How Do You Store Your Steel?

[unioncreek]

I've been trying to straighten up my shop, so I don't have to trip over stuff laying around. My scrap steel just keeps getting moved from spot to spot.

How does everyone else store their steel and small pieces of scrap. My wife said throw the little stuff away, I just say I might need it one day.

Pictures would be nice of racks that have been built.

Bob

 

[David S]

Hi Bob,

Nothing fancy for me. I mostly use brass and aluminum. So in my lathe area on the right is a top shelf for brass, next aluminum, then steel, wierd stuff, and bottom is non metalic.
Under the lathe larger stuff, steel, bin for larger brass, bin for aluminum, bin for non metalic.



David

 

[Ulma Doctor]

5 gallon buckets, milk crates, and homemade vertical racks
but somehow seems to be everywhere around the shop in small pieces, i try to collect those in large yogurt containers
i don't save every little piece, just pieces i can imagine a use for.
i come across scrap constantly from retrofits in my normal work.
if i kept every piece, i'd need a warehouse just for scrap very quickly
i'll edit later and post a picture of some of my crap...

 

[unioncreek]

I'm considering something along the lines of what Dave has in his picts. My lathe and mini mill are set up in a corner and under the corner counter top I have an air compressor. I have space beside the compressor that I could put a rack in.

Right now everything just seems to get pile together. I want to sort it out and either put it on a rack or shelves in the corner.

Bob

 

[Charles Spencer]

 

[bosephus]

i guess piled up on the floor in 8 or 10 spots is not the answer your looking for .

my shop is an uninsulated concrete ice box , i want to build a few racks to hold scrap and such someday along with some shelves and cabinets .
but have been holding off in the hopes of one day being able to afford some insulation .

until then .. random piles it is

 

[unioncreek]

I know what you mean by having an uninsulated shop. Half of mine is, so I hang a tarp in the doorway to the one car garage (uninsulated). Heat the shop side with a small electric force air heater. The other side has a wood stove and I use it if I'm going to be out there for more than a couple hours.

I've been thinking of using 4 inch PVC and attaching a 1 foot piece to a board or something to hold it vertical to put iron in.

I've

 

[Randall Marx]

Piles here and there, buckets, on shelves, big stuff goes outside with actual scrap in trash cans and possibles sort of organized on shelves in one area of the woodshed.

 

[Dan_S]

I store mine like this. Also, id advise against throwing the little stuff away, as it comes in really hand to prototype with or make jigs/fixtures with.

 

[Bob Korves]

+1 on not throwing out the small stuff. I use it for most of my projects, and it is the easiest to store. Save a few cardboard beverage flats for pouring cans into for sorting it to find the perfect piece for your job. Small pieces are also useful for setup jobs and can save considerable time.