Any clever ideas for wood and sheet storage?

[Farm Labourer]

As the title says, really. I've been tidying my workshop for what seems like several weeks, have continued to paint the floor and walls every time I have a clear area and have an idea how I want to lay out bench and machines once the floor is all the same colour

Now I need some way of storing timber and sheet offcuts. Any suggestions?

 

[Bigbadmarky]

I've been scratching my head over this one too. There are quite a few videos etc on Youtube which are a good starting point.
My proposed solution is based on a number of different videos I've seen and will be bespoke to my workshop. Ultimately I won't have room to store full 8 x 4 sheets but then I never keep these around for too long any way.
In short: google it and steal other people's ideas to suit your situation.

 

[Doug B]

Here’s a few old photos of the original building of my store, it has worked really well over the years I’ve altered it a little when I changed my dust extraction system but basically it’s the same.

I started with a 3x2” frame

On to the top uprights I made & attached ply & 3x2” brackets to store long planks.

The base unit was made from MDF it has casters on the underside to allow it to be moved forward

& is hinged on the far upright which allows me to angle the unit down the centre of the shop so 8x4’ sheets can be stored in the back section

It doesn’t take long to get get packed & I do regularly have a clear out, my shop is quite long & narrow so the ability to push it flat against the wall is a boon & with the 2 shelves above it stores a considerable amount of timber.

HTH

 

[MikeG.]

Sheet material storage is a space-eating nightmare. If you lean all the boards against each other, you have to move all of the outer ones to get to one at the back. If you stand them up in a rack with vertical dividers, then you need the same length of clear floor in front of the rack to access them (ie slide them in and out). If you store them flat you need something tremendously strong, and you'll always have the weight of other boards on top to deal with. If anyone has a good idea how to deal with this is a small workshop, then I'm all ears. Your wheeled bin idea seems as good as any.

 

[Mike Jordan]

My solution is similar to Doug B but made in steel box section - photo to follow when it's daylight !

 

[Farm Labourer]

Perfect, thank you!

My problem was a lack of wall space but if I move a couple of things and turn my compressor through 90 degrees I can have a space big enough to do exactly what you've done.

And I just happen to have a couple of 2" steel box section stands on wheels that no longer have a purpose, so are in storage - so a bit of cutting and welding after the rugby and I'll have a wood storage area this w/e.

Thinking about it as I type this, I'll probably fabricate the long length store from steel box, too and face it with ply.

This will really clear some space in my 'shop.

Bloody love this forum as all lof you are so keen to share knowledge/experience

 

[SkinnyB]

I have a couple of these. So much storage! I have the front open though so you can get access to it at the front.
We used to have one at work to which was great for all the light tubes. Just stacked the boxes in the back and you could pull out what you needed very easily.

I like it because it gives you bench space for you bench top tools. A large wall rack to hang tools on. Above storage that I use for Trade cases using some custom shelving for each case and things I don't use that often. Lots of shelf sample under which is great for all sorts of lengths. You could out an additional long shelf above the sheet goods too. You just need to make sure that one side is free if you are in and out with sheet goods. I have a unit on casters which is wheeled out the way. Make it to the sizes you need.

 

[Mike Jordan]

My system is to keep most of my timber in a 2.4M X 3.5 M purpose built garden shed with only small quantities in my quite small workshop.
The top pic shows the high level rack on the garage/workshop wall. This has a few lengths conditioning but mainly serves to keep beading and long off cuts in reasonable order.
The second is a pic of the steel racking to one side of the shed. The racking is attached to the shed but all the weight is carried by the 50mm steel HRS down to the floor. This system has served me for more than twenty years and the three steel racks are regularly loaded with about a ton of timber when I have a spend.
The other two pics show my simple method of stacking sheet materials, the angled timber support allows me to select and remove a sheet from within the stack without the risk of the whole lot falling on me. The sheets are heavy to handle but are right inside the doorway.
As you can see the shed also shelters garden machinery and odd items of joinery.
Apologies for the horizontal pics
Mike.

 

[Farm Labourer]

Thanks again, chaps. Even more to think about now!

 

[gmgmgm]

Relevant to this: I've recently built a very simple 8x4 sheet storage unit after years of fighting sheets: a tough pallet with big castor wheels in each corner. And then an old thin-ish (300mm?) kitchen cabinet bolted down in the middle, to provide a rigid support.

This allows sheets to be stored vertically either side of the kitchen cabinet. I then have a strap running around the whole thing to hold them close to the middle support. It makes it easy to bring the sheets to where I need them, and I can easily slide out the ones I want. So much easier than trying to get to the 7th sheet up against the wall.

 

[dohertycarpentry]

Here is a quick video of a rack I built recently.

 

[Cabinetman]

Wonderful looking workshop you’ve got there, and that new rack is certainly going to be useful have you had any problems with the boards bowing?

 

[billw]

I love the storage unit idea, I might have to figure out how to make a mobile version of that. My current solution is just to store timber in the garden shed, or under the bench, and some smaller pieces are in the attic space above the garage.