Hi Folks,
A few storage ideas - not necessarily for gemstones and rough,
but all kinds of studio stuff-
I ordered a product, advertised in Lapidary Journal, called
Roll-a-Stor. It’s essentially an eight-sided hub mounted on a
bracket. Each side has eight plastic (about 8 oz.?) bottles
mounted. That gives you 64 separate and easily visible storage
units at hand. Can be mounted on a wall, overhead, etc. It has
little depressions at each “stop” so it doesn’t roll around if
you remove a couple bottles from the same side, or have it
unevenly loaded. Perfect for beads, little findings, etc.
I also have four rows of baby food bottles mounted over my
bench. I took lengths of 1x4 wood, and screwed caps (2 screws
per cap), mouth up, onto the board. Then screwed the board to
the exposed studs (rafters) above my bench. Then just crew the
bottles onto the caps! Easily accessible, but never in the way!
Any day care center should be able to load you up with plenty of
bottles in just a few visits! Great again for findings, etc.
I store my wire stock in one of those expanding “accordion”
folders you can buy in any office supply place. Mine is a big
one… has ~30 pockets. I keep different gauges and shapes in
separate zip-lock bags (to keep clean, organized and
tarnish-free), and keep them filed by type and size. Pretty
easy to go thru at ordering time and see what I need to order,
too! This storage method keeps the stuff easily manageable and
I can get it out or put it all away in a matter of seconds.
Also doesn’t look like I’m storing precious metals. I came up
with this idea when traveling to and from jewelry class was
getting very cumbersome! This would also work for sheet, but I
ran out of pockets! 
Last, I just ordered and received two “grandfather chests” from
the Damark catalog. Described as an Oak Utility Chest, the
description, in part, says, “There are six roomy lined
compartments: a large storage area under the lid, four drawers
(each 8x8) and a large lower drawer.” It has a lock hasp on the
upper compartment and pins that drop in the back to lock the
drawers if the top is locked. 23"W, 11 1/2"D, 13 1/2" H. Nice
brass hardware. $59.99 for non-members, $53.99 for members.
Seem pretty much like heirloom quality to me! Made in China,
but seem well made. I’m glad to have a nice place to store
infrequently used tools. 1-800-827-6767 - Call anytime!
Dave
Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave@sebaste.com
http://www.sebaste.com