The Letterville BullBoard: Substrate storage; how do you store yours?

This is topic Substrate storage; how do you store yours? in forum Old Archives at The Letterville BullBoard.

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Posted by Donna in BC (Member # 130) on :

Hi all,

I'm nearly there with my new shop! I should be moving in approx 2 wks time.

I can't wait to have good access to my substrates for signage. They are currently barried under heaps of bodyshop parts and dust, so no matter how I choose to store my boards, anything will be a huge improvement!

I'd love your input on what works great for you. For now I'll need to store my boards sitting upright in a double garage bay area. When our 2nd addition to my shop is complete in a couple years, I'll have more options. (plan to add a huge bay area to accomodate most any vehicle)

I'm visualizing some kind of frame that will allow me to section the different boards from each other, so I can pull what I need out easily.

Thanks for you input.

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Graphic Impact
Abbotsford, BC, Canada
gisigns@sprint.ca

Posted by Greg Gulliford (Member # 170) on :

Seeings how I am somewhat blessed with extra space I have a set of pallet racking that is 9' wide and 12' tall that is waht I use. I've got a shelf every 12" so I have lots of space for all of the different materials. I just saw an ad for a small vertical rack that would work great for you, I just have to remember where I saw it!! (I'll keep my eyes peeled for it). At one time I had a 5'x10' work table that I had shelves built underneath that would hold 4'x8' sheets, It was almost impossible to move but was a great space saving use for under the table.

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Greg Gulliford
aka MetroDude
Metro Signs and Banners
1403 N. Greene St. #1
Spokane, WA 99202
509-536-9452

mail@metrosignsandbanners.com

Posted by Mark Matyjakowski (Member # 294) on :

at the shop we have a verticle shelf type thing in our wood shop that is accessible from either side. Just 2x4's and 4x8's with openings every 8-10? inches to slide sheets in. (50"high x the 8' width)
a slot for white alum. one for clear and colored plex, foam core, coroplast etc... large scrap leaned against it (and along all the walls haha) an smaller scrap stacked/shelved on top of it ....

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Designing... it's like an itch in the brain... an itch you can't scratch, that if you can figure out how to scratch it, it just itchs more

http://www.slamgraphics.com
Rochester, N.Y.
mark@slamgraphics.com

Posted by Dave Draper (Member # 102) on :

Donna,

We have no shelf, dont need one.

We stack 4x8 sheets up verticle leaning against the wall, then then next biggest substrate, then the next all the way down to the little pieces.

All the pieces are justified to the right. We can see every piece, and we can tell what size it is.

When a new piece is put in the stack, we find the spot it will fit in and simply slide it in place.

The whole stack ( and I have a lot of scrap substrate pieces ) takes up 4x8 x 18 inches depth.

The advantage of this system is:
1. its free
2. you can see every piece, every color, every type
3. it looks neat
4. takes up almost no space to speak of
5. new pieces slide in between existing material hassel free
6. with a tape measure you can measure each piece of substrate before pulling it out.
( this is because all pieces are justified to the right no matter how wide they are which is never over 48 inches anyway)

If you cant visualize this, then get out a whole bunch of your kid's books. Stack the books up with the biggest book on the bottom, then the next biggest book and so on till they are all stacked up.

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Draper The Signmaker
Bloomington Illinois USA
Be Sure to Check Out My Next Article On "Sign Shop Photography" in the March Issue of Sign Builder Illustrated!
309-828-7110
signman@davesworld.net
Raptorman or Draper_Dave on mIRC chat

Posted by John Deaton (Member # 925) on :

I can visualize it dave, cause that's how I store it also. Great way, and it don't cost nothing a'tall.

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John Deaton III
Deaton Signs&Grafix
109 N. Cumberland Ave.,Harlan, Ky. 40831 606-573-9101

john@deatondesigns.com
http://www.angelfire.com/ky2/dsigns

Posted by Felix Marcano (Member # 1833) on :

well, we built a table with a rack underneath to hold whole 4'x8's but it started to get uncomfortable. I recently bought this 4.5' x 8.5' rack used to hold formica from Masso (formerly Builder's Square) when they were closing down. it does the job, I guess. I think a vertical one would have been more convenient. I can't have them stacked to the wall cause I'm home based & usually got 2 or 3 kids runnin' round. G'luck!

