Pen blank storage?

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cpmech425

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I am starting to get a few pen blanks and would like to know how everyone stores pen blanks. I like to try to keep my shop as neat as I can and still be productive. Thanks Brian
 
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I don't know about anyone else, but I use those cheap clear plastic shoe
boxes with lids you can get most everywhere.
Sometimes you can find them at Walmart for a couple of bucks each.
 
I use those Food Take Away plastic boxes, with Clip on Lids.
I can fit 12 off Blanks in each one.
I have them Numbered, and I have a XL Spreadsheet Listing of My Blanks,with the Qty, and Box Number. and I have them stored on Shelves Three Rows High, and Double Depth.
It does take quite a bit of time to keep it up to date especially when you get to cut up a lot of Timber.
If there is a lot, I then use a large Postage Boxes, and Store all of One Blank type in the Box.
It works for me, but as I said it does take a lot to maintain, and is so easy to get out of step.
You probably need to be OCD to stick to it.
Brian.
 
I went down to Staples 2 years ago during their "back to school" special sales ...

I bought their pencil boxes (meant for grade schoolers) on the tail end of the sale ... just 1 of each of the available colors for 1 dollar each.

I store my acrylic dyes and my pearl-ex powders in 2 of them, with acrylic blanks in 2 others, the 5th one holds my antler and horn blanks and sections.

The rest of my blank collection (all the wood) is stored in USPS Medium and Small flat-rate boxes. If you get the correct size medium box, it will hold 6 folded small boxes vertically, makes for a nice and organized shelf-and-drawer storage system, and best of all, it's free!

I do have a slight issue with it's user-friendliness, however, as the cardboard isn't going to hold up forever, and removing a box (however well it was labeled) means that I then have to take out all the boxes that were above it in order to put it back in the same order, or just mess up the order by putting it back in on top.


I plan to eventually create a small workstation and storage area with multiple divided drawers for wooden and acrylic blank storage, along with the workstation top that will be used for creating my own acrylic blanks using Alumalite.

All of my wood that is still in boards is leaning against a wall in my house. My plans for that will be a few shelves that I can lay the boards across, to prevent any unnecessary warping.
 
True ... which is why I also intend to use those boxes for their intended purpose eventually, when I replace that storage system with a more permanent one.
 
As an Addicted Dumpster Diver (A.D.D.) What ever I can grab out of a dumpster that is clean and FREE.
 
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I'm old school - I just throw them in a drawer and dig them out when I need them! LOL!
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So do you label what they are? Or you just use them and don't worry about keeping track?

Trying not to feel guilty that most of my blank stash is unidentified random blanks from misc random sources.....
 
I bought a few sets of these inexpensive plastic storage drawers; these are made by Sterlite. I bought mine several years ago at WalMart for about $13 per set of 3 drawers. Each drawer is about 2 1/2 inches high, 12" deep, and 13" wide. It comes with wheels for the bottom, but I don't use those. You can stack as many drawers on top of each other as you desire to fit your space. Each drawer holds a ton of blanks and the blanks are easy to organize and find. The storage drawers I show here use colored plastic, but I have a set of all clear ones too. They have worked out very well for me. They are sturdy enough to hold the blanks and still look brand new.
 

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Dave Turner said:
I bought a few sets of these inexpensive plastic storage drawers; these are made by Sterlite. I bought mine several years ago at WalMart for about $13 per set of 3 drawers. Each drawer is about 2 1/2 inches high, 12" deep, and 13" wide. It comes with wheels for the bottom, but I don't use those. You can stack as many drawers on top of each other as you desire to fit your space. Each drawer holds a ton of blanks and the blanks are easy to organize and find. The storage drawers I show here use colored plastic, but I have a set of all clear ones too. They have worked out very well for me. They are sturdy enough to hold the blanks and still look brand new.
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That is funny Dave I bought those same type drawers years ago and they did not hold up well. The weight crushes the platform they are riding on. In fact I am hoping to make a wooden frame to house the drawers this year. I am also wanting to make a wooden frame for all my pen kits. Need to get this stuff out of the spare bedroom. I need organization. :biggrin:
 
Ambidex said:
I like making my own. Have several of these now.


http://www.penturners.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=159771&stc=1&d=1487008635
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nice storage. not to steal away from the topic, but where did you get that wood ID poster?

and we're back...... i use the stackable Uline plastic bins with open fronts. Our shop was throwing them out because (and i kid you not) they wanted all of them to be the same color. i have about 60 of them in my garage. about 40 are for pen blanks and the rest for whatever i need.

https://www.uline.com/BL_305/Uline-Plastic-Stackable-Bins

i have the next to biggest ones. they're great.
 
I have several of the plastic storage units like those that Dave uses only I use them with the casters. I use those to store most of my best blanks.

I also process a lot of my own wood & store those blanks in large & medium postal shipping boxes. Spindle blanks & bowl blanks are just stacked on shelves.
 
I guess that I am too new to pen making. I am still only making one pen at a time. I have had some failures and have a few blanks but most of them would need some sort of repair and then I don't think that they would fit any pen kits that I know of. If I do start accumulating pen blanks I will probably buy those pencil boxes and label and store them for each type of pen one box for upper or lower blanks if that be the case. I have considered starting to make multiple blanks for certain pens at a time so that may indeed become a reality in the next week or so. Depending on the projects that I am immediately facing like setting up my new sharpening system and making a couple of handles for Cap'n Eddies Carbide tools.
 
This response comes with a CAUTION :eek: :eek::

The MORE STORAGE YOU HAVE, THE MORE BLANKS YOU WILL ACQUIRE!! :biggrin:

I like to have the blanks easy to view. That means spread 'em out a bit. My solution: I built a custom drawer unit, shallow drawers, that allow for two-blank depth, 100 standard blanks per drawer, 8 drawers. (2 drawers are out as I prep another blank sale.) Yep: 800 in that unit alone! You blank buyers get ready!! Vintage stuff on the way!!

