Storing leather in small space

[Treesner]

Hey guys what’s a good way to store leather in a compact space? I’ve been doing what most do just rolls in rolls in the corner but I’ve been accumulating more and more and getting out of control. Is there a better way to store it? Was considering maybe some kind of draping style where you just pull one out and lay it on the top of the stack when you’re done.

Or possibly doing the rolls but in some kind of rack on the ceiling since the rolls aren’t to heavy to pull down. 

Cieling rack

Edited January 23, 2019 by Treesner

[Treesner]

Another thought.. maybe a pipe with a smaller pipe in it then a smaller piece within that attached to a board that way you can do 3 rolls standing vertically without having to tie them up. 

Thininking 20” tall. 12” 9” and 6” pipes (or wood boxes I guess might work as well 

 

[fredk]

If you want to try pipes; go to a carpet shop. Carpets come on heavy duty cardboard tubes, about 13 ft long. Cut down they'll give you 3 tubes each about 4ft long. usually you can get the tubes for free. I stored this way for a while.

I recently changed to using large long plastic boxes. The boxes are meant for storing small-ish reusable Christmas trees. The boxes are about 4ft long and about 15 inches deep by 12 inches wide. The boxes have handles on each end and 4 wheels on the bottom. I just throw the rolls into one on these now. I have two stacked in my back hall for ready-use leather, plus a 'Christmas Tree' storage bag for a few odd rolls of leather and material. Other leather stock is stored rolled up in card boxes on shelves in my storage unit

[Norton Custom Leather]

pvc tubing works great. you can stack them & mount them together so they won't roll off

[nrk]

1 hour ago, Norton Custom Leather said:

pvc tubing works great. you can stack them & mount them together so they won't roll off

+1 for PVC tubes

[Treesner]

here's a couple of different styles I've seen in my research

above in a rack:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/364299057343136062/

wall hooks:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/512777107566626682/

ceiling on small rolls:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/777856166868077827/

draped over a saw horse:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/696650636086154403/

rolled on narrow shelves:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/352125264592353820/

 

 

 

[Treesner]

I'm trying out this small carte (ideally a bit taller) where no roll is tied. because its vertical its easy to pull out the pice you want and any piece you're done with always roll tighish, insert into the middle and let expand. 

 

I wonder if doing this horizontally under the bench would work the same, might have. bit more friction when pulling in and out 

 

[Ragingstallion]

if you dont mind making some new holes in the walls. could make a strap system like blindes and hang them from the top of the wall. would kinda be like the wine holder at tandys, but bigger, and just straps.

[Treesner]

11 hours ago, Ragingstallion said:

if you dont mind making some new holes in the walls. could make a strap system like blindes and hang them from the top of the wall. would kinda be like the wine holder at tandys, but bigger, and just straps.

Do you mean stores in this orientation but with straps instead of hooks? 

https://pin.it/uyh4o5zbfbz44g

[Ragingstallion]

11 hours ago, Treesner said:

Do you mean stores in this orientation but with straps instead of hooks? 

https://pin.it/uyh4o5zbfbz44g

Pretty much, and with a wall anchor, you can do one strap holding it, and add straps onto that one for the leather to sit in.

[johnv474]

I have used the USPS medium shipping tubes, which are triangular and 36" long, and keave one end open. They are available for free but intended for shipping.  I do use them for shipping, and in doing so rotate out the ones I store leather in.  They stack up and can hold large pieces of leather as well as small scraps of the same.  The cardboard separates oily leather from dry leathers and it's easy to pull a particular piece out.  I stack them in a closet and under a bed for longer storage.

[Treesner]

On 1/26/2019 at 7:24 AM, johnv474 said:

I have used the USPS medium shipping tubes, which are triangular and 36" long, and keave one end open. They are available for free but intended for shipping.  I do use them for shipping, and in doing so rotate out the ones I store leather in.  They stack up and can hold large pieces of leather as well as small scraps of the same.  The cardboard separates oily leather from dry leathers and it's easy to pull a particular piece out.  I stack them in a closet and under a bed for longer storage.

whats the length of one of the triangle sides? do you just put one piece per box and haver a bunch of the boxes or do you have different size boxes and nest them within?

[canonitr]

i got a 4 tier, 4ft long, 6ft high boltless rack to store my hobby stuff, and 1 tier is dedicated to laying the leather horizontally..

