Scrap Material

[capitate]

Looking for good ideas on how to organize our scrap material. We have tons left over coroplast, pvc, foam board, dibond, crezone, and acrylic. It's all piled against the walls in a few places around the shop.

Any ideas on a rack that makes sense?

Lack of space it still a problem too

 

[James Burke]

Establish a limit as to how much left-over material you plan to keep on hand (size limit, quantity, etc...), otherwise it will breed like rats and you'll be overrun by the mess. Real estate is costly. There comes a point in time where the chaos of managing it will exceed the benefit of keeping it around, so you're better off writing it off and staying efficient.

For the material you do plan to keep, make sure it stays in one area of the shop. Organize it in a manner so you don't have to move piles of other material just to get what you need. It wouldn't hurt to have a clip board handy to keep a running track of inventory.

I have absolutely zero experience with feng shui but I sure know a tidy, well-organized shop is a pleasure to occupy.


JB

 

[Gino]

Most of the time, all your material has been paid for by the customer. So, in reality, there's no need to save it, but off falls become your gravy, so keep things of certain sizes and just make a few racks of various substrates and either stand them up or lay them down. We prefer standing up, as then nothing goes to the bottom of a pile. Anything under a certain size, just gets tossed, unless you can use it immediately.

 

[capitate]

Thanks guys. I'm great at throwing old crap out -- my boss, not so much lol.

I have an idea for a rack -- for the bigger stuff we keep. Something along the lines of attached. What do ya think?

 

[Pete Moss]

http://www.signs101.com/forums/show...-organization-examples&highlight=saving+scrap

 

[Gino]

Thanks guys. I'm great at throwing old crap out -- my boss, not so much lol.

I have an idea for a rack -- for the bigger stuff we keep. Something along the lines of attached. What do ya think?

The idea is good, but it doesn't look near deep enough for any one substrate. We have bins over 4' and 6' wide for one substrate alone. We have roughly 6 bins around the shop.... along with a loft full of other odds & ends. I'll try to get a picture or two later on.

 

[reQ]

I keep only certain sizes when it comes to coro/dibond etc. But still, every xmas i go thru all that crap and throw away most of it. Last year i did throw away some stuff that i kept for well over 4 years, thinking that one day i might use it... well that day never came lol

 

[Marlene]

if you make certain sizes you can cut up the drops so you have some blanks. also if you get a call for an "I need it today" sign you can tell them you have such and such sizes to pick from. other wise, like Gino said, the someone has paid for the full sheet so if you want to toss no loss on your part or you can make a few extra bucks with drops.

 

[capitate]

Still trying to figure this one. I think it will be hard to pull out the back pieces if they are big like 36" x 96"

While I'm posting this, here is a simple cheap way to make a stand for vinyl. We have like 30+ rolls standing up behind the printers, sometimes we play dominoes with them -- not on purpose.

Used 2x3 for the base, and 2x2 for the dowels.

Also note the craft supplies to keep the vinyl rolled up. Works great, and easy to use.

 

[ams]

Build slots out of wood to separate each type of material. You can get masonite for dividers at Lowes for $12 a sheet for 4' X 8'.