PVC pipe leather storage

[Falkalem]

Hey all! I’m trying to rearrange my work space as it is kind of a disaster at the moment…still working from home (on my sewing and leatherwork desk) since Covid hit, we’re in the middle of a kitchen renovation, etc etc. One thing I’d like to do it figure out a way to store my leather hides (all veg tan). I was considering hanging pvc pipe horizontally on the wall. Anyone done that? Or have other (pvc pipe or otherwise) ideas? I like the idea of wall mounted to get it out of the way. 

[Doc Reaper]

A lot of guys make a wall rack with the PVC as a core to wrap the around. Some use the rug hanging system and leave it hanging like a curtain. Me, like most, roll it and store it in a shelf. I have no idea which way is correct or best. 
how should the skins be stored???

[fredk]

Currently I keep my stiff leathers rolled up in large plastic boxes designed for storing re-useable Christmas trees. The boxes are about 5 ft long and and about 1 foot x 1 foot. The boxes are stackable. For my thin lining leathers, they are folded up and stored in a large-ish plastic box (actually x 2 of them). The long boxes are stored in my apartment's crossway hall and the back hall.

[chuck123wapati]

i just keep mine in the boxes they come in they stack well and have all the info on them my forgetful old brain needs to re order or not..

I think a person should store them high dry and out of the sun.

[tsunkasapa]

I have three shelves, two under my benches. The one on the north side holds my rolls of veg tan as it is best protected from sunlight. Chrome is rolled and kept under the other. The last is for 'buckskin' and it is all folded and rolled with the flesh side out.

[mike02130]

I'm planning on using cheap 4" landscaping drain pipe.

[fredk]

Might I suggest something?

If you want tubes, go to your local carpet shop. They'll have the card tube cores from carpets. A. they are very robust and b. are about 12 to 13 ft long, so you can cut them down to size. I used them for a while. The carpet shop was very happy to give me a load of tubes just to be rid of them

[stelmackr]

While I was the editor for PSLAC (Puget Sound Leather Artisans Co-Op) I used to write some stuff about aspects of simple leather home ideas for part-time hobby/sales stuff.  One article shows the use of concrete tubes for storage and also purchasing 12" x 12" x 48"  shipping boxes and stacking tubes or boxes.  Looking back at the articles, see how shallow and crude they were.  Wish I had the time to redo/rewrite them. Anyway, here is the article:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dWOphSBFpccqICs7f4AFUJkaQ8fC4fck/view   

Edit: BTW Brettuns Village Leather no longer offers a discount if you are a PSLAC member. Never-the-less Brettuns Village Leather ( https://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/ )does have some amazing prices and free shipping.  They also have a Wednesday DOTW (Deal Of The Week)

Edited December 12, 2021 by stelmackr
added information about Brettuns Village Leather

[Klara]

My little bit of leather is stored rolled up under the work table.

But one professional on Youtube - I believe Hahn - has a very impressive system with huge cardboard tubes stacked on a wall... (possibly concrete form tubes, just looked at the article).

[jimi]

I have NO space left in this room so some reclaimed gutters came in handy for me.....Yeah i know....i could have painted little animals on them or something but.....nah next time maybe...

 

[fredk]

If you're for using PVC pipes, be careful what you use. PVC can give off or leech chlorides onto and into what you have in contact with it. This is not theory but knowledge thru actual use. Use PVC water pipes meant for carrying water into a house, but do not use the pipes for waste water

[Klara]

2 hours ago, fredk said:

Use PVC water pipes meant for carrying water into a house,

Now I'm happy that I use my surplus gutters for the storage of metal rods and wood... Incidentally, I don't think the pipes used to carry water into the house are big enough for serious storage as you would lose pressure with big pipes. In my house they are about garden hose size. And the mains is not much bigger. (And all of them are full of water -  no air, so Antman's idea from the first movie wouldn't work.)

[jrdunn]

3 hours ago, fredk said:

If you're for using PVC pipes, be careful what you use. PVC can give off or leech chlorides onto and into what you have in contact with it. This is not theory but knowledge thru actual use. Use PVC water pipes meant for carrying water into a house, but do not use the pipes for waste water

Fred, I do know that in the U.S. and Canada PVC is widely used in water and wastewater mains.  That is not to say that we always do things that are good for us.  With some experience in water and wastewater treatment and some training(Some people will brag about anything.), I have never heard this.  Do you have any information what effect these chlorides have on the water or the leather?  Chlorine is often used in the treatment of both, maybe that's why it wasn't mentioned.  I'm not trying to hijack the thread, just wondering what this might cause.

