Do you need to keep a tidy bench to produce quality work?

[Sheffield Tony]

I had a school friend who went to work for IBM. They had a "clean desk policy", and made everyone clear away their desks at the end of the day. Some consultant had told them that a tidy desk was a sign of a tidy mind. Unfortunately they had assumed that by tidying the desk, you could tidy the mind, which does not necessarily follow !

I find I cannot work at anything - woodwork or the day job, without getting stuff, tools, equipment everywhere. Fortunately I like the feeling of a good layer of shavings underfoot I suspect a correlation with the style of work you prefer. Most green woodworkers seem happiest standing in a pile of mess they've created !

 

[Geoff_S]

What bench?

I hang my head in shame.

Who started this thread?!!!

 

[AndyT]

I don't manage to put each tool away after use - especially if I know I'll need it again soon. So I have a tool well, and an extra rack at the back of the bench, so whichever saws, squares, chisels etc are in use can be close at hand but not in the way. However, the space available for work still seems to reduce regardless of good intentions.
I then find that a good tidy up and sweeping session puts me in the right frame of mind to carry on refreshed and ready - a bit like an athlete's stretching exercises!

 

[custard]

Most green woodworkers seem happiest standing in a pile of mess they've created !

That'll be all the berries that they find in the woods and eat

 

[MikeG.]

........... Most green woodworkers seem happiest standing in a pile of mess they've created !

Indeed, couldn't agree more. But then, green woodwork doesn't usually happen at a bench.

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Most green woodworkers seem happiest standing in a pile of mess they've created !

That'll be all the berries that they find in the woods and eat

Sustainable forest management - they're just seeding the ground with the next generation of trees

 

[Lons]

I try very hard to stay organised and tidy as I work, not always possible but I make sure I stop regularly for just a few minutes at a time to have a mini tidy and sweep up.

Do I think tidy generally means better quality work? Absolutely not so why do I try so hard?

Well because that's how I personally like to work and I'm happier and therefore in my case more productive but much more importantly, it feels safer to me to not have tools and materials lying all over the place not to mention time lost looking for tools under the mess.

I am however in the workshop purely for enjoyment most of the time and we all work with methods that suit us do we not?

 

[johnnyb]

As a jobbing joiner my days are spent taking tools out of the van......using them....then putting them back in the van. It's a bit like zen...they need to go back in a similar place.
At home in the workshop I'm short of space therefore chaos reigns!

 

[transatlantic]

I have very little space, but I will do a tidy up (of things I don't need for the next task) every hour or so. And also give the surfaces a very quick vacuum. I know that might sound crazy, but I have found it really does help me. Else I am knocking things over, loosing things or damaging what I am doing as I have no where to put it without putting it on something else.

However, all my tools are within hands reach, so I am not putting them in a box or anything, usually just hanging them back up, or putting them in a drawer. Everything also has a dedicated home, so it's literally 5 minutes work

 

[novocaine]

the problem with being tidy is it takes minutes to mess it all up again.
I can spend 4-6 hours in the workshop, do no real work excluding tidying, close the doors and the next time I go in it's a mess again in minutes, I'm positive I have a ghost.
I don't really like having tools hung on walls, but it's become a requirement for hammers, chisels and files. everything else lives in a draws and boxes and I try to put it all away once a week. doesn't always happen though. which is why there's 2 rear brake calipers on the bench right now and I can't see the bench. tonight, I will tidy.............. maybe.