Posted by We generally don’t use a lot of plywood and MDF sheet goods. You would then think we would not have much to store, which would discount the fact that leftovers stick around for a while. With the cost of good plywood, I don’t want to use it up on more utilitarian projects, so half of a nice 18 mm hardwood sheet may be in for a long stay. This along with the odd pieces of MDF, steel plate and acrylic means there is stock that needs storage.
There is a tension between compact storage, accessibility and being able to quickly identify what I have on hand when making projects, jigs or what not.
In order to improve the situation, I made a rolling cart several years ago. The idea was that it would sit against the garage door, and could be rolled out of the way when more space was required. It quickly became evident that without active management, it became a mess. Additionally, extracting less than full dimension sheets necessitated a fair bit of juggling, and it’s is very rare that full size sheets are stored.
Over time, it got heavier, floor space got more valuable, and all in all it just became a poor solution. While I’ve had an idea of a vertical unit for a while, I’ve always struggled with maintaining easy access to smaller offcuts. Whilst in the shed with my wife earlier in the week, I again lamented the shortcomings in my proposed design. A brief pause, and she responded with “why not just leave half the side off”. That would do it! Without delay, I shot off to the hardware shop and bought the required materials, and whipped it up in an afternoon and evening.
Then this morning, despite being exhausted from two days away cycling the Tasmanian wilderness, I transferred the contents across, and turned the old unit into kindling and stock ready for use.
Being placed behind the door, means it doesn’t use up much usable space at all.
When pulling my old one apart, I found my signature and date of 2017. This one has now been signed and dated too. Hopefully it will last a little longer.
Lance
October, 2019
