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Tips/Techniques Organizing steel.

Tips/Techniques
Canadium

Canadium

Ian
I need some ideas on how to organize my steel. Right now I have a large pile on the floor in one place that I am constantly tripping over, another pile in an out of the way corner where it is very difficult to find anything at the back, and another pile of shorts on a table that is consuming valuable table top space. I've tried keeping things in pails but eventually the weight was too much and the plastic disintegrated.

I'm not a production shop but collections of materials for several upcoming projects plus reserves adds up. It seems to make sense to keep pieces for specific projects together but these pieces often include collections of vastly different sizes. How do you guys store your steel??? And if you have stock of known type like 4041 and 12L14 how do you keep track of which is what???
 
Commercial shops end mark barstock with colour coding, red for 4140, orange for 4340, etc. No markings is usually for 1075 or lower grades.

"do as I say, not as I do"

So far I have a few special things, such as D2 marked, but mostly I just remember where I put it, and what it is. Perhaps I should improve that part of my organization?
 
This was my solution to the storage problem. I have a few other drawers, and corners with material stacked in them too.

https://canadianhobbymetalworkers.com/threads/mobile-stock-storage-rack.6655/#post-143738

For type of steel I just write on it with paint pen in at least 2 places. smaller stuff gets a paper label tag. You could also come up with a colour code and go with that, but that means having a bunch of different colours of paint around.
 
I'm a genetically evolved natural piler. So storing stuff in piles, stacks, and leaning on the wall works great for me. I don't try to be someone I'm not. Life is happier and better that way. I think the key is to ignore all those pour souls who think I will be so much happier and more productive with more organization. I like who I am and I don't try to convert other filers into pilers like me. You do you and I'll do me I say.

Very little of my stock is special metal. Those pieces that are, get labelled with a paint stick on both ends. I also have "special piles". I call it organized chaos.
 
Up until recently, basically all the metal I had was pieces under 24 inches. I bought a couple of 4 inch waster water pipes and cut them to fit under my bench. The offcut is in the lower right.

For steel that is better than basic low carbon, I try to remember to keep the end marked ("12L14", etc). Notice that gaps between pipes can be used to store small pieces.

Atlas618 metal storage.jpg

Now that I've got some longer stock, I like to have some better organization for that. Better than just a pile leaning in a corner!

Craig
 
trlvn said:
Better than just a pile leaning in a corner!
Click to expand...

I think you are a real cool guy with a crap load of knowledge and skills. I was thrilled to get to know you at the meetup. I even admire your shop.

But I don't know why you would want to insult all my awesome piles leaning in the corners......

First part all true, last part just havin fun!

You would hate my shop.
 
Susquatch said:
I think you are a real cool guy with a crap load of knowledge and skills. I was thrilled to get to know you at the meetup. I even admire your shop.

But I don't know why you would want to insult all my awesome piles leaning in the corners......

First part all true, last part just havin fun!

You would hate my shop.
Click to expand...
You would just need to glance at my 'office' to see that we are, in fact, kindred spirits!

I've been suffering from 'clean shop syndrome' for the last couple of weeks. I tidied up before having a couple forum members over and haven't wanted to make a mess since. (I got over it this week.)

And, one of these days, I'd love to make a pilgrimage to Susquatch Manor! ;)

Craig
 
I lucked into a bunch of green house carts from a business that my wife worked for and they shut the operation down. these carts are very well built, multi shelved & very sturdy castor wheels because of the multiple pots of soil required to move around.
I now have most of my "shop junk" on these roller carts including a major part of my metal pieces & shafting. Each shelf holds its own type...shafting, flats& angles , alum, etc.. and as these carts can be easily rolled & moved it makes it easy for access from both sides for searching.
 
trlvn said:
Up until recently, basically all the metal I had was pieces under 24 inches. I bought a couple of 4 inch waster water pipes and cut them to fit under my bench. The offcut is in the lower right.

For steel that is better than basic low carbon, I try to remember to keep the end marked ("12L14", etc). Notice that gaps between pipes can be used to store small pieces.

View attachment 51397

Now that I've got some longer stock, I like to have some better organization for that. Better than just a pile leaning in a corner!

Craig
Click to expand...
Don’t worry, I won’t let @Susquatch know where you got the idea:

IMG_8046_Radiant_Photo.jpeg

IMG_8048_Radiant_Photo.jpeg
 
I use a couple of lateral filing cabinet's for small blocks, steel on the bottom, aluminum on top. One for squares and one for rounds, gets a bit messy after a search for the "perfect" block, but better than nothing. Most was this and a lot more was free end cuts from local CNC shop, that was a good day.ECC96F7C-0D06-4F0D-ACF3-6426AC557325.jpeg08BD4858-9528-4722-BE5E-7B7BE01E39C2.jpeg30F37908-98E6-427B-9626-B637CF484180.jpeg8CEB5DB9-7B65-4880-B5B3-80FC053CDB49.jpeg
 
slow-poke said:
I use a couple of lateral filing cabinet's for small blocks, steel on the bottom, aluminum on top.
Click to expand...
Over the past 18 months I have acquired 8 lateral file cabiners, all 5 drawers high, to organize my stuff. Most of my plastic, brass and small aluminum lives in a computer magnetic tape storage unit, 6 cubbys high. I however need more room, so I'm going to spit it all into 2 laterals, 5 high, to get more stuff off the floor!!!
 
Dabbler said:
Over the past 18 months I have acquired 8 lateral file cabiners, all 5 drawers high, to organize my stuff. Most of my plastic, brass and small aluminum lives in a computer magnetic tape storage unit, 6 cubbys high. I however need more room, so I'm going to spit it all into 2 laterals, 5 high, to get more stuff off the floor!!!
Click to expand...
As we have discovered, good quality (Steelcase, Teknion) etc. lateral file cabinets with their ball bearing slides and heavy construction are perfect for this type of storage. Bonus is they are often given away for free or near free on Kijiji quite regularly.:)
 
Veering a little OT

Old heavy-duty files are well made and can sometimes be picked up for little or no money; I picked up 2 Steelcase (ca 1955) laterals

20240907 Free Laterals.jpeg
(in the office, not the shop), and a Globe-Wernicki (pre-1963) credenza

20240907 Credenza.jpeg

for free after the Raymark Friction auction wrapped up in 1998. My Mini-Mill lives on top of a reinforced (added a cross bar between the drawers) Art-Steel legal-size file (purchased new in the 80's):

Mini-Mill n Base rfs.jpg

Mill- & some Lathe-related tooling in the drawers:

Drills n Chucks End Mill Holders rfs.jpg
Slitting Saws n Arbors Hold Downs Stuff rfs.jpg

Back in the office, my 34" x 46" (Arch D-Size, 24" x 36" drawers) Oak Flat File sits on a back-to-back pair of 1990's vintage Filex laterals:

20240907 Drawing File n Laterals.jpeg
 
slow-poke said:
I use a couple of lateral filing cabinet's for small blocks, steel on the bottom, aluminum on top. One for squares and one for rounds, gets a bit messy after a search for the "perfect" block, but better than nothing. Most was this and a lot more was free end cuts from local CNC shop, that was a good day.View attachment 51426View attachment 51427View attachment 51428View attachment 51429
Click to expand...
With my small shop, I need to keep smaller stock mobile; my solution is displayed here. (Hey @Susquatch: the photos are there, but so is the grey bar :()
 
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