Leather Storage

[shooter250]

Mornin Folks...

i'm wide awake and looking around my room...yep, a whole room to myself and it's not a bedroom...LOL....anyway,,,i'm looking around my room,,,i see some leather on shelves,,,,i see tools and tool boxs and i see cardboard boxs, lots of them, each one full of leather pieces,,,,i can't afford full hides, so i buy scrap....i get some great deals, the pieces are different thicknesses as well as different sizes,,,most are 2 - 5 sq ft...

How can i store these pieces in such a way, i can get an idea of what's what...i know basically what i've purchased and that it's in a box,,,the problem is being physically able to get to the pieces without wearing myself out and hurting myself too much to work with the leather once i've found what i need....without great elaboration...i have major back probs,,,MAJOR....as an example of how bad,,,my Doc informed me at my last VA visit...i am provided with the most pain medicine of any patient at the Biloxi VA...a dubious honor i assure you...i'm in bad shape...no sympathy, just sayin'....my thoughts would be to be able to store things out in the open so "at a glance" they are available...

do y'all get my point?...any thoughts, ideas?...

sorry to ramble so very much,,,i hope this is in the right place....thank y'all for listening

God Bless

Lee

[TwinOaks]

My first suggestion is labeling everything directly on a box, for the short term. Perhaps then keep an inventory spreadsheet on the computer, w/ a corresponding number on each box? That'd be easier I think, as you could check inventory w/o needing to move around too much. Besides that, what my wife did (somewhat recently) was found some of the mostly-translucent plastic drawers on sale at Walmart when they went on sale. I think they retail at about $25, she bought them at $10, so they're worth about $2. Look for them at the end of season clearances. Something like Christmas paper boxes, or back to school, etc. With those, you can mostly see what's what...at least enough to spur memories of what you may have put in the box.

[alb]

I recently tried something new with my strap scraps and I think it would work well for scraps the size you have.

I punched a hole in the end of each piece and then threaded them onto heavy duty wire hangers that I created, and then I hung the whole thing on the sides of shelves that hold my hides.. I created a separate bundle for each width and type of leather - latigo 1" on one, larger latigo on another - veg tan on another, etc. I just cut off whatever I need for a particular job.

You might need some help getting it mounted as the bundles can get really heavy but it sure beats hunting through boxes or piles which is what I used to do.

Let me know what you end up doing as I'm always looking for good ideas for making things more efficient.

Ann

[Rawhide]

Punch a hole in the corner of each piece and tie them together with string, then hang them by the string. I'd look for a way to keep the covered so they don't sunburn, but this way you can literally flip through them and chose what you need.

[dragonspit]

punchin a hole and hangin sounds like a good plan. Maybe you coud do that, get yourself a long board, like some of that wide baseboard material thin and light, but long. you could secure that the whole length of any wall, put any type of hangin hooks along the whole thing and hang your stuff in an organized manner. youd be able to see most things right off. you could even put a piece of tape of what is what next to it, so if it changes, just rip the tape off and put up a new piece.

in my last house, I had a great office (before I just took up this leather fun). do a lot of art, drawing graphics. and what we did was, took one whole wall. bought peg board, like you use in a garage, and painted it match the wall. the used the peg board to hang all my stuff, it was one handy wall and it didnt look ugly either. that could be another solution. maybe combine the two. with the peg board, you could even modify a holder to hold your tools as well at arms reach but off your surface.

with your back that bad, all of these may take some time to get done, but one thing at a time should be doable.

Bob

[Dwight]

Nail the lid of a plastic peanut butter jar on the wall, . . . screw the lid into it, . . . you can hand a batch of straps or strings over it.

Finishing nails in the wall, . . . 1/8 in hole in the corner of the leather, . . . it's hung, . . . can be hung by size, by type, by color, by ugliness if you want. Snip the edge of the hole with a razor knife or side cutters, . . . don't even have to unload the whole nail to get the piece you want.

I also have a round pile on the floor by my cutting table. It is simply long pieces that are a foot or so wide, . . . that way they can sit on the floor in a circle on edge, . . . and I can look down into the circle to see if I have a piece of 5 oz 8 oz or whatever I'm looking for.

Oh, . . . and yeah, . . . I've got the drawers too, . . . another topic for another day.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Meleck]

I still have boxes but I started using tubes stacked one on top of another. In there I roll my scraps so that at a glance I can tell what is the color and type of leather sticking out. There is some loss in between the tubes but if I have a thin leather, I try to roll it and stick it in these little interstice (it's English, I checked). I can then cover them with a curtain.

To make a very bad pun. I roll it tight and stick it where the sun don't shine. And it's a good thing.

[BAD HIDE]

I really like the hole and hanger idea. maybe use a clothes rod and some wire curtain hooks, or even make a few hangers out of 12 gauge wire.

I don't use many types of leather, so I don't really have a solution for you. I have 3 track shelving strips with 2 long brackets on top and 2 shorter brackets each strip - basically 4 shelves without actual shelves. I toss all my rolled up hides and even belt blanks across the brackets. If it's too small to roll, it goes in the scrap box. It all kinda depends on your inventory as to what will work best for you. I only really keep 3 weights of tooling leather, about 2-3 hides each, and about a dozen different lining, chap and garment leathers. If you can't figure out how to store it, figure out how to use it up.

[almac]

i just received my first 8/9oz 'bend' from Tandy. it came rolled up in a box.

can i store my leather rolled up like this for a long period of time? will this damage the leather in any way?

pardon my ignorance, i'm a newb... LOL.

cheers,

al

[dirtclod]

I keep all of my leather rolled up. It's the best way to store it.

One thing NOT to do with chap leather for sure is fold it up. You will never get the wrinkles out it. Or i never had anyway. When i order chap leather i ask it to be sent rolled if they say they will only fold i go someplace else.

[shooter250]

Wow..lot of good ideas...i 'spect i'll be contemplating on this for a bit longer...i have 7 or 8 old heavy plastic milk crates for the smaller pieces, probably roll several pieces and hang a bunch..now to re-arrange the work area...i'll take pics..before and after..gonna take awhile to get done tho since it'll just be me doing it...still haven't figured out how to store the buff hide...

Bad Hide...i like your idea of "use it up"...LOL wish i could...honestly,,,after all is said and done...i maybe am able to log in a total of an hour a day,,,that's max...that doesn't count hunting and gathering materials and tools...sometimes i can't even make the hour...uh oh sounds like i'm beginning to whine

done for now...thanks for all the responses, i truly appreciate the conversation as it were...

God Bless you all

Lee