[Treesner]

16 hours ago, canonitr said:

i got a 4 tier, 4ft long, 6ft high boltless rack to store my hobby stuff, and 1 tier is dedicated to laying the leather horizontally..

ah so you lay them out flat, that would be nice. was considering doing a shelf under my cutting table but might be a little small still for the big pieces

[canonitr]

space is at a premium in Singapore, so we build upwards..

when i didnt have the rack, i had stuff all over the place.. the rack was to accommodate my fishing and leather working stuff.. it seems the leather stuff pretty much filled up the rack.. i dont lay them flat.. it's rolled up(have been advised that its better to store in this way to keep fibers tight (??))  the widest hide i have is maybe 4 1/2 ft wide, so it sits okay on the rack. have about 6-7 rolls of full/ half hides

[Dun]

On 1/23/2019 at 1:04 AM, fredk said:

I recently changed to using large long plastic boxes. The boxes are meant for storing small-ish reusable Christmas trees. The boxes are about 4ft long and about 15 inches deep by 12 inches wide. The boxes have handles on each end and 4 wheels on the bottom. I just throw the rolls into one on these now. I have two stacked in my back hall for ready-use leather, plus a 'Christmas Tree' storage bag for a few odd rolls of leather and material. Other leather stock is stored rolled up in card boxes on shelves in my storage unit

like these? https://www.amazon.com/ZOBER-Rolling-Christmas-Tree-Storage/dp/B07KT9GWYN/ref=zg_bs_16175648011_3?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=BM05G5TX44V7SQ8H81AE

and you stack these bags?

[fredk]

Nope. My boxes are stout see-thru plastic with clip on lids.

Not exactly the same type but close; https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3594740

A ballistic nylon bag with oddments goes on top of a couple of these boxes [sometimes, its usually under the bench, in the hall, generally under my feet somewhere!]

[Treesner]

Came across this hanging method. Read in the comments he started covering it up though because people warned against sun damage 

http://www.goldbarkleather.com/sourceblog/diy-leather-rack

[utah leather]

I have a workbench that is about 7 feet long so I just built a drawer that is as long as possible ( 6 foot plus ) and put drawer glides on each side so now I can store my rolls ( flat ) in the drawer ( instead of rolls piled up ) and you could put a lid with a hinge on it to keep out all the dust and crap so your leather would be safe and out of the way. You can make the bench and drawer any size to suit your needs. I hope this helps

[Treesner]

1 hour ago, utah leather said:

I have a workbench that is about 7 feet long so I just built a drawer that is as long as possible ( 6 foot plus ) and put drawer glides on each side so now I can store my rolls ( flat ) in the drawer ( instead of rolls piled up ) and you could put a lid with a hinge on it to keep out all the dust and crap so your leather would be safe and out of the way. You can make the bench and drawer any size to suit your needs. I hope this helps

sounds cool do you have a photo?

[chrisash]

A full size Admiralty navy chart table would be a nice way to store them flat if you have any ship breakers near you, most have a good number of sturdy drawers

[utah leather]

9 hours ago, Treesner said:

sounds cool do you have a photo?

yes but the only way I know how to send a pic is if you are on my contact list on my phone, if you could send me your number I could put you in my contacts list then send you a pic , then delete your number, does that sound ok ?

[Treesner]

Interesting way with roles hung on the wall. Maybe annoying to wrap up every time but looks nice 

 

 

 

[Handstitched]

@TreesnerI hear ya loud and clear !! I used to work from my Mothers sewing room  in the ' early days', not much  bigger than  a 3 x 3 gazebo space wise. . With her materials and my rolls of leather in the same room, , it was getting a bit cramped.  Rolled up was the only way to store them . However, even that idea had its limits. 

So, we ' bit the bullet' , and built  a small  20 x 20 ' workshop on the property . I got myself some old heavy desks etc from a local  S/H seller for work benches, modified them, joined them together,  made shelves , racks etc.  to take all my rolls.. .....& rolls of leather.  Even now, I  still have difficulty storing  rolls of leather , go figure ? My workshop is a perpetual mess,.... and so is my Mums !!!!!!  Every Monday is " Tidy Up Day  "  for me.  . 

But rolling your hides etc.  is probably best for storage . 

HS 

[Dwight]

When I built my shop, . . . I started with the idea of rolling them, . . . but it puts a permanent or at least long lasting curl in every piece of leather.

I chose to hang my leather that I'm presently using, . . . and it makes working with it a whole lot easier.

I can hang something on the neighborhood of 65 sides of 8 oz leather in my "vault" if I could afford that much.  In the one picture you can see that I have other stuff in there.

It is two 4 x 8 sheets of particle board, . . . one is nailed to a ring of 2 x 12's that make the sides, top, and bottom of the vault, . . . the other is hinged on one side.  I made arms that swing on one end, . . . so I can find the piece I'm looking for.  Have never run out of space, . . . and can find anything I'm looking for in about 30 seconds or less.

Wouldn't store mine any other way after using this.

May God bless,

Dwight