Kit storage????

Hi gang!,

Going through re-organizing (HA!) the shop here at Hibco.

Sooooo.... I thought it might be interesting and helpful to open the can of worms.... Re: the storage of kits and balsa. The pros and cons of "horizontal" vs "on end" should be interesting as well as useful here.

What do you do?....Stand 'em up or lay 'em down??

Never Enough Space or Nitro Fumes!!!..........Hib

Balsa is stored best laid flat and I would assume the same, then, for kit storage. Although there are balsa bins in some hobby shops that store the balsa vertically, there will be more warped and twisted wood in these bins than in the bins where the wood is stored flat.

Big kits on the bottom, small kits on the top, flat on a 4' x 8' "shelf" hung from the rafters. Balsa and spruce stored flat, in boxes, ends open. Paints stored low on an old bookshelf near the floor, lid up, rotated every 7 to 10 days to lid down. Well, not really but it's a good idea to flip them over now & agin. I need a decent way to store sandpaper. Does Rubbermaid make something suitable for under $15? Steve

>Paints stored low on an old bookshelf
>near the floor, lid up, rotated every
>7 to 10 days to lid down. Well, not
>really but it's a good idea to flip
>them over now & agin. I need a decent
>way to store sandpaper. Does Rubbermaid
>make something suitable for under
>$15? Steve

I bought some old cabinets at a sears story when they remodeled and the cashregister counters make good tool benches and the shelves that they used to store their sacks are perfect for sandpaper storage. Oh, yes, I paid $ 15 each for them.

On paint, I was always taught to store it lid down. The only way that air is going to get in and the stuff dry out is in and around the lid. If you store it lid down, it becomes self sealing and will last much longer. This works for house paint and model dope equally well.

Steve,
I keep my sandpaper in plastic letter files- one for Wetordry, one for garnet and one for Fre-Cut. Within each file the paper is divided by grade in labeled manila folders.
Letter files are available in various sizes at your stationary store. Mine are approx 12.5 x 10.5 x 5.0, with a hinged lid, latch and carrying handle. Cost should be around $12.
This system works well for me. It keeps that expensive paper, full sheets and scraps, clean, flat and organized.
Derek Moran

Steve- I buy sandpaper in rolls from the autobody paint supplier. You can get some brands in a self dispensing box. Very tidy. It's 3" wide & has sticky back. You just roll off what you need like tape. You can stick it to a sanding block or fold it over for hand sanding. I keep 80#, 150# & 220# on the shelf. This stuff is only good for dry sanding, but that covers 90% of the sanding I do at home. It's about $25-$35/roll, depending on brand & grit. I'm not sure how much is in a roll but they last a *long* time sanding balsa wood. I know I have some 220 out on the shelf that has been there for 4+ years & there's still a lot left. (And I went through a BUNCH sanding the black paint off that Shark, yuck!)