Full Size Sheet Material Storage..Do we need it?

[skot]

Sometimes an idea pops into your head and off you go and plan the project....then along the way you think "Is this really a waste of time & materials".

I am tired of tripping over my sheet material which is leaning up against one of my benches

I have a fair few sheet material off cuts but also a couple of full sheet ply (2 of them are Silky Oak Brimsboard)...Not sure when I will get around to using the SO Ply. I got it into my head to build storage for sheet materials which would take full sheets.

My plan was to have the sheets inside a box type storage area approx 2400 deep x 1300 high x 400 wide. I purchased a 400 mm long roller from Carbatec years ago and was going to incorporate it at the front for rolling the sheets in & out.

Sketch attached shows idea for Tool Storage & Clamp Storage on opposite sides of walls that I had considered.

Sheet.PNG

After watching some woodworking videos ...a few of the presenters commented on the fact that usually you only buy sheet material to use fairly quickly after getting them and do not buy full sheets just to store away for a later time. Storage is needed mostly for the off cuts.

My question is do other forumites have full sheet material storage or should I concentrate on building storage just for the off cuts.

I guess I can find somewhere temporary for the full sheets I have at the moment.

[BobL]

I have often seen good deals on sheets in hardware stores and salvage yards for materials I had no immediate use for but keep reminding myself that space = $$ in my shed so I still reckon the best place for full size sheets are back in the store. However we all have offcuts to deal with from time to time.

My sheet material offcuts are stored up against a semi-clear wall behind my WW lathe and BS or under the house neither of which are satisfactory.

I like the idea of using rollers in the way you describe

[Opelblues2]

myself, I don't have the room for full sheet storage, 20ft shipping container. I only buy full sheet when I need it for a project. but I do have a storage for offcuts on the opposite back corner to the mitre bench and above the bench is the rack for full lengths of timber and offcuts

[skot]

Yes, space is always the big kicker in sheds.

We would all like to have 150m2 of shed space and have all the tools and a place for everything.....BUT back in the real world space is always at a premium.


The more I think about it, the storage idea I had would only be good for full sheets. I could store the off cuts towards the front but all the space behind the off cuts would be wasted. More brainiac time needed to sort it out but I do know I need a storage wall for clamps

[GraemeCook]

Good Morning Skott

I have been grappling with this issue for six or seven years, and still do not have an answer.

Fully agree with suggestions that one doesn't store full sheets - buy as required and only store off cuts. But what is an off cut? Not a simple question.

My inventory of off cuts of ply, MDF, melamine, Formica, etc, includes:

• Lots of small pieces mainly smaller than a quarter sheet,
• several half sheets, say 1200 x 1200 or a little larger in length,
• a few lengthwise strips, say 2400 x 400 or 600.

It is storage of those latter two groups that pose the difficulty. If they are cut into smaller bits, then no doubt I will need the uncut piece next week.

In the meantime, I will wait and learn!



Fair Winds

Graeme

[skot]

I know what you mean Graeme..the moment you cut down a piece just for storage...the need for the longer piece comes up next week.

[burraboy]

I've been using plywood for many years, a fair amount of it too, and the way that the quality of the material has varied and deteriorated over the years has meant that if I do see some good stuff then I buy it! Storage is overhead. Rafters work well!

[skot]

I must admit, I'd like to my hands on some birch ply or similar to the stuff that ShopNotes mag uses for their jigs.

Rafters would be OK for the lighter ply but I would not feel safe trying to get a full sheet of 16mm or 19mm MDF down from the ceiling. I still have big pieces of MDF so I was looking for a storage system for ply & MDF.

[GraemeCook]

I've been using plywood for many years, a fair amount of it too, and the way that the quality of the material has varied and deteriorated over the years has meant that if I do see some good stuff then I buy it! Storage is overhead. Rafters work well!

Good Morning Burraboy

Fully agree about the plummeting quality of plywood, not to mention the ever soaring price.

My workshop has lathe and plaster ceiling, so rafters not accessible. Still at drawing board....



Fair Winds

Graeme

[specialist]

I have about 26 sheets of white hmr board, ply and other assorted materials. I have a stand made up the allows me to stand them on their ends and that limits the space needed. Standing on their ends is the best way the I have found as it allows for easier handling.
The unfortunate thing is that it is tucked away in a blind corner between two of my timber racks, still, it keeps it out of the way and from falling over.

[snowyskiesau]

I thought I was lucky in that I have a mezzanine floor (sort of) in my shed.
It's a raised platform abut 2 metres up from the floor, about 1.5 metres deep and runs the width of the shed (6 metres or so)
I also have a hoist to get boards up and down.

Several problems with the whole setup:

The highest I can raise the hoist to is a bit too low to be able to lift sheets clear of the stack, you have to slide them in/out and that takes a bit of muscle power, not a good thing if you're half way up a ladder.
The board you want is ALWAYS on the bottom so you have to move all the stuff you don't want off to the other end of the shed and then back onto the stack when you've got the sheet you're after.

The end result is that most of the sheet goods live on a pair of saw horses and some lengths of 90x45 out in the carport. They're easier to get at with the hoist and are out of the weather.

[skot]

As I get on ...I am less keen to have to get up on ladders to move full sheets.

After a bit of thought I have come up with an idea for storing them upright and utilizing the 2700 ceiling height thus reducing the footprint size for the storage while still giving me some wall area to hang some clamp racks.

Looks like a nice size shed snowyskiesau...pity I am in Hobart for just one afternoon in April or I would pop down and say hello.

[pippin88]

Sheet material is best stored flat (wood anyway) to avoid getting a bow. Makes storage even harder because more room is needed.

[skot]

Stored flat is the best but not an option...just do not have the room. Best I can do is a frame that tilts 5 degrees off vertical but still stored upright

[Prle77]

Recently I've moved house and gained slightly bigger shed.. but this time decided to keep all big material outside of it. That includes about 10 full sheets of ply, few sheets of mdf, some structural pine, hardwood in lengths more than 1 mtr etc... There was a bit of a gap between the shed and the timber fence which is about 1.5 mtrs in height (or a bit more at places)
Gap is about 1.2 mtr wide at the entrance and going to roughly 1.45 at the end of the fence...
I had some old black plastic roofing, and fair bit of pallet timber..
Although the ground is concreted there is still fair bit of water during the rain due to the slope..
So I've used pallet wood to raise floor.. sacrificed some of pallet long bits and structural pine for roof supports and mounted the roof.. Used silicon to fill old holes..
sheets are stored against shed wall and I've made racking for all the hardwood and structural pine...
made sure everything is waterproof..
there was even room for the lawn mover.. so more work space inside the shed.. yeey...

anyway... my suggestion is to look outside the shed for additional storage where possible....I've estimated I've saved at least 4 square metres of shed space by removing whose big pieces outside...