Plywood Storage, Lathes and a Pizza Peel ft. Shawn Stone

Storing plywood in a small shop is one of those challenges that every woodworker faces eventually. Full sheets of plywood are awkward, heavy, and take up a disproportionate amount of floor space. In this guide, we cover practical plywood storage solutions alongside lathe turning basics and a fun pizza peel project.

Smart Plywood Storage Solutions

The key to plywood storage is keeping sheets vertical and accessible. Leaning them against a wall might seem easy, but it leads to warping and makes it nearly impossible to grab the sheet you actually need.

Wall-Mounted Rack Design

A wall-mounted rack is the most space-efficient option for most shops. Start with two horizontal 2x4 rails attached to studs at roughly 24 and 48 inches from the floor. Add vertical dividers made from 2x4 offcuts screwed perpendicular to the rails. This creates slots that hold full or partial sheets upright without leaning.

For partial sheets and cutoffs, consider a separate bin system below your main rack. A simple plywood box on casters lets you roll your cutoff collection to wherever you need it and keeps smaller pieces from getting lost behind full sheets.

Getting Started with Lathe Turning

Lathe turning opens up an entirely different dimension of woodworking. Instead of flat panels and straight cuts, you are shaping round forms, bowls, spindles, and decorative elements. A basic midi lathe is enough to get started and fits comfortably in most home shops.

Essential Lathe Tools

• Roughing gouge — Your first tool for rounding blanks from square stock
• Spindle gouge — For shaping coves, beads, and detail work on spindle projects
• Parting tool — For cutting finished pieces off the lathe and sizing tenons
• Skew chisel — For smooth finishing cuts on spindles (takes practice to master)
• Bowl gouge — Essential for face-grain turning and hollow forms

Lathe Safety Fundamentals

Before turning any piece, check that the blank is securely mounted. Give it a hand spin to make sure it clears the tool rest. Start at a low speed, especially with rough or unbalanced blanks, and increase speed gradually as the piece becomes round.

Keep your tools sharp. A dull turning tool is more dangerous than a sharp one because it requires more pressure and is more likely to catch. Learn to sharpen on a slow-speed grinder with the correct jig angle for each tool type.

Making a Wooden Pizza Peel

A pizza peel is one of those projects that combines different woodworking skills into a satisfying, useful result. You need flat panel work for the blade, turning or shaping for the handle, and a good finish for food safety.

Wood Selection

Choose a hardwood that is food-safe, light, and stable. Hard maple, cherry, and walnut are all excellent choices. Avoid softwoods because the blade needs to be thin without being fragile, and avoid open-pore species like red oak that can harbor bacteria.

Shaping the Blade

Start with a board roughly 14 inches wide and 16 inches long for the blade section. Mark your shape, which is typically a slightly rounded rectangle or a traditional round shape. Cut the outline on a bandsaw and sand smooth. The critical step is tapering the thickness, which you can do with a hand plane, belt sander, or even a drum sander if you have one.

Attaching the Handle

The handle can be a separate turned piece joined with a through-tenon, or you can shape the entire peel from a single long board. The single-board approach is stronger but requires more material. If you use a separate handle, a through-tenon with a wedge provides both mechanical strength and visual interest.

Shop Organization Principles

Whether you are storing plywood, setting up a lathe station, or carving out space for project assembly, shop organization follows a few universal principles.

• Frequency of use — Tools and materials you reach for daily should be within arm's length of your primary work stations
• Workflow direction — Arrange machines so material flows naturally from rough processing to final assembly without backtracking
• Flexibility — Use mobile bases on machines and casters on storage carts so you can reconfigure your layout as projects demand
• Dust collection access — Every machine needs a clear path to your dust collection system, whether it is a central system or a shop vacuum with a separator

Good plywood storage, a well-set-up lathe, and practical projects like a pizza peel all contribute to a shop that works for you rather than against you. Start with one improvement at a time and your shop will evolve into an efficient, enjoyable workspace.