Moulding offcut storage

[framemaker]

Just wondering how people store their offcuts of moulding, say under 3 ft long.
My present system involves a careful constructed mountain under a workbench, another pile in the corner of a room, and a few cardboard boxes stuffed full.

I was thinking of getting lots of cardboard tubes of various sizes, or building a large wooden box with lots of dividers to hold various sizes and types of mouldings, stored vertically.
So how does everyone store offcuts? it would be good to get some photos of different methods, and hopefully find a great system I can use!

[Dermot]

I store them once in the dumpster bin.

[Trinity]

We've an A1 plotter at the day job that uses roll paper - I've been using the cardboard inners, taping them together but by gum the short lengths are getting like wire coat hangers, taking over the place. I reckon a trip to carpet right and one of their carpet inners would solve most storage problems.

[stcstc]

trinity, i have stolen the same idea from propero, i saw it when i visited him over the summer

I generate tons of those tubes as we go through lots of rolls

[Nigel Nobody]

I store them once in the dumpster bin.

Ditto!

You have to have four pieces to make a ready made frame, plus the time to make it, plus you have to have someone wanting to buy it, plus you can probably only get half what the mouldings cost you and your time is better spent making profitable frames or promoting your business if you don't have any profitable frames to make.

Sticking them in tubes, boxes, shelves anywhere in your shop is a waste of time and space! Your shop will end up full of them and then you will throw them out. Save time do it when they appear. Do not ask how I know this!

The correct answer to the question is Dumpster!!!

[Roboframer]

We have a big round plastic tote bucket with rope handles - no idea what normal people use them for.

It lives under the left hand extension arm of the Morso, which is propped up with a strong cardboard tube, on the tube are 2 dotted lines, if an offcut is lower than the lowest line, (the height of the bucket) it gets thrown out (unless maybe there are enough of the same to do something with and that something is going to be done right then and there)

Between that and the highest line, it gets stood up in the bucket; above that and it gets put back on the shelf it came from.

If and when the bucket gets stuffed full of offcuts standing vertically, we start putting offcuts horizontally across/through them and when it all gets too silly we have a mad ready-made session, many frames will go in the '£1 box' outside the shop (no glass or anything, just the frame and no larger than about 5x5" - for longer lengths for this purpose, we just measure the length, divide by 4, set the Morso stop and cut), some will go as photo frames and some will have mounts, double mounts, mount fillets, deep bevels, UV glass and even museum glass - depending what the offcut situation is in those areas.

And sometimes we'll just take a deep breath and chuck the lot out, bar any good bits of fast-moving stuff - whether it's that or make use of them, it means we don't end up with offcuts all over the place, just in one place.

Next to that tote bucket we have a tote box which is stuffed full of 12" tubes, we keep our mount fillet and econospace offcuts in those, and they are fairly organised and don't get 'silly' as we've always got a call for them.

[Not your average framer]

For each and everyone of us, time is a finite commodity and it's running out, one day it will be gone! Having already had a heart attack, I now get rid of most of the off-cuts as life's to short to waste precious time chasing small change.

Unless the moulding is something really nice, I will generally dump it and feel good about doing so!

[Bushido Bob]

Generally stored in end of bench boxes.

I make small ready mades...small glass, backing, and mountcard off cuts are used in this as well.
And yeah I know "small change" but the shelves in the shop soon empties.

Customers think bargain price for nice hand made RMF's, me I have good spare change.
I generally make these in batches in quiet periods a few times a year.
Bigger pieces make nice modesty mirrors.
And any that does not get used goes to keep my friends wood burner going....along with spoil from morso.

[JamesC]

I think if you have a physical shop you are at an advantage as you can make them into small frames as you have them and then sell them for £10 or so if nice with a print and keep all the money (even better if you have a cmc you can very quickly make up small mounts too). I know some people buy cheap postcards or old books with nice pictures in then you can chop them up and sell them, if you have a printer you can make small prints to sell. I don't do it but would if I had a shop - regard the frame materials as free because they would be chucked otherwise.

I may be able to sell them at fairs or shows though and it's a nice way to get out there and speak to potential customers while maybe making a little money or subsidising the PR. I've probably missed out this year but that's why I'm not throwing away my offcuts yet (unless damaged or too few to make one complete frame then I use them in my chiminea or throw them). I do see the logic/temptation just to bin them and you may be just as well.

I have a couple of other good ideas to sell them but I'm probably going to keep them under my hat for now because they took me a while to think of and not tried them yet.

In terms of storing them we tried buckets/bins but they got full quickly and it was hard to find the matching frames (we stock about 40 frames permanently). By the time we needed them often they were scraped or damaged.

