Storing your metal?

[raynerd]

Hi guys

I know this has come up before but pretty sure within another thread - anyway, how do you guys store your metal?

I've not been doing much over the last 6-9 months but have still visited the scrap yard once and week and collected the odd decent bits, consequently I realised today I have it knocking about all over the workshop. With such random sizes and shapes, I'm not sure what is the best and neatest way to store it! I'm short on space as it is so the easiest way is to stack it but it then becomes hard to look through! 

How do you guys store flat stock, bar stock, short and long pieces?

 

[John Stevenson]

Bit of a floor to ceiling rack.



Bigger stuff goes on a rack outside.

[Pete.]

Long bar - on the floor behind the lathe since there's a handy gap.
Short bar - under the mill since it's up on 4x4 riser blocks
Stock less than 300mm long - in parts bins on a rolling trolley sorted by material type
Flat sheet - down the side of my filing cabinet.

The main thing I find is to sort out stuff that you're never likely to use, be it odd shaped or whatever, and have a clear-out often to stop you from cluttering up. I have been on a mission to de-clutter this year, using the 2-year rule. If I've had it more than 2 years and not used it I probably won't even remember I had it when the time comes so out it goes - with exceptions of course.

[AdeV]

Bit of a floor to ceiling rack.

Who's workshop is that John?

Can't be yours, I can see floor...

[Arbalist]

Long stuff gets stood up behind the mill and short stuff is sorted into steel or alloy and goes in large parts bins.

[oldgoaly]

Just made a couple of these for 3' and less threaded rod, s/s rod, brass rod.  smaller stuff pile on a shelf, longer stuff piled on the floor and stacked up along the wall. Made from 22 gauge 36" wide stock, so the rough cuts were 7.5" by 18" to not make scrap. Each rack is made from 5 pcs, 2 of which get holes. I have greenlee round dies no squares so that is why they are round. Soon as I can make a spot they will get screwed to the wall 
 

[awemawson]

Similar to John S 's mine is mainly racking on the wall. I do have a stack of 'carbine boxes' - like bullet boxes but a different shape, that holds the more 'chunky' pieces. Separate ones for brass, steel, aluminium, plastic and paxolin.

Incidentally I do have rather more of the carbine boxes than I need if anyone needs some.

[PekkaNF]

Excelent timing you have

.....
Incidentally I do have rather more of the carbine boxes than I need if anyone needs some.

ooooo....I would love to get a bunch of those kind of boxes, but it would be a killer to send them any distance. I was looking for an old ammo box or something, but looks like I have to roll my own.

I just made this weekend some storage place.
1) Long rods are leaning up against the wall
2) 50 cm to 150 cm rods up in drain tubes bunched together (have to build more this type).
3) 70 cm and shorter vertical on drain tubes bunched together

*Picture update* I made them really simple. Used band saw to cut the 110 mm OD plastic drain pipe and simple frames of board lying around.

....
Stock less than 300mm long - in parts bins on a rolling trolley sorted by material type
....

Any picture? I need to store pretty heavy short pieces of various iron metals and I'm having hard time figuring out how to. I usually just chuck them under storage self and on spring cleaning (not likely to happen even every other year) I make discoveries.

While still on this hot topic: Does anyone has a good coloring system to separate witchestits from free machining stock? Electricians tape? Three paint jars or never drying paint. I'm disapointed on spray paint cans. I have few bars that are proverbial to machine, but welds fine, some that machine well and will not weld....and some that don't do neither well all looks identical twins (minus notes I have taped on some bars, but if I loose the note........)

Pekka

[AussieJimG]

Great timing! I'm having a bit of a cleanup and, like Pekka, having difficulty keeping track of the different types of steel. So I will be watching to get some clues. Might even do something useful.

Jim

[Ashlyn Katarzyna]

I keep all of my Aluminum out side in trash cans or on a steel A frame rack built from left over projects. I have 3) 7" dia solid aluminum logs from 6" to 21" long they are buried outside, getting ready to melt my stock pile down into ingots.

All of my steel is out back on rail road ties, and EMT tubing is also on a steel rack.  Short stuff is on a construction barricade.

The only thing I keep inside is pending projects mostly stuff for blackpowder cannons I keep an Gau-8 barrel in my room, my mill takes up a very large section of a 1 car garage wish it took up as much as my lathe does.  I'm too embarassed to take a photo of my shop its a total clusterF.

[S. Heslop]

For small bits I've been using one of those wide plastic bread trays you tend to find dumped all over. I'd love to collect a few more but the people that usually drive me about don't appreciate me picking apparent garbage up and loading it into their car. But they'd probably be great if you could make a kind of cabinet and use them as drawers.

[awemawson]

They stack you know, if you rotate the metal bar 'into' the bread crate. Used them extensively at my last place but somehow they seem to have disappeared


Andrew

[AussieJimG]

Bread crates! Perfect! Why didn't I think of that.

Now to find some (that aren't somebody's property)

Jim

[flutedchamber]

For short pieces, a foot long or less, I use plastic buckets that I bought at the Dollar Store.  Each has a piece of tape on the outside, with steel, brass, aluminum, etc written on it.  They sit next to the mill and are handy for small jobs when you just need a piece of something a few inches long.  I can also put those buckets on a cart so they can follow me to the lathe or cutoff saw as needed. 

Mid length pieces go in an old shopping cart that is sectioned according to the material type.  Long pieces go in a rack.

[lordedmond]

Most of my stuff is in short lengths

so get some plastic guttering and brackets screw them up on the wall  , keeps it all sorted and easy to get at as you cannot pile to deep and you can have a end view



Stuart