[OP]
Contributor
I found that I have a hard time getting rid of "scrap" wood. By scrap I mean wood that is under 24" long. Not big enough for most projects but handy when you need it. My solution are a couple of four drawer file cabinets. Having eight drawers allows the wood to be sorted by type. I have maple in one drawer, walnut, red oak and hickory in others. Even plywood. Works nice. Larger wood gets put into the ceiling joists or on a shelf unit. Thought I would share these ideas with y'all. Enjoy.
Contributor
While you are most likely by no means whatsoever in a select group as to being a hoarder, I will say that is probably a unique storage method. I have to force myself to weed out the scrap shelves underneath my TS catch bench every few years but I DO-NOT-HAVE-A-PROBLEM, just frugal.
David
Member
Well, Jason Robard's character in "A Thousand Clowns" kept dress shirts in a file cabinet.
That's a clever storage method, because, if it's a commercial-grade cabinet, the drawer glides are rated above the weight you'll probably put in it, unless you start using the wood that's heavier than water.
Contributor
In tend to be a "saver" too....understand
Jerry
Member
More "gloat" than "confession" methinks.
Contributor
Good idea!Originally Posted by Eric Brown
Contributor
I do something similar with a shop-made cabinet and plastic bins. Your idea's even better!
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
Contributor
The wood you describe is not scrap. Small high quality pieces will find a use. A friend used to bring his on our camping trips for the fire. I was horrified at some of the bits he burnt. I keep a select few pieces in a cardboard box with the top cut off.
My aim is always to waste almost nothing. After making a harvest table from original growth pine cut over 100 years ago (spectacular colour & no knots) I had a piece 1 inch long left!
Member
Don't throw it away. Send it to me!
Life's too short to use old sandpaper.
[OP]
Contributor
Sorry, some of you are confused by my use of the word "scrap". I feel that the majority of professional woodworks would not keep the majority of what I have. I think they would consider it scrap. I just have great difficulty getting rid of even small pieces. Many times I will either bore holes, cut with a saw or maybe chisel a piece until it's too small for anything I might do. I use them up as "warm up" practice before working on a current project.
The point is that file cabinets can store and organize smaller pieces of wood. Many times these can be found used for very little cost. They work.
First defining scrap as different from cutoffs . . . I have a self-restricting system. I have four drawers that hold usable scraps; generally divided by type or possible use. I have a small plastic shoe box where small pieces of exotics that might become pulls or detail elements live . . . that's it.
If I find myself holding anything in my hand and I am hesitant to toss it in the burn box, I must make a choice. I take the piece to the drawer that holds his similar friends. If he is better than something in the drawer, he goes in and the lesser scrap goes to the burn box. If the scrap in question comes up wanting after inspecting his friends, he hits the burn box without reservation. If I kept everything that might be useful someday, I would have no room to make anything ;-)
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
Member
You're no hoarder! 😜 I think the pieces you are keeping are worth keeping and I would organize them the same... if I had that many. Anything longer than a few inches finds a way to stick around in my garage. Anything over a foot definitely stays. They end up as battens, stops, test pieces, something to put between a clamp and the workpiece, pieces for cantilever clamping, etc. if I continuously produced lots of scraps, then I would clean them out at least once a year. For the small projects ive been doing lately, you would call scrap what i pay for.
Building my own Legos!
Moderator
I put off-cuts and small pieces in plastic bins stored on wire shelf units. Just yesterday I made good use of a piece of mahogany 1"x1"x3". I use pieces as thin as 1/2" for finials and other small things, especially if they are exotics such as ebony and cocobolo.
For a woodturner it has to be pretty small to be useless, and even then it can be laminated. Well-known woodturner Frank Penta showed me some of his new wood: much of it 6/4 and thicker, 8' and longer. Guess what? He cuts most if it into 1/8-1/4" strips and laminates them for turning.
And a woodturner who does segmented turning would probably make good use of short pieces of boards nearly useless to a furniture maker.
JKJ
Contributor
I'm envious. I find it difficult to get rid of anything potentially usable at some point. Even more so now that my two little ones have taken to woodworking. They find all kinds of ways to use the smallest scrap. Unfortunately I have to clear it out every 2-3 years when it's time to move. One of the joys of being in the military. I can save some on a stateside move, but overseas is complete purge time. We are allowed so much weight on a move and we are already over, so it makes no since to pay to move scraps.
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