I've been persuaded by my head framer, and necessity for space now means I'm going to be storing my stock frames vertically rather than horizontally as up to now in racking - not too deep and all along a wall. This means small offcuts can just be laid up with their longer brothers and easier to find so they get used first (they also don't get confused for full lengths this way and stock checking is easier). I also think it means they will get damaged less as you lift rather than slide moulding out when it is vertical. Luckily my ceilings are 4m high so it's an option. This way I'm going to be able to get a fourth bench in the workshop i.e. a designated packing bench. Then I think my workshop is about optimised when before it felt it was getting too small.

[Nigel Nobody]

I also think it means they will get damaged less as you lift rather than slide moulding out when it is vertical.

I have some bad news for you, James. I've always stored my mouldings vertically and put the short lengths in front of the long ones. They get mixed up with the long ones and some work their way to the back and they do get damaged. Also tried putting short lengths in boxes, but there is still damage, because they sit around too long.

Anything under 24 inches goes straight to the dumpster. Some of the 30 inch lengths get used but not too many. 36 inch lengths there is a better chance of using. I stock around 150 mouldings so that also contributes to them getting messed up a bit.

I'm very ruthless these days. "If in doubt, chuck it out" is my motto!

[JamesC]

Thanks for the warning Nigel.

If it doesn't work out then at least I've still got the extra floorspace I created by putting them vertical.

Maybe because I have fewer lines it will be more manageable (I am thinking of cutting down to about 20-25 online and the slower moving stuff can go horizontally on top of my office to be fetched when needed, or axed). The main ones all shift quite quickly and my smallest frame side online is about 20 cm so it's worth hanging on to them. I'm going to have lots of vertical seperators too to help organise.

Many of the moudlings are different every batch though which doesn't help much. I'm quite prepared just to dump them if this doesn't work.

[Custard]

I'm a garage framer. I generally visit the customer's house and show a selection of frames and mountboards, consequently I only stock and offer about 15 frames. Yes, every now and again I source a special frame, or if I know I'll be framing an oil painting I'll take a different selection than for a photograph, but it's astonishing how many customers are entirely satisfied selecting from just 15 options.

I hear and agree with the comments about ruthlessly binning offcuts. But ruthlessly cutting the range of mouldings could be part of the solution too.

[prospero]

Are these big offcuts, medium-sized offcuts, or small offcuts. Thereby lies the root of the problem.

[Gesso&Bole]

I'm generally in favour of the 'dumpster' method, although I like the idea of turning offcuts into little frames, and then cash. In reality I find that the offcuts get into such a mess that I can't find the stock that I want, and end up wasting huge amounts of time moving hundreds of bits of (by now damaged) moulding around when I need the space. The same applies to mountboard!

[misterdiy]

We use the vertical storage method but offcuts get attached to full lengths with pallet wrap. That way it keeps batches together so that there is uniformity in the mouldings. We used to have the box storage method but they came out damaged after rummaging through for one bit (usually unsuccessfully). It has improved GP as there is less wastage.

offcuts and corner pinning samples go into the woodburner to keep the workshop warm and dry.

Mountboards on the other hand are a real pain. The offucts get used as packaging in the mail order side but the middle bits are left under a work bench. We used to give them away to kids to scribble on but the sharp edges of the bevel cut always worried me. Now they form cutting lists!

[Dermot]

offcuts get attached to full lengths with pallet wrap. That way it keeps batches together so that there is uniformity in the mouldings.

I have started doing this also if the off cut is worth keeping, say about a meter in length.

It also keeps the full lengths nice and tidy and reduced the damage that can happen when loose lengths move around.

[JamesC]

Misterdiy - nice idea with the pallet wrap that would definitely save time matching up mouldings every time for the stuff we've already accumulated a fair bit of.

I buy that handywrap stuff from Arqadia which is probably what you mean or near enough.

I've also just started using that stuff for rolls of mount tissue, laminates and paper instead of elastic bands or elastic which can wrinkle the ends. Keeps them tidy and uncrumpled. Also great for keeping foam edging or cardboard corners on finished frames.

[Dermot]

Just a small few words of caution….

If you are using mini wrap film be careful wrapping things that might stain, some of the mini wrap film can stain items wrapped in the over time…….don’t ask why I know this….

To avoid this I put a strip of Tyvek first and then the mini wrap, a piece of Melinex or Myler would do the same job as Tyvek.

[David Jarvis]

Similar to the wrap idea I used to use elastic bands to tether longer offcuts to current stock. That system works really well if you have horizontal storage.
The most important thing is to dump at the end of a batch though.
However the wigwam method that I often see in workshops brings back fond memories of my Dads original DIY and framing shop.
He never did have time to go back and use the bits though!!

[John]

We have eliminated our off-cut problem simply by never creating off-cuts in the first place - apart from those times where that is a physical impossibility. For example, rather than leaving an 18in off-cut we will start on a new length of moulding, leaving a shorter length that will probably get used more efficiently next time.

The same principle is applied to sheet materials. If possible, instead of leaving a 6in strip of waste glass we would prefer to start on a new sheet.