The metal shop storage area has finally received a major update!
Members may store materials in the following locations:
Sheet goods should be put in the sheet rack. (Only sheet-shaped goods should be put there.) The right two slots are available; the left slot is reserved for Asmbly materials. If you have multiple items, we suggest that you label each item with tape in addition to or in place of a group tag. (The tags frequently fall off when items are moved around in this area.) (Note: the bolts protruding into the right slot will be changed to clear the area and prevent scratching items.)
Long tubes, rods, and angle iron (and sufficiently narrow long plates) should be stored in the new cubbyholes on top of the sheet rack. For now, each person can and should use a separate hole if available. (We will adjust if demand is high enough to require sharing them.) The storage tag can be placed above the occupied hole. Two holes are reserved for Asmbly materials (lower right and middle right). Objects up to nine feet long can be stored here. The shelves allow access at the midpoint and the rear of longer items.
Smaller and miscellaneous items should be stored on the adjacent project storage shelves, inside the new storage bins only. Items outside the bins will be considered improperly stored. You can use multiple bins if necessary as long as they are all labeled. The top two shelves are currently reserved for Asmbly use (such as tools related to the gas bottles and media blaster).
There may be very limited storage for rod-shaped items longer than nine feet. There is currently a temporary vertical storage space at the end of the racks, beyond the gas bottles.
(FYI, the spaces reserved for Asmbly currently hold materials for ongoing metal shop projects. The plan is to clear these as the projects are finished, then use those spaces to store raw materials for sale to members.)
The rules for member storage are unchanged:
Storage Area Policies:
- Items can only be stored in the designated storage areas appropriate for the materials.
- Items must be tagged or otherwise labeled, with a legible name, phone number, and date of storage. Tags and tape should be available on the project storage shelves.
- Items can only be stored for up to one week. (If you come to the shop and do work with the materials, you may update the date as appropriate.)
If your items do not fit in one of the provided storage areas, you must make arrangements in advance with one of the metal shop area leads. Space and usage constraints and safety considerations may make it impossible to accommodate space requests. If permission is granted, the items must remain in accord with the understanding reached with the lead, and must remain labeled, with the “Approved Exemption” field on the tag filled in.
Anything not meeting these requirements is subject to confiscation or disposal. We certainly don’t intend our enforcement to be capricious or harsh, but we do need to regain and keep control of our limited space.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR CURRENT STORAGE USERS
All currently stored items that were in compliance with the existing policies were moved to the appropriate new storage area. That was easy, because the number of such items was precisely zero. 
I do understand that the past storage situation has been unclear and unmanaged, resulting in a bit of a free-for-all. I will not blame anyone who took passive acceptance of all the stuff lying around as tacit permission. But it’s time to straighten this out.
All of the items in the storage area were moved onto or next to the large metal cart, currently next to the storage area at the end of welding bay 1. Members have until next Saturday (8/8, 5 am) to claim any items there and either remove them or move them to the appropriate new storage area with a new storage tag. (Two longer items were moved to the temporary vertical storage area at the end of the rack. Since they are unlabeled, the same deadline applies to them. There is also one large rolling item that has special dispensation to be stored elsewhere; it’s fine.)
Only take your own items – nothing is up for grabs (… yet). Next Saturday, we will begin clearing everything out and you will lose anything remaining there.
The Storage Policies Page on Our Wiki has been updated in accord with this.