Random Tip #4 - Dowel and Skinny Scrap Control

[gee-dub]

I don't keep a lot of dowel stock on hand but, I do have some.  What I seem to get more of than I need is long, skinny, scrap that may be useful.  I have hung them from the rafters, bundled them with twine and other methods that all work.  This method has stuck for the longest time so, it is either the one that works best for me . . . or it is the one that keeps these out of my way which means . . . it is the one that works best for me.

I had some 4" PVC pieces looking for a way to be useful. 

I used a circle cutter to make some "bottoms" out of some real junk ply and pop-riveted the tubes together.

They can stand on their own but, I found them most useful in the back corner of my cutoff bin.  Now when I need a dowel, a piece of 1/8" steel rod, some of my pre-made spline stock or threaded rod, I know right where to find it.

Maybe some variation on this will help someone out.

 

[Dknapp34]

Nice tip. This reminds me that once I finish my current project, I really have to do some serious shop organization.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[Chet]

Thats a great idea "g".  I even have a good spot for something like that.  Definitely going to steal this one.

[Marmotjr]

I am currently using a 4" PVC to hold all my dowels.  It was about 24" long, and during a shop cleaning phase, I realized a had a whole crap load of 12-18" dowels lost down in it.  So 14" of the pipe became the DC shields on my lathe and drum sanders, and now I can find the dowel I want.