Small Shop Stock Organization

I have a lean to I built on the outside back wall of my garage It serves a multitude of uses. My back up gen set lives there so does my band saw I will be setting up my air compressor there this coming summer. On one side I built some racks that hold my bar stock. the lean to also stores all my split firewood. My chainsaws live of top of the racks, and a few old buckets hold all the off cuts that are too short to sit in the racks. It's not very well organised but it's all I've got room for.
 
I built a small welded steel shelf and parked it an otherwise wasted space behind my mill. Small shop, small projects, small shelf. :)

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I do like vertical storage for long stuff, but short remnants can get lost in the pile.

I made this to store my plastic and small metal stock on my model bench. Something similar wouldn't be hard to make on a larger scale for bigger material.

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Lathe stock laying against walls. Alum plate and bar in a stack by the bead blaster. Steel plate and bar in another pile behind the TIG. Sheet steel piled against another wall. Plastic stock in a cabinet. Mixed shorty lathe stock in a couple of boxed behind the Bridgeport. Brass stock on a shelf. Steel shorty cut offs in a pile next to the forge. Angle iron, plate and bar stock in a pile outside.
Believe it or not I pretty much know where everything is. More or less.............Bob
 
Here where I live there is just no old industrial history like back east. Whenever is see stuff on tv series where everybody seems to have access to these great old industrial buildings I'm jealous. It does beg the question I'd never thought of before, how's the floor? I love and prefer natural light and all the pics of the old industrial buildings all had tons of windows.

The floor is pretty uneven concrete (it's an early 1900's building) - the building is generally somewhat sketchy, but I love the big windows and "industrial" feel of the place. The windows are definitely the selling point for me, too!
 
The other thing that is important for me is fresh air and in your pic I see one of the widows open. Do the tops of the windows open? That would a be a huge plus besides the high ceilings. Being a left coast guy I'm not really up on what you would have to do to keep that place comfortable temp wise if you are circulating fresh air. Machining with smoke that comes off when you use lube is some nasty stuff not to mention welding and all the other processes you do in working metal. I work in my garage which faces south and always have the door open when I'm working.

I have to say I've been inspired by the tidy racks guys have posted. I love the PVC pipe idea for drops and it dawns on me a good place for that is under my 4x6 saw. Right now most of the really small stuff is in a tray under the saw right now that I dig through when needed. My whole shop has to be on castors so the saw is on a HF furniture dolly.
 
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