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Marcano-Welch Signs Luquillo, Puerto Rico
787-889-6608

Posted by Mikes Mischeif (Member # 1744) on :

Home based here. Spoiled to have Harbor sign supply delivering every day. They cut, cnc, wood, acrllic, pvc, alun..etc.

I order only what I need. Any scrap under 12 x 18 goes out with the trash or to the recycle bin if it's metal. Wood goes into the fireplace as kindling.

If I ever did store materials, I'd use the verticle storage method. I installed several of these in franchises when I was a tech-rep for new stores.

4' wide, 5' deep and 10.5 tall
frame it in like a closet. Put 2x4 studs to divide it into 4 sections: wood, alum, pvc/foamcore, and acrylic. I found some alum. rollers from a donut assembly line for one guy. You could pull a 4 x 8 out with 2 fingers.

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Mike Duncan
Lettercraft Signs
Alexandria VA

I have never let schooling interfere with my education - Mark Twain

Posted by Mark Fair Signs (Member # 289) on :

well donna,
i store very few substrates at my shop.

the reason being is my suppliers are near by (2 miles) and i can buy as i need on a 30 day revolving credit account basis.
(i pride myself on being a good customer, credit wise.)

i do stock a good variety of paint and vinyl.
i don't really have to invest in inventory as far as substrates.

i buy as i need.

good luck with your new shop....
we expect pictures...please...

mark

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Mark Fair

Mark Fair Signs
http://www.markfair.com

Home of "Sign of the Month
http://www.markfair.com/signomonth.html

2162 Mt. Meigs Road
Montgomery, Alabama 36107
334-262-4449

mark@markfair.com

"Mark Fair is a Proud Contributor to The Letterhead Site!"

Posted by Diane Crowther (Member # 120) on :

[QUOTE]When a new piece is put in the stack, we find the spot it will fit in and simply slide it in place. [\QUOTE]

Dave, this seems easier said than done. How do you handle the weight when you have to slide something in near the back of the pile? Is that an issue?

We've currently got ours stacked in a similar fashion, but not neatly organized like yours. We've been wrestling with what type of contraption to build, but maybe we'll try your method first.

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Diane Crowther, Metaline Graphics Ltd., Nova Scotia, Canada, ID #285

Posted by Brad Farha (Member # 931) on :

Donna, I used to lean my substrates in a stack like Dave & John, but the weight was too hard on the more delicate materials. We now do as Mark does, with a verticle multi-section frame for separating the materials into groups and distributing the weight better. I also keep a book with a list of substrates/sizes of cut pieces so I don't have to sift through the pile every time I want to see if I have smaller pieces for a job. It's a lot easier to stay organized that way and just takes a few seconds of discipline when a piece is added to the stock or removed.

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Brad Farha, owner
Farha Signs
Beckley, WV
304-252-3778
farhasigns@citynet.net

Posted by Larry Elliott (Member # 263) on :

Donna,
We are quite a ways from easy access to materials so we stock up and keep several types on hand. I have a rather large shop but try to keep storage compact so I built two vertical racks. One is 3 foot wide and 12 foot long and 5 foot high with 3 compartments with post and lumber storage on top. A shelving unit from floor to ceiling and 12 foot long for paint is attached to the room side of it. The other one is 5 foot wide, 5 foot tall and 10 foot long with 5 sections and storage on top. Both are constructed of 2x4's and 2x2's, nothing fancy but works for us. Every wall in the workshop area has a ton of 'scrap' boards leaned up against them, you know the ones too big to throw away but too small the ever use!

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Larry

Elliott Design
McLemoresville, Tn.

If you can't find the time to do it right,
where gonna find the time to do it over?

Posted by Robert Thomas (Member # 1356) on :

Hey Donna,
I've worked in a ton of shops over the years and have sent you an e-mail with a jpeg attachment of a drawing I did in Corel of a vertical storage system that I use. If you have any questions e-mail me.
Cheers

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Robert Thomas Creative Signs In Beautiful Naples, Fl.

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