Pug}{maN Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 what are you guys useing as a metal stock storage rack ? been looking at this type.. but im not going to buy one ill make it, so lets see what you are useing ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Well you are getting all your stock in 20' lengths right? So neither one of those will work. Now if you are going to use it only for short lengths the second one has the advantage of being able to snug it up against a wall where the first one you need access from both sides. Crud build up less on verticle stock than horizontal stock---seen several cases where someone was pulling a piece of stock down and dumped a bunch of crud into their face NOT wearing safety glasses or a shield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug}{maN Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 i was just wonting ideas , so i thought a pic post with all the racks in one place would help me come up with a dezine.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNewman Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I use a rack like the one on the right. The steel yard I buy full lengths of mild steel from will cut the bars in half for free and a half length (10') is half the price of a 20' so even when I buy 20,40 or 60' of bar I usually get them to cut it in half unless I need specific lengths in which I will have them cut to optimize the material. I cannot easily carry a 20' bar on my truck. When I get larger quantities of bars in or alloy bars which are often 12' or 24' they are usually for a specific job so I just drop them on the floor till I get a chance to cut them up. The offcuts are usually less than 10' so they will fit in the rack (ceiling is 11'). I copied my rack from one of the local steel yards that I buy less than full lengths of bar and short bits of tool steels from. I used the slotted angle iron for "dexion" type shelving for the horizontals in my rack and then I use 6" long carriage bolts for the dividers between the types of steel. It is fairly easy to modify the rack this way by moving the bolts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I lean stuff against the wall just like those stock racks, Stuff too long for that I bend in half and hang over nails near the roofline of the open air smithy. Anything shorter than 3 feet goes on the bottom of the gas forge cart, anything under a foot goes in a bucket next to the tool rack. Trying really hard to just toss anything too short to grab out of the shorts bucket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzonoqua Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I also lean stock against a corner wall in my workshop. I have to have my stock cut as I can only fit 2.5m lengths in my car, I'm mostly doing smaller scale stuff at the moment, I borrow a friends van when I need longer lengths. I recommend if you are going to store steel stock by leaning it up against the wall that it is secured there. I have all the different sizes divided by big (6inch) nails driven in to the wooden framework of my building-(it's a tin shed basically with a wooden frame) That helps keep the sizes separated and helps to keep the steel from falling sideways. I also have a chain attached with a thru bolt into the frame in the corner, with a hook at each end of each end of chain that hooks onto an eye bolt that is secured thru the frame. Means that the steel is not able to fall forward or sideways. Next to this I have a tough plastic crate that I keep small odds and ends in, I really make an effort not to keep too many little offcuts around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Depending on what you do can affect cutting. Some stock is more of a 12' and 8' as what I make from it takes 4' sections...Also how tall are the walls in your smithy, how far apart are the trusses, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I cut most of my stock in 10' length's I am going to build a rack like the first one. I have a half of a 55 gallon barrel next my chop saw and band saw to put shorter length in. That is the system I have used for a few years and it works well. people that come to visit and make stuff in the forge go to the drum to pull metal all the time. the tallest piece's I have put in the drum is 7' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I have an old metal cabinent, army surplus, that I put short lengths in each shelf is a different form: rounds, sq, pipe, angle, etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petere76 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I use a vertical storage system in the corner of the shop by the OH door (11 foot overhead), so its easy in and easy out. The chop saw is close enough so its an easy reach with minimal dancing. We cut everything to 10 Ft. unless we specifically need something longer. Shorts get stored in uprgight 4 in PVC pipes, cut down to 36 in. Real shorts live under the chop saw. Scrap angle and scrap flat bar cut offs get stored in 5 gal pails and are used for making jigs and forms. We don't waste much. I have the ever popular outside scrap pile that I get from the transfer station and a few local metal shops. The pile is not my wife's favorite yard art feature so I try to keep it semi-organized. You know how that goes. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yves Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I have everything cut to 10 feet and stand it on the wall where it's held by hooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spears Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I bought one like the vertical one you have pictured. I use it for 10-12' rod and I really like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jawno Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 We have one here I like. Not sure where they got the idea but it stores a LOT of material and categorizes it well too. The whole thing is constructed out of half inch tubing (square). It is made up of what I would call bulkheads on two foot centers. Each bulkhead is a grid of tubing. Each grid or bulkhead is about ten squares wide by ten high..It looks almost like a jail cell except it has horizontal bars as well as verticle. Each of these bulkheads is separated bymore tubing to hold them two feet apart from the next one. It takes up a fair bit of space but it fully supports material every two foot of length so basically any length over about 28" will fit up to 20' which would slide through all eight bulkheads. A little hard to explain and I don't have a picture but it holds an enormous amount of material in one place, any length material will fit, and we categorize it easily. Brass in one column, aluminum in another. Steel in one, stainless in another and then you have ten choices for size in each column with small material at the top and heavy stuff down low. it'll hold up to about five inch square but 2 by 5 is the biggest we have. The big drawback is it takes a LOT of welding to fabricate the initial cage, but once its made it keeps the shop very tidy. You do need a fairly large shop though as the cage is about 5' X 5' by 16' long.. Anyway, something different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewOC Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Pug-man, a pair of the first 'A' type frames that u showed us pictures of would handle whatever long pieces u have. It does take up more floor space though... a. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramsies11 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 id suggest somthing simple, like making braces on two support beams and putting your stock on those. my uncle did that and it worked out fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug}{maN Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 ok so heres my idea on a scetch , and the goods to make it, cost was $17.00 at the scraper, got me a 220 stick welder to , ill take pics tomaro when it gets here got it for $100.00 , so thanks for the input and ideas , stay tuned for the build... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyancarrek Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I go vertical with everything. I've got 12' to the ceiling so lengths up to that aren't a problem. I don't sort by type but by length and each area is separated by a frame work attached to the wall. I used to store horizontal but it was just too clumsy trying to pull a piece out and keeping different lengths sorted out. Post some pics of what you finally come up with Pug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug}{maN Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 thats why i went with both horizontal and vertical and added a box at top to put small stuff in...it will do it all...i hope..lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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