[fredk]

I can't say what affect it has on leather.

But experience is of photos, prints, posters and print-ready artwork being bleached out by the chlorine gassing out of the pipes we stored them in. We used 4 inch diameter waste water pipes to store the above things in a roll. After a few months when we retrieved some items we found them bleached out, progressively from outer to inner.

I took the items to a man I knew who worked as a conservator in the national museum. Without telling him, he pronounced that they'd been bleached by chlorine gas. Then the discussion when into detail. Later I took him a piece of pipe and he was able to have the amount of gas coming off measured. Not enough to worry about, but enough to bleach over time. One of my bro-in-law worked for the N.I. Water Board and he told me that they knew of this and certain PVC pipes were only used for waste water and PVC-free pipes used for taking water to a place

Later, I had to totally changed my photo negs and slides storage system as the PVC storage pages and boxes were gassing off as well. I had to change to 'museum quality' PVC- free storage. 

[jrdunn]

Thanks for the info.  I don't know if ABS drainage pipe might be an alternative for you?  It too is common for residential wastewater pipes in the U.S.  I guess I need to get my leather out of that 8" PVC.  It sure is handy, though.

[Dwight]

I much prefer not having to wrestle with the bends and curves in my leather that it takes on by being wrapped up like that.

My "box" is 8 ft tall . . . 4 ft wide . . . one foot deep . . . and uses a sheet of OSB for the front door.  

Most of my leather hangs vertical in that box off of nail racks that swing in and out . . . pivoted on the left side.

Pull out a piece of leather . . . lay it on the work table . . . it lays flat . . .  no bends, no curves . . . 

I like it like that.

May God bless,

Dwight

[327fed]

Wonder about the black corrugated leach drain plastic pipe? It is cheap, has holes for air flow, comes in 4 and 6 inch. 

[jrdunn]

5 hours ago, 327fed said:

Wonder about the black corrugated leach drain plastic pipe? It is cheap, has holes for air flow, comes in 4 and 6 inch. 

I think most of that is polyethylene.  I don't know the hazards of PE.  Heck, I didn't know the hazards of PVC.

[HandyDave]

13 hours ago, Dwight said:

curves in my leather that it takes on by being wrapped up like that.

I have 2 big tables in my shop one i work off of and the other has became a place for all my heavier veg tan  to lay on. I to hate  workin with the thicker leather while its all curled up. Ive also seen some wall mount ideas online using wooden rods and fabric. Making kind of a cascading curtain which leather is stored in the folds.

[Hags]

I have a 4x8 overhead storage shelf above my bench. It hangs from the ceiling.  I roll them up and put them up there. I think I got it from Costco online.

[fredk]

20 hours ago, jrdunn said:

Thanks for the info.  I don't know if ABS drainage pipe might be an alternative for you? . . . 

That was a long time ago, maybe 18 plus years ago. I don't need or use pipes anymore. Main thing is, as water is constantly flowing thru the pipe any chlorine getting into that water is very minimal but when you store something in the pipe it allows that chlorine gas to build up and affect what ever is in there over a longer period.

How it will affect leather over the long term I cannot say. It may not do any harm to raw veg tan. In fact it may just help prevent mold growth. But on any pre-dyed leather it may bleach the colour.

[SaintJoy18]

I built out a French cleat wall in my shop and made a wall rack for mine. It has a "sun-proof curtain" cover to protect the leather from UV light and dust. Saves a lot of shelf space and searching through boxes for me to find what I need. Rolls are held tight with 2-sided velcro strap.

[mike02130]

7 hours ago, SaintJoy18 said:

I built out a French cleat wall in my shop and made a wall rack for mine.

I gotta say, this is the best I've ever seen.  Excellent job.

[HandyDave]

8 hours ago, SaintJoy18 said:

French cleat wall in my shop

I really like this idea as well. Would be great way to store all my thinner garment and bag leathers. Thanks for sharing.