I have got to get organized...

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Herb G

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Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Messages
1,461
Location
Southern Maryland
So, the other day I decided to get off my butt & try my hand at making some bottle stoppers. I bought the mandrel for them 18 months ago.
I bought the brass inserts last year on sale. It took me 2 days to find them.

The mandrel was in my basement in a bag under a box. My inserts were in a box in my living room, behind a chair, under the ladder. (Don't ask.)
My carbide tool was in an envelope on the kitchen table, under a pile of magazines and a book.

I have stuff spread out all over this house & it's a living miracle that I can find anything. I found 2 boxes of blanks, some carbide cutters, some epoxy glue, a ton of sandpaper, and some wood blocks I need to cut into blanks.
I also found some shellac I forgot I bought, some tube / blank paint, and a lot of other turning supplies.

Man, I need to get it together. Phew!
:redface:
 
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D.Oliver

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Joined
May 10, 2011
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3,531
Location
Faith SD
Two days isn't bad. I have all my pen turning things confined to my shop and I've spent longer than that looking for things. If it was spread out in multiple rooms I may never find what I'm looking for. By the way, have you seen my stanley spokeshave? I swear I've been looking for it for a month!
 

stonepecker

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Joined
Oct 29, 2012
Messages
4,382
Location
central Minnesota
Two days isn't bad. I have all my pen turning things confined to my shop and I've spent longer than that looking for things. If it was spread out in multiple rooms I may never find what I'm looking for. By the way, have you seen my stanley spokeshave? I swear I've been looking for it for a month!


I think I heard the chief (of police) dog in Faith, buried it. :eek: Funny, they have a police force and no dog catcher. You talk nice to him and he might just remember where he dug the hole. :biggrin:
 

leehljp

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Joined
Feb 6, 2005
Messages
9,314
Location
Tunica, Mississippi,
I have two HF cabinet like tool chests and got them way back when they were cheaper.
https://www.harborfreight.com/27-in-8-drawer-black-roller-cabinet-2-pc-combo-63026.html
One for mechanical tools such as screws drivers, pliers, wrenches, sockets, general car, lawn mower, house fixing tools. The second is for woodworking hand tools, planes, and measurement devices and lathe tools. But, I had MORE than enough tools to fill both. These tool boxes are in my shop.

Almost immediately after getting organized about 5 years ago with these two tool chests, I learned that having all the small tools in one place did no good when I needed to fix my lawn tractor in the yard, or change a switch or wall socket in the house or help a neighbor or fix something for my daughter in the next state over.

THIS is where the fun :eek: began. I needed a smaller hand carry tool box for general tools; one for sockets and wrenches, one for electrical work and one for saw/drill measuring. Then Things Got Lost! Where in the world are those bent nose pliers? Where are my foot long steel rules? Where is that 11mm deep set socket? (Shallow 11mm socket won't work!!!) Where is my good handled 16oz claw hammer? I had 3 of them! and on and on! Too many tool boxes!

Dang it! :eek: :biggrin:
 
Joined
Sep 24, 2006
Messages
8,206
Location
Tellico Plains, Tennessee, USA.
I am absolutely anal about my tools... I use the tape measure, I measure a board, then walk back across the shop to hang it back on the rack where I keep it.. (it the last on I have -- I've lost the other 2 or 3 that used to be on the same rack)... all my hammers hang on nails or pegs on the wall over the work bench... they go back there as soon as I finish hammering a nail... it's the only way I can keep up with them.. put them back as soon as I've finished using them... I get lots of exercise that way walking back and forth in the shop... expecially when measuring things... I take a measurement, put the tape away, then get back to my project and I've forgotten the measurement -- another trip to and fro the tape rack to take another measurement.
 

MDWine

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Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Messages
2,690
Location
Manassas Park, Virginia, USA.
I feel ya... got a new set of jaws for my chuck, and found the Cole jaws I bought a year ago... I got another set of jaws, but now I can't find the Cole jaws...

Memory is the second thing to go... I don't remember the first.
 

campzeke

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Joined
Jun 28, 2015
Messages
577
Location
Tampa, FL
I try (keyword.. try) to tidy up my shop after each project or at the end of the day and return the tools to their assigned places. I need to work on organizing my wood and blank storage ....
 

MDWine

Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Messages
2,690
Location
Manassas Park, Virginia, USA.
I FOUND THEM, I FOUND THEM!!

I got off on a tangent yesterday, looking through the shop for something and FOUND MY COLE JAWS!! The funny part is that they were on a shelf directly at eye level behind the lathe... dang, gettin' old ain't for sissies!!
 

Herb G

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Messages
1,461
Location
Southern Maryland
I FOUND THEM, I FOUND THEM!!

I got off on a tangent yesterday, looking through the shop for something and FOUND MY COLE JAWS!! The funny part is that they were on a shelf directly at eye level behind the lathe... dang, gettin' old ain't for sissies!!

Good that you found them. I am still finding stuff all over the place.
I had a bad gout attack the other day & my foot swelled up like a balloon.
So, no going up & down stairs for 3-4 days at least, until my meds kick in anyway.
I started a Xerox box of stuff that needs to go down to my dungeon workshop. It's already 1/2 full.
:redface:
 

Gregory Hardy

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2017
Messages
276
Location
Scio, New York State, USA
I am absolutely euphoric right now. Euphoric.
I have been chastised for three and a half decades because I am one of those "organizers." I am OCD to the worst degree. (It's so bad that my niece informed me once, "Uncle Greg - you're not 'OCD.' You're 'CDO' because it needs to be in alphabetical order." I told her to shut up.)
Solution for all: Buy three of everything. One for the pen shop. One for the general house tool box...and one to hide under the bed so your wife and kids can't find your favorite carbide chisel to pry open a soup can when they have pillaged the other two locations.
(Damn...I'd better go take inventory under the bed.)
 

pshrynk

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2017
Messages
742
Location
Lake City, Minnesota
I've been told that I have to keep everything pen related in the shop, right next to the lathe and band saw. Otherwise I will have to endure entire weekends of derision and abuse by the spousal unit and various spawn. And I intend to do so. I will definitely put these new pen kits in the new pen kits box after I've read the instructions in bed tonight...
 
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