Home scrap bins

[Fraserb]

there is no scrap, only bits you don't yet know you need!

Exactly, I generated 50 or so of these offcuts from the plasma table this morning, all stored just incase. Also keep a lot of the offcuts as you never know.

 

[zzr1200]

Ask at your local car repair workshop, most buy oil in 205 lt drums which the suppliers often don’t want back

My oil barrels cost me a fiver each.
3 for scrap and 2 for my bbq....£25.00 in total...

 

[Wallace]

Slightly off topic but related....... Back in 2017 I helped a friend who does house clearances go through two lockups full of car, bike and engineering equipment, a whole life's worth of a chap who was dying from Parkinson's. It was quite a moving experience and did not sit well with me and whilst sat looking through some drawers that had probably not been opened for years it dawned on me that someone would have to do the same for me so I decided a major clearout and rethink of projects was in order. I made a start shortly after by emptying my 6x4x3ft trailer as it was full of scrap metal and the floor was rotten. That lot, and a load more went away in an overloaded Transit and I am still clearing stuff out nearly 3 years later.

I seem to have become conditioned over the years to look in the scrap bin before starting a job for materials as most companies I have worked tend to work that way. Not a bad thing for recycling but the material I find often dictates the outcome of what I am looking to make as there is never enough the right size or too much of the wrong size and I did consider getting rid of all or most of my material stocks at one point and buying in as and when necessary to make the holy grail of home workshop tools, space. Anyway, back in the real world outside my head!

Having decided it was time to make a concerted effort not to hoard scrap, I now have the two smaller scrap bins. I did plan to have two scrap recycling bins on the saw but that would make it wider and I would collect more "good scrap" and a larger "scrap scrap" bin would end up heavy to move as others have mentioned. I now aim to keep those bins at a minimum by emptying the scrap scrap regularly and being a little more ruthless with the offcuts as I cut material.

SPACE.
Not the Final Frontier but the Holy Grail in a home workshop.

 

[Ashley Burton]

@Wallace I think we're all just as bad

When I moved house I got rid of alot of stuff I had kept, But didn't need

 

[Red'n'Black]

As per the title, I am fed up with trying to store scrap in my garage or shed. It ends up all over the place. What are you guys doing to store scrap. Especially for separating things. Any pics floating about or do any of you have any good ideas?

Can't help I'm afraid, I have loads of offcuts I don't know what do do with & keep accumulating more. Work were chucking out a load of Rapid Racking, couldn't see that go to waste. Ditto the kids climbing frame.

Paint buckets work for the smaller stuff, biscuit tins for the tiny stuff that goes on the lathe. Need another shed for the bigger bits but I'm up to four already...

 

[Carl Wilson]

This is a good thread. Storing materials, not just "scrap" (by which I assume you mean offcuts that would come in useful) is a perrenial issue in all home shops I think.

 

[zzr1200]

Slightly off topic but related.....

SPACE.
Not the Final Frontier but the Holy Grail in a home workshop.

View attachment 224165​

Too true......

 

[James1979]

I might see if I can get a barrel from somewhere for the time being as well.

Not sure where in the UK you are but if youre near a port / harbour its always worth an ask. I've just got a few from someone I know with a boat who had them to pump his tanks for dry dock but wants rid now.

Fuel suppliers may be able to help? Up here they are hard to get in good order as people on the outer islands use them to keep fuel in case the ferries dont run.

I've also had luck from the scrappy. They're 'contaminated industrial waste' or some such nonsense and they normally crush em sharpish then chuck them in the frag before anyone important spots them. Depends when you time it but a bit of beer money may get you some.

I learnt 2 things the hard way with drums - cut the tops off inside the rim and knock the cut flat with a hammer and dolly otherwise it'll shred your hands, (let the top drop inside and it reinforces the base) and 2, pre think a way to move them. I either burn a few holes near the top so i can get chains in to lift, or set them on a dolly i made. Nothing fancy, just a X with a castor on each leg.

Hope this helps

 

[steviec_lj]

We generate far more empty 200l drums than we use so once we're back to normal if anyone needed 1 or 2 I'm sure we would have spare.
The plastic ones we generate even more of so if they were a use for something as well

Shame you’re in Scotland, or I’d have taken you up on the offer of a lorry load. We use them for feeders, and we’ve been putting a lot of extra ones down recently.

 

[RWD3M]

Mine is all over the place and usually in the way, it is something I am currently working on. I collected some Tote pans out of the scrap bin over time from a company I was working at and several of those are in the small bottom shed with ferrous and non ferrous metals split into types for the small stuff and I scored 16 matching ones that are sat waiting for the next phase of my current clearout. I currently have one stainless kitchen bin for scrap scrap and a council recycling bin on my bandsaw for useful scrap and offcuts, the saw isn't finished yet and will also store offcuts plus 1m lengths as the frame is heavy duty.

View attachment 224138

Hi Wallace,
Nice band saw, but what's the car behind it?

 

[Fraserb]

Shame you’re in Scotland, or I’d have taken you up on the offer of a lorry load. We use them for feeders, and we’ve been putting a lot of extra ones down recently.

Plastic ones? Thats where a good few of ours end up, reckon we'll have 200+ empty ones at the moment.

 

[jimbo84]

Air on the side of caution if you're cutting into those 200ltr metal drums, I think it was @Parm that posted a grim story about cutting into those drums when you don't know the contents.

 

[Wallace]

Hi Wallace,
Nice band saw, but what's the car behind it?

1966 Jensen CV8 with a fair few modifications.

 

[addjunkie]

Air on the side of caution if you're cutting into those 200ltr metal drums, I think it was @Parm that posted a grim story about cutting into those drums when you don't know the contents.

Opening metal drums, just use a cold chisel.....takes about 5 minutes. Quicker than getting what ever power tool put.

I wanted a 200 ltr plastic drum, to make a tractor weight, couldnt get one for love nor money!

 

[Carl Wilson]

I use thick plastic crates for storing off cuts in. It's not a very satisfactory solution though because inevitably they end up cracking.

 

[8ob]

200l Barrels are ok but

 

[mtt.tr]

what about wheelie bins?

 

[mr migwire]

i use stackable platic crates, limited space under the bench so i'm choosy with the offcuts / scrap i keep...

 

[Wallace]

200l Barrels are ok but

Barrels in Barrels! What are those cylinder barrels off?

 

[8ob]

Barrels in Barrels! What are those cylinder barrels off?

From when I put new barrels/pistons on the Deutz engine in the stump grinder.