Plywood storage in your shop

[drodda]

I am looking for the best way to build a plywood storage system for my shop. We just added another 1000 SF on the shop and I would like to get the plywood out of a pile and in some kind of a rack or storage system so I can get at a piece without having to move the whole pile to get that one piece on the bottom. It always seems like the piece I need is at the bottom of a large stack and I work late and alone many hours and would like a good solution to this issue. Any ideas would be appreciated if you think you have a good solution?

Thanks,

-D

[Brady Watson]

Dave,
I store my sheets on edge, like putting books on a shelf. I started with the 8' edge along the floor, but found that putting the 8' edge up and down saved a lot of floor space. I welded some 2" square tube to a plate that bolts to the floor and one that bolts to the joists above. The sheets lean against these tubes and stay put, plus if you make a few sections, nothing gets buried. I have 3 sets of 2 bars and it works well. Depending on your ceiling, your setup may vary.

-B

[fleinbach]

I prefer to maintain my sheets flat. For years to save space I would stand them on edge. But they tend to warp easily over time stored this way. So I decided to make a storage rack with each layer holding between 10 and 15 sheets depending on their thickness. I have attached a picture of the rack. The rack will hold sheets up to 5 x 10 with full support. The steel to build it only cost about $150.oo


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[ryan_slaback]

I haven't built it yet, but I have been eyeing the wasted space under my alpha96. I figure I should be able to get about 20 sheets in there if I do it right. I plan to pull them out from the end.

[drodda]

I already have a stack on a rack built under my Alpha. This is the reason that I am wanting another idea to store sheets. This stack is about impossible to get the sheet I need from the bottom without help and by the time I dig out the bottom sheet I don't have the energy to put them all back again. So they lay around the shop till I need in the cabinets where they are leaning and decide to stack them back under the bot? Never fails that the 3/4" particle board Melamie is on the top every time.

I am really having a hard time wrestling with saving space or building a full size flat rack like Frank. Thanks for the picture Frank. How often are the cross pieces under each layer on your rack? I am thinking that you would need support about 2ft on center?

-D

[fleinbach]

The sheets are supported by five runners 11 inches apart and 9 feet long.

[bleeth]

Dave: I stored flat stock for years vertically with no problems in both Seattle and South Florida (both known for humidity). My racks were always designed with relatively narrow bays so the stock, when necessary, could be clamped or chocked upright. All you have to do is maintain the rule that boards can't lean more than a couple of degrees.

Dave

[patricktoomey]

I'm being forced to switch from vertical to horizontal because of severe warping problems with prefinished plywoods. I have no problems with unfinished maple, cherry, birch, Trupan, melamine, etc. My prefinished Chinese birch however is doing a wonderful impression of a boomerang when I store it vertically. I tried a test and left the last unit flat and it stayed perfect. I'm adding another 850 square feet to my shop so I'll be building flat racks to store my plywood in there. I also find it to be much easier to pull the sheet flat onto a cart, roll the cart to the bot and slide it on with no transition from vertical to horizontal.

[joewino]

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Here's what we built a few years ago. There are two bins to hold 4' x 8' materials upright and then smaller one to hold various sizes of scrap.

[wemme]

I've been stacking sheets under my shopbot and it's a right bugger. everytime you need a certain size your garanteed it will be at the bottom of the stack and often you need to people to handle a thick sheet of 8x4. it's good to see what others do and will look at making something similar.
Regards
Bart

[jhicks]

And don't forget that when you are cutting that much sheet stock, you will probably get around to a vacuum hold down and need that space under the bot for pipes and manifolds.
Plus it gets very dusty under there.
If you do use that space, consider mounting wheels on a skid so you can slide it out as needed.

[beacon14]

Mine looks like Raymond's except the sides are slanted. I try to keep the sheets snugly stacked and they stay flat. The opening is 30" wide at the bottom, enough for 40 sheets of 3/4" material. I also keep sheets of paper-backed veneer and laminate in there, between sheets of 3/4" stock. They stay nice and flat to, and they're easy to get too - but a bit of a trick to put in there!

This is half of what was originally a double unit - there was an "A" shaped space in the middle where I kept offcuts.


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