How much drop do you keep?

[Mech_Eng]

I have been trying to get my work area a little more organized lately and am struggling with deciding how many small pieces of aluminum I should keep. In this hobby, even a very small piece of material can be useful. I have been addressing the issue from a work holding standpoint: for round stock, if I can't chuck it in the lathe and do something with it, it's trash. I have also started throwing away "semi usable" milling machine stock. What does everyone else do?

[jack van]

lol put small shed in yard and start hoarding lol i use the recycling bins but they never put it on road haha

[RCP57]

I keep almost everything. I build a lot of stuff but it's amazing how often one of those tiny pieces comes in handy. I guess it also depends on your budget too though. I'm looking to save every penny so spending a few minutes looking through a dish full of chunks makes more sense for me than cutting a piece off of a full length bar(sometimes:rolleyes:).

[Dieselchopper]

Difficult question to respond to even in the business world. You need to find your own happy place with scrap kept and scrap recycled. There is no right or wrong in this issue. As pointed out already finances and available storage space both play a factor. Then personality.....LOL.... Can you handle the dreaded scrap zone around or in work space. Not much help but my take.