How do you store your blanks?

[BHuij]

I'm at a point where I've accumulated enough pen blanks (generally no larger than 1" x 1" x 6" on the large end) that sometimes it's hard to dig through the cardboard box where they currently live and find the species I'm looking for.

Anyone have a particularly elegant solution to pen blank storage? Bonus points if it's wall mounted... my shop is a tiny section of my garage, so my shelf and floor space are extremely limited.

 

[duncsuss]

When the local A.C.Moore hobby store closed down, I bought a couple of their marker display cases. Kind of like this one on Etsy.

 

[jttheclockman]

A few years ago I bought a couple of these type rolling tool boxes and store all my pen turning stuff in them. They work great for me.

 

[sorcerertd]

Elegant? LOL, definitely not. Organized? Maybe a little bit. Mine are all over the place, but at least I know what's where. I have a lot of the wood blanks stored vertically in a drawer of a file cabinet, and a few cardboard trays from Chewy cat food in a stack with resins and hybrids. Probably not quite what you're looking for. Now that you have me thinking of it again, a small shelf unit with cubbies in it would be nice and I just picked up some pallets. Rustic is OK for my shop.

 

[JohnU]

This is what I do. I label each container with the wood species or acrylic types, etc. to help me identify which box to go through.

I've had to learn to be more picky with what I keep as I progressed, because I ran out of room with these.

 

[wood-of-1kind]

I store my blanks in my small workshop in wood boxes (of course)lined up to fill the left and right side of peaked roof. Good
way to use limited space effectively but at the same time it's easy to see what is available.

 

[Todd in PA]

 

[sorcerertd]

First of all, let me say that I feel pretty good about my blank hoard after seeing these pictures. I'm not such a hoarder after all. LOL To be fair, I do have boards that I have not cut up yet. My solution will eventually be like Peter's, some basic cubbies to store my stash. Andrew, let us know what works for you when you get it sorted out. It may give the rest of us (at least me) some ideas.

John and Todd... wow, I'm impressed. I've seen various pictures of John U's shop here and am amazed that it's so well kept, well organized, and has so much space. My workshop is pretty much just a corner of the basement, so I'm doing pretty well with the limited space I have.

 

[bugradx2]

First of all, let me say that I feel pretty good about my blank hoard after seeing these pictures. I'm not such a hoarder after all. LOL To be fair, I do have boards that I have not cut up yet. My solution will eventually be like Peter's, some basic cubbies to store my stash. Andrew, let us know what works for you when you get it sorted out. It may give the rest of us (at least me) some ideas.

John and Todd... wow, I'm impressed. I've seen various pictures of John U's shop here and am amazed that it's so well kept, well organized, and has so much space. My workshop is pretty much just a corner of the basement, so I'm doing pretty well with the limited space I have.

I feel like we may be kindred spirits in our blank storage. I definitely feel much better about my "inventory" after seeing what some of the other folks have. Then again, it causes me a lot of jealousy too and I'm not sure how healthy that is. Perhaps I need to conduct some retail therapy of some form. I have a ton of lumber that I have to make cutting or charcuterie boards out of too, not just pens.

I have one sliding drawer system that I appropriated from someplace in the house and the rest are stored in ziploc style bags by type or in a selection of cardboard boxes by type or designated purpose. (that last one is dedicated to a project I'm very slowly working on for pens for family members but more on that in a different post)

Plano Molding (think tackle boxes) has their main facility and outlet store nearby, I think I need to go peruse what they have and see if I can get better with my storage.

 

[egnald]

I mostly store my wood blanks in 8" x 5" plastic bags with each bag holding 5 blanks (unless they are oversized). Then I store the bags in a 6-quart tote that I buy from Menards. Each tote will hold 14 bags nicely. If I have a lot of blanks, I sometimes get lazy and just store them in bulk in the totes as well. The totes are stacked on a shelf and several bags, the frequent blanks I go after, are hanging under a section of the shelf on some cup hooks.

I store most of my square plastic blanks on a little slanted shelf under my kits and the round rods I hang in bags on hooks on one of the doors in my shop.

Dave

Here are some pictures:

 

[bugradx2]

I mostly store my wood blanks in 8" x 5" plastic bags with each bag holding 5 blanks (unless they are oversized). Then I store the bags in a 6-quart tote that I buy from Menards. Each tote will hold 14 bags nicely. If I have a lot of blanks, I sometimes get lazy and just store them in bulk in the totes as well. The totes are stacked on a shelf and several bags, the frequent blanks I go after, are hanging under a section of the shelf on some cup hooks.

I store most of my square plastic blanks on a little slanted shelf under my kits and the round rods I hang in bags on hooks on one of the doors in my shop.

Dave

Here are some pictures:

You never cease to amaze me with your level of organization Dave.

 

[egnald]

You never cease to amaze me with your level of organization Dave.

Well, for a few years during my career I was the manager of what our company called Engineering Services, which included OEM Equipment Design and Construction, Electroplating, Document Control, Methods and Standards, and LEAN Manufacturing. In order to lead by example I quickly adopted many of the LEAN manufacturing principals which focus on minimizing waste, optimizing space, and improving efficiency. Much of this is based on using clear, standardized labels (color coding) for storage and creating visual inventory management systems using labels to enhance organization. After a few years the principals became habit and carried over to home use.

Dave

 

[Woodchipper]

Plastic boxes on a shelf. Some are obvious as to the species, some are in marked bags while others are mystery wood accumulated over the years.

 

[Mike]

I don't have enough blanks to need that level of organization. I have a 2 or 3 gallon translucent tote with my blanks (maybe 40 or 50??) in it. All are marked, some with a sharpie, some with the label from the vendor and some are in marked baggies with like types. So far it is working, but if I ever start turning more pens, I will need better organized kit and blank storage.
I have a 3 car garage and the 2 car side is my shop. I have hand tools and power tools for metal work, wood work, mechanics tools and a 60 gallon compressor.
So I am cramped for space, but not complaining about it much.

Mike

 

[Ray-CA]

For the most often used/popular ones, like this. It's a cd/dvd tower turned sideways. I also have a 52" Husky lower box bought 2nd or 3rd hand for all the others, including extra material for making more.

 

[bugradx2]

For the most often used/popular ones, like this. It's a cd/dvd tower turned sideways. I also have a 52" Husky lower box bought 2nd or 3rd hand for all the others, including extra material for making more.

this is a great idea but I really just need to know where you got that sign

 

[Ray-CA]

this is a great idea but I really just need to know where you got that sign

I'll ask my daughter. It was a Fathers Day gift.

 

[Ray-CA]

this is a great idea but I really just need to know where you got that sign

She in the middle-west and bought it at a store called "Rural King"

 

[bugradx2]

She in the middle-west and bought it at a store called "Rural King"

Thanks! Pretty sure I have one of those 15 or 20 miles from here. It's on the way to Plano Molding's outlet store. yes, that outlet store is worth the drive for me and also why I don't know what's on the road between here and there because I try not to go very often!