Scrap / Cutoff Storage

Mobile Storage Cart for Scrap and Short Cutoffs

Unless one has a huge shop, wood materials storage is a real pain in the hiney!  Oh sure, you can put up a nice lumber rack for the boards, but great pieces still get lost in the back.  Sheet goods can be leaned over against the wall, maybe even stored under the lumber rack.  Nice use of space, but that 4' x 8' sheet of " you need is neatly tucked behind that half ton of MDF you got a good deal on... GREAT!  And, of course, all of the good lumber and sheet goods are behind that four foot wall of scraps and cutoffs that are just way too valuable to toss.  Yeah, it's a pain in the hiney allright.

In their December, 04/January, 05 issue, Wood magazine ran an article called Triple Threat Storage for lumber, scraps, and sheet goods.  It detailed a wall mounted lumber rack, a scrap cart, and a sheet goods cart, both of which were mobile.  I already had the lumber rack.  I built it before I ever read the article, and even though I didn't build it the same way, it came out looking amazingly similar.  I guess there are only so many ways to put a lumber rack on a wall.  First paragraph on the sheet goods cart said that if you didn't have 10' ceilings, to pass on it... I've been mulling it over ever since trying to figure out how to "flip it" sideways, but nothing so far.

That little scrap cart was a tad bit different though.  I had a special little corner of my work bench where that issue sat for almost two years.  Every time I'd go out to the garage, I'd peek at that article. 

Well, I finally got around to building it.  I stayed close, but didn't stick exactly to the original dimensions.  I made mine just a little bit bigger.  Even so, when it was done, it looked really, really small.  I didn't think it would hold much, but I was wrong.  My "hold on to it" pile is gone now, but I still have all that great wood that I've never found a use for.  If you want them, the original dimensions are in the article.  Otherwise, let's trudge on.

Materials and Cut List --

You might want to open and print the Triple Threat Storage article.  I stuck with all the dimensions listed except width... on the shelves and dividers, I went with 16" instead of the 14" width called for.  You won't lose much if you go with the original plans and it won't grow much if you use mine. 

What you'll need:

• A couple of sheets of " plywood.
• A 1" x 4" x 6' piece of oak or poplar to rip for the " edge banding.
• A butt load of #8 x 2" wood screws.
• A butt load of #6 x " wood screws.
• Four 3" swivel casters and #14 x " pan head screws to mount them.

Assembly --

Cut the shelves, dividers, sides, and base...

Once you commit to either the original dimensions or some others, cut the base, back, shelves, and dividers.  Adjust the rip fence and cut the sides.  Note that all of the dividers are 6".  Make one of them a little long.  That way, you can cut the top one for an exact fit after all of the edge banding is on. 

Speaking of edge banding, by the time it's all done, you're going to need around 22' of edge banding (maybe more if you change the dimensions).  Might as well go ahead and start ripping that 1" x 4". 

Prep the shelves and carcass...

Start by squaring up the shelves to the dividers.  Measure, mark, and drill shank holes for the screws... about three per shelf will do quite nicely, and you won't need any glue here.  Don't assemble them yet.  Just set them aside for a while.

Put the sides face to face.  Measure, mark, and drill shank holes for the shelves.  Refer to the drawing for the screw locations.  Remember to adjust their placement if you adjust the size of your scrap cart.  Mark the locations and drill shank holes to attach the sides to the back and base also. 

Finish the wood...

There is no glue in this project.  The way it's assembled gives it plenty of strength without any glue and it'll help in case you need to "tweak" the fit in any way.  So, now's the time to sand the plywood and edge banding.  Tack cloth everything and put a couple of coats of poly, lacquer, or any other finish you deem fit on everything.  Once it's dry...

Final assembly...

Screw everything together.  Start with the base, back, and one side.  Go ahead and tighten these up.  Take a leap of faith and trust me here; don't tighten the screws on any of the rest of the assembly yet.  Install the shelves and dividers; put the screws in and get a good bite, but don't tighten them.  Remember earlier, we left the top divider a little long... now's the time to mark and cut it to final fit.

After all the shelves and dividers are installed, put the other side on and get those screws started.  Going back to the "fixed" side and starting at the bottom, square up the shelf and tighten up the screws.  This is the "tweaking" I spoke of earlier.  Work your way up, and once all the shelves are tight against the fixed side, tighten all the screws on the other side.

Now, just miter the edge banding and put it on.  I used #6 x " brass wood screws, and it looks great, but some brads would work just as well.  Flip it on it's back and put the casters on. 

The only thing left is to clean up your scrap pile by loading up your new cart.  Enjoy.

Some Final Thoughts --

Original changes...

The original plans called for (and shows) screwing everything together through the side panels into the shelving.  And, I put mine together as called for in the plans.  In retrospect, I should have used pocket screws.  It would have looked a lot cleaner and it would have gone together so much easier!

Just For Laughs --

The original scrap cart...

Once upon a time, in a shop far, far away, I had occasion to, well, er... cut stuff.  There was the PVC for the sprinkler system that left some cutoffs.  There was the new trim as we remodeled parts of the house; yep, you guessed it, more cutoffs.  Of course, there were always other little "projects" that seemed to yield leftovers.

Lean a little here, stack a little there, lay some over yonder.  Before I could say "where did this huge mess come from?", I'd have huge mess on my hands.  Over the years, I'd move, shuffle, or otherwise organize the various piles and restore order, however short lived it might be. 

I needed some way to store all those scraps and cutoffs.  I needed a way to corral those leftovers.  Boy, did I ever need a scrap cart.  Well, the fruits of that first labor is right here for your amusement and laughter.  Ultimately, it was nothing more than a 2" x 2" stick frame with a few stick partitions.  All that was set on a 2' x 2' piece of " plywood with wheels. 

I built this thing about ten years ago, and it still works as well today as it did when I built it.  That is to say, it's all crap.  If things aren't perfectly straight, then they fall over, or slip out the side runner at the bottom.  But, it holds my saw horses, the PVC, the leftover trim, and all the other stuff that's too valuable to toss, but way to junky to put in the really cool, new cutoff cart.  One of these days, I'll make another new cart and put all that old stuff in it.  'Til then, I have a new, shiny cart, and an old piece of junk.

Just thought ya'll might get a chuckle out of the old unit... glad my skills are perkin' up.