Lumber storage is one of those shop problems that grows with your skill level. When you’re starting out, a few boards lean against the wall and that’s fine. Three years in, you have rough lumber in three species, sheet goods, dowels, turning blanks, and a pile of short offcuts you can’t bring yourself to throw away. By year five, the lumber situation has either been solved or it has become the defining problem of your shop.
We featured 8 reader lumber storage setups this month. Here’s what we learned.
Cantilever rack (Tom, Ohio) – Steel cantilever arms bolted to a 2×4 stud wall. Six levels, 36 inches deep, accessible from the front. Boards are sorted by species on separate arms. Sheet goods lean vertically in a dedicated slot at the end. Tom says the vertical sheet goods storage was the biggest quality-of-life improvement – no more sliding plywood out from under a stack.
The rolling lumber cart (Ava, California) – A 4×8 rolling cart built from 2x4s and plywood, sized to hold a full sheet of plywood flat plus six long boards on edge in vertical slots. It rolls to the table saw for cutting and back against the wall when done. In a small shop, the ability to reposition the lumber storage is worth more than a fixed rack twice the size.
The under-stair rack (Phil, Pennsylvania) – A basement shop with a staircase going up one wall. Phil built a floor-to-stair cantilever rack that uses the dead space under the stairs for long boards – boards up to 12 feet fit under a standard staircase with comfortable clearance. The previously useless space is now the primary lumber storage zone.
Five more setups in the full post, including an overhead ceiling rack for long boards and a dedicated hardwood display rack that doubles as a visual inventory system. Share your lumber storage setup below – we’re collecting the best ideas for a master roundup post later this year.