great tips to add, but this seemed a good place to
share your frustration about scrap storage. At an avg cost of $1.08/
sq ft, those cut-offs are too pricey to throw out [initially] but
there are only so many fillers, blocks, jigs, test cuts, and push
sticks I can use. So, when the need for space in my tiny shop exceeds
my thriftiness, those pieces become pricey land fill.

The problem extends to hardware, too. I'll have ten screws or a pound
of nails or something left over from a job, and they go into a
container. Then the containers stack piling up...dozens of different
cans, boxes, bins and jars filled with a few odds and ends. Too nice
to throw out, too few to be of use.

Keep posting, guys/gals...there are some packrats reading these boards
hoping to detect a glimmer of light at the end of a REALLY cluttered
tunnel :0)



hardware storage, I buy nails and screws in big economy sized
lots. Then I have an entire shelf, floor to ceiling, loaded with
bins. In my case, they are cardboard bins that are 1-3" wide, 4"
high, and about 12" deep. They each hold at least a pound of nails.
I have a few dozen of them and one day went thru all of my hardware.
Nails on this shelf, organized by size and type. Decking screws on
this shelf, ditto. Drywall screws, ditto. Bolts with related nuts
and washers on that shelf. It took a full day, but they are sorted.
Anything less than a small handful didn't make the grade and was
thrown in the recycling bin. Small expensive stuff, such as stainless
steel hardware that I use in my work, goes into those flat translucent
trays that hold fishing lures. Plano, or whoever has them on sale. A
shelf holds them, upright, like a row of books. They generally have a
label on the spine identifying the contents and they are generally
organized for like hardware in each tray. Dividers can be moved as
necessary. My one learning experience was to try not to fill up the
trays with too many different doohickeys in each tray. It's better to
have a few extra trays, with larger compartments, with more individual
parts in each compartment, than to try to put the dividers 1/2" apart
and try to have two or three of everything in one tray. My example
here is the many various types of crimp-on electrical connectors.
Spades, rings, males, females, each one with a red, green, or yellow
size. There are dozens of combinations. Try not to put them all in
one tray. With a packrat as dedicated as I am, it takes discipline
and perseverence, but it can be done. (Also, don't be afraid to throw
a few odds and ends away.)