The 8-drawer unit got full real quick. Then I started buying HUSKY brand tool storage. I have a few of those. Now then, I just had a big wood blank sale. The question...WHY...WHY... Why do I still have multiple boxes to trip over, strewn around the shop? I 'DON' KNOW!! Hep me, hep me...outta control. Save me from myself!!:biggrin: :bulgy-eyes:
 

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I too am using the clear plastic boxes. Some are the shoe box size but I have also gotten some larger one. I IMPULSE bought a bunch of blanks and had to do something with them.

I plan on putting some shelves in the attic and possibly separating them into smaller containers by type.
 
I once spent an afternoon with my daughter making mailbox cubbies. They were too deep and I kept "losing" blanks in the back of each box. Later those became home for 12" sticks. Shelves around the top of the shop still hold stacks upon stacks. Now, two large metal shelving units in the garage are full. I took some cardboard boxes an cut chipboard like combs and slid them all together to make 1" square section dividers in the boxes.
There are boxes of blanks all over the garage. Half the dining room table is covered in them and right now, half the living room is covered in stacks.
Almost forgot about the 3 tool chest of drawers full and the end table covered in them. ... they are on the bookshelf too.

Wow, when I list it all out like that, it sounds a lot worse than it is... I think I need a bigger shop.


Sent from my iPad using Penturners.org mobile app
 
3 x 5 FILE CARD CABINET

I use an 8 drawer file cabinet. Yes, 8 drawer. It was designed to store 3 x 5" file cards in two rows side by side per drawer, with a 2 1/2" center divider. Inside depth per drawer is 4.5", each side of the center divider is 6 1/8" wide. Just right for blanks.

The cabinet was made by Steelcase, many other office furniture companies build similar cabinets.

These can sometimes be found at used office furniture dealers.

I store almost all my pen related items there, but not bushings.

150 kits, hundreds of blanks, pen protectors, a few pen boxes, and misc.

If you want a few photos, please let me know. Cabinet is 52 1/2" h, 15"w, x
28 1/"d. Drawers have full suspension, open and close easily.

Another great storage cabinet would be a 27 or 30 drawer cabinet. I found a used one for work before I retired for about $100 7-8 years ago. Drawers are 9 x 12", maybe 4" deep. A lot of storage for small items in a compact footprint.

Charlie
 
I also use the clear plastic shoe boxes with lids. I think they are like $0.98 at Home Depot. I separate them out into exotic woods, standard woods, regular acrylics, custom acrylics, stopper blanks, and spectra ply blanks. I have about 5 shoe boxes full of blanks right now....

I also use these for pen kit storage as well and write which pen kits are in which shoe boxes on the outside so I can get to them quickly on the shelving unit.
 
Yeah ... I think that's Murphy's Law of Exponential Storage Capacity.


No matter how much storage you have, you will always need more, as it will reach beyond it's capacity within 3 months of acquiring it.

I learned this one the hard way, concerning my anime storage .... 7.3 TB and counting.
 
Each blank that I buy gets a unique sequential number. I have a database (you could use a spreadsheet also) that contains the blank number, description, price, vendor, and purchase date. I also categorize each blank as being wood, acrylic, other natural object (corn cobs, antler, etc.), Tru-Stone, and misc. I also have a field for date used.

This lets me quickly see what blanks I have in stock, and when I make a pen, I can easily assign the blank number and price to that pen in my bookkeeping spreadsheet for purposes of figuring cost of goods sold.
 
Storage

I have a very small space that I can turn in. I have tried the shoe box and the clear plastic totes, but they took up too much room.

I do plastic ziplock bags. That way I can cut my own blanks and put them in a bag and squeeze the air out and then store them. Also, I have plastic bags that are pre measured to the proper size blank for a particular pen (i.e. 2 3/8 inch for a wall street pen) with that particular blanks hole drilled (i.e. 27/64 for the wall street).

Since I have a small area, I only have to pull out my saw and I go to town. Then I pull out my drill press and also go to town.

Saves a lot of space

Hope that makes sense
 
I use the lunch meat boxes. A couple are embossed with ZipLock. Stackable, too.
Also, I set aside the blank, bushings, kit and drill bit with a note stating those items.
 
I buy 5" x 8" zip-top bags. Each bag will hold 4 to 5 blanks. I label the bottom and sides of the bags with the type of wood that is in them.
IMG_5005 Cropped.jpg
Bags with blanks (BOW and Desert Ironwood)
Click on Thumbnails to Zoom-In

The ones that I use most frequently are hung on hooks under one of the shelves in my shop. The others, I put into 6-Quart storage containers that I get from our local Menards store. Each one will hold about 14 bags (or 70 blanks for bulk storage). These I stack on shelves along one of the walls in my shop along with supplies and infrequently used tooling that I also store in the 6-Quart containers.
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Hanging Bags, Bags in 6-Qt containers, and 6-Qt containers on shelf.

My purchased resin blanks, mostly Rhino, but also hybrids from Casey Martin (grapevine) and Exotic Blanks (Australian burls), I store on a shelf underneath my pen kit storage drawers.
IMG_5010 Cropped.jpg
Resin blanks stored on shelf under pen kits.

The round Alumilite blanks, many from Tim Crowe, and the one's I make myself, I store in the zip-top bags and hang them from hooks I mounted to the door between my office and the shop.
IMG_5011 Cropped.jpg
Round blanks on door hooks.

I'm sure it is obvious, I am just as much of a blank collector as I am a pen turner.

Dave
 
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