Organization Methods

[pmangels17]

Originally Posted by bigbeezy

Do teams have any creative ways of organizing scrap materials or any processes that ensure that this material gets used prior to a new stick?

We have a cabinet that looks like a cross between a metal file cabinet and an old-school library card cabinet. All the drawers are labelled with a specific size and wall thickness of extruded stock, and we keep all our shorts (anything about 14" or under, down to stuff only a couple inches long) in there, and look their first before cutting a new piece. It takes a bunch of space to have every stock size we used organized, and some sizes need multiple drawers, but it's worth it to always be able to grab a piece and be able to start machining right away. We do a similar thing for shaft stock and spacer material, but with a smaller cabinet. Try hitting up garage sales and second-hand stores, and you will probably be able to find a drawer system for very little money that gets the job done.