Subject: Storing usable scrap; ideas needed

From: [email-masked] (Greg Lewis)
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 02:38:07 GMT

Who's got the best scrap storage system? I'm cleaning out my shop...
the pile of metal scraps on the floor has become a rather large
stalagmite that is interfering with the work. But I hate to throw any
of the scrap away, even the little bits of a couple inches in length.
The scrap yard is $5 worth of gas away so I tend to save it all.
How do you store your metal? I have a rack for the pieces over 4-feet
long, and am considering making another rack for the pieces from 2 to
4-feet long. But what about the pile of bits? Buckets would work, but
then the one piece I might use will get lost in the bottom and I'll
end up spending that $5 on gas to go get my $5 minimum at the metal
yard.... Should I just give up on those and turn them over to the
fishermen for sinkers?

___________________________________________________________________
[email-masked]
Photojournalism sequence, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism
CSU Fresno, Fresno, CA 93740-0010

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 11 Jan 94 08:51:31 PST

In article <[email-masked]>, 
[email-masked] (Greg Lewis) writes:

> Who's got the best scrap storage system? 

  >60" Standing on end, leaning against the wall in a corner.

36-60" Horizontal on large hooks (made from 1/2" pipe fittings)
       mounted behind and below my lathe.   I can easily see the 
       end of each piece as the end of the lathe is against the 
       garage door.

16-36" Standing on end in a 5 gallon bucket that I sub-divided with
       assorted lengths of 3" ABS plastic sewer pipe.   The shortest 
       pipes are even with the top of the bucket, with the longest
       ones  being about 30" long.   Seven pieces nest nicely in a
       hexagon shape and fit (with a bit of trimming at the bottom)
       in the bucket.    The pieces of ABS pipe are essential to keep the
       pieces of metal reasonably  upright.   ABS sewer pipe cuts and
       glues nicely -- a good choice for this job.   I also mounted
       the bucket on a 5-wheel dolly that had  been used under a
       45-gallon trash can.   Now I can shove it into a  corner when
       I don't need it.   (I have a second one for aluminum and
       plastic.)

  <16" On heavy-duty wooden shelves with the ends of the stock pointed 
       out into the room.   I try to keep it sorted with the following
       scheme:
               Steel on one shelf, Aluminum on another.
               Rounds at one end, flats/squares at the other.
               Flats/squares along the shelf in order by thickness.

This storage scheme evolved as I acquired more stock and had to figure
out where to put it.   It did not come from any grand plan.   I simply
wanted to minimize the floor area used, while not losing track of
useful stock.

"Special" stock (drill rod, ground flat stock, etc.) is stored
separately in a more protected area.

--  Alan E. Frisbie               [email-masked]
--  Flying Disk Systems, Inc.
--  4759 Round Top Drive          (213) 256-2575 (voice)
--  Los Angeles, CA 90065         (213) 258-3585 (FAX)

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From: [email-masked] (Bart Smaalders)
Date: 11 Jan 1994 17:12:50 GMT

Build a wooden box (or stack multiple boxes with access space between them) and
place the box on casters.  Keep the depth reasonable so you can find things,
and slide the whole mess under the workbench.  I've got a couple of hundred
pounds of brass scrap stored that way.  

- Bart

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From: [email-masked] (Jay Stryker)
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 20:16:39

>>yard.... Should I just give up on those and turn them over to the

My stock materials depot  ("hobbyist scrap pile") within and outside of my
workshop uses a sorting method which works for me...(most of the time).
Stock is classified into sheet and flat, round and pipe, square/rectangular, 
channel, angle, threaded, interesting castings, and misc.  These end up
being placed more by shape than material, so steel and brass and plastic
sheets are in the same general area.  I have vertical racks for the longer
stock items with small boxes in front for the short offcuts.  So, if I need
some 1/2" (13mm) round steel, there is just one place to look.  For welding
I also keep an "unclasifiable" box of steel for gussets and plates and
general little bits that are better than cutting them from stock each time.
If you use buckets, don't load them too full.  Stack two or more partly
filled ones...if the top one doesn't have the bit you need you look in the
one underneath it.  
If you're gonna mess with metals, you're gonna hafta move 'em around!  :)

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From: [email-masked] (John Kopf, X6305)
Date: 13 Jan 1994 20:27:34 GMT

> Who's got the best scrap storage system? I'm cleaning out my shop...

IT ALL DEPENDS...but:

Check out your local hardware store for large PVC pipe (if you're lucky, you
can find some 4" square pipe intended for rain gutter downspouts).  ALso check
out a plastic supplier for PVC sheet.

Decide how many "catagories" you want (e.g., copper, brass, iron, steel, etc.).
cut the pipe into that many 3" sections, and that many more 6" sections, and
9" and 12" and...

Using ordinary PVC glue (also available from hardware store), glue one "stack"
of sizes together and to the PVC sheet (the bottom -- you'll now have a thing
that vaguely resembles a set of organ pipes).

Repeat for successive catagories.  After the glue is dry, add catagory labels
and place the structure in it's final resting place.  Fill the resulting bins
with your sorted scrap.

Good luck.

JK

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From: [email-masked] (John Kopf, X6305)
Date: 14 Jan 1994 20:23:59 GMT

While we're looking for ideas, what do people do for packing strips?

(if you have something like a 4-tool tool-post on your lathe, it is often
necessary to "pack" the tool to get the cutting-edge to center-height...
a tool may require a thin shim, or a thick block, depending on the tool size
and how the edge is ground.)

I've used strips of metal "banding" cut to length, and pieces of scrap,
but would like to make a "set" of packing strips for subsequent reuse
(rather than searching through the bin for scraps, and then having to cut
them up - if I have the right size).

If you've used packing strips, what do you find as a useful assortment of
thicknesses?  what sizes are generally useful (1/2" x 2"?).  What metals
are best to use (Aluminum? steel?).

JK

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From: [email-masked] (Clive Washington)
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 13:06:55 +0000

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (John Kopf,
X6305) wrote:

> The quickest and cheapest method I've found is to use strips of the thin
sheet from old aluminium drinks cans.  Cut off top and bottom with a pair
of scissors and open out to form a useful sheet.  Use said scissors to cut
a load of strips to suit tool and post, or cut a smaller piece and fold
over.

Only one problem - don't try to get a thick packing like this or the many
layers needed become spongy.  It's best for the odd few thou that leave a
nasty centre pip, or to add a touch of height to the old packing after 
regrinding the top of the tool.

It's also a good excuse to open another beer.

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From: [email-masked] (f.w.kerfoot..iii)
Date: 17 Jan 94 14:21:15 GMT

>From article <[email-masked]>, by [email-masked] (Clive Washington):

A good source of thin aluminum for packing or any of many other shop tasks
is roof flashing. A roll about 10" wide cost something in the $10 range,
and has many lineal feet on the roll. It is about .010" thick, if I
recall. For finer tuning, buy a roll of shim stock (brass or steel),
which is reasonably prices in the thinner sections. Perhaps the beer
can (I'm sure none of you would drink beer and then operate shop
machinery :-) ) would be a thinner shim. For thicker shims I use
scraps of thin stock, typically brass (.031", .062"). I use these
(and the thinner shims) for workholding, etc. rather than for tool 
packing, snce I have a quick change tool holder (FIMS) with height
adjustment. By the way, the aluminum shim stock (roof flashing) is
very handy for preventing marring of work pieces by chuck jaws and
the like.

Frank Kerfoot
[email-masked]