The shame of a tidy workshop

[Just4Fun]

Come on gents, don't you remember your mother telling you ALL the time......"Put things back where you find them, it's where they belong!"? LOL

I have a different approach. After use I put things in the place I first looked for them, on the assumption that next time I am likely to start my search in the same place.

Actually that is not true. I would like to put things in the first place I looked for them. I reality I just leave most things lying around somewhere near where I last used them.

 

[Sideways]

One thing that drives me mad is when you see people who keep about 50 rusty drill bits in a tin and spend 10 minutes sifting through them looking for one that is the right size (and sharp), life is too short, just get organised

Modern day Bisley filing drawers are paper thin. Value engineered down to nearly nothing and often delivered damaged because they are such thin metal. But as long as you don't expect them to last, those slim drawers are a good size for drills, reamers, taps and files.

 

[Doris]

I'm super messy. I only clear the floor between jobs. My dust extractor only gets emptied once a year (more out of forgetfulness rather than laziness). Machines don't get cleaned very often.

I tend to leave things on horizontal surfaces so my bench is always cluttered it only gets cleared when I need to work on it which clutters it up again.

My house is the same too

 

[baldkev]

Ok I've shared mine let's see your messy shed!! View attachment 125913

Looks like that motorboat is coming on nicely.... hull looks shiney, should glide thru the water with a good prop

 

[JSW]

I'm sometimes forced into a bench clearance when I've lost something and the only way to find it is to put things away until it appears. It then takes a huge amount of willpower to complete the tidy-up. If I can't find the still hidden object there's always the option of buying a replacement. That usually flushes it out. The other reason to tidy the bench is when I'm down to the last 6sq.ins of clear space.

For me, this sums it up perfectly!

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Untidy equates to inefficient or insufficient storage space.

Not in my opinion.

I do need to make more storage and that is part of the untidy parts of my workshop.

But there is a very significant difference between untidy because tools and items are in use in the current project and so are on convenient horizontal surfaces not in their usual homes, this is unquestionably untidy but not inefficient, in fact always moving tools back to their home storage during a project would be much more inefficient in my workshop, walking 8 metres (the average distance to my power tool storage is 4 metres) many times during a project build would be incredibly inefficient.

I do need to plan the exact kinds of storage to build, where to put it along with finishing fitting a couple of doors to free up some space

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Time to build a real workshop with a concrete floor. 200 square metres sounds about right. Lots of bench space, and even more storage.

You would need the lottery money to buy all the storage you would need I have about 90 square metres but not enough storage space as I need, this thread has given me the impetus to start on building some more storage

 

[Lefley]

I try to keep mine as tidy as possible but when you are busy it is hard.

Everything has to have it's place, it drives me mad if I have to look for something when it isn't where it should be as it can only be my own fault for not putting it back.

When I see other peoples workshops I'm always amazed how much stuff some have, I keep it quite lean. Why do people need 10 pairs of pliers when they only ever actually use their "favourite" pair?

One thing that drives me mad is when you see people who keep about 50 rusty drill bits in a tin and spend 10 minutes sifting through them looking for one that is the right size (and sharp), life is too short, just get organised

would it be clean if you labelled the can “ 50 rusty drill bits and had a spot for it? “.

 

[Morag Jones]

Guilty on the tray of drill bits
Guilty of having duplicate tools
Guilty of always wanting more and better tools
Guilty of keeping ANY scrap of timber that is remotely pretty
Also guilty of resolving to keep tidier in 2022

In the process of fitting dust extraction, will that shiny pipe work make all the difference?

 

[clogs]

sometimewoodworker.....
I work metal and wood.....like u tools all over...thats until I made dedicated wheeled trolley's....like those in a prev post except these just had plain shelves.....
tools from the bench are now put on the shelves.....
I even have one for car work.....what ever the job all the tools so far are on the trolley....
mine are about 1mHx1.5Lx 60cm deep....
then pushed outta the way when needed....but come tomorrow it's all in one place and ready to go......u do need a bit more room generally tho....

 

[GregW]

Well, it’s about “what do you need”.
Storage space issues, misuse lack of it…
Mess can be cleared, but pile of tools not make it clear anyway, right?

 

[Rustic Mike]

Just in from tidying up the workshop, ready for starting production tomorrow.
There hasn't been any paying work done in it since 23rd Dec, but I did some quick odd jobs over the holidays.

Dog proofed two gates, fitted a new gate, fitted a latch, freed up a couple of latches, made a couple of dog leads, adjusted a dog collar, made a large wooden frame, cut some wire mesh, all the while leaving tools and scrap at my derriere.
Took me twenty minutes to clear away all the tools and left overs.

Is it just me, but it seems no matter how simple the job, I have 10 electric and cordless tools in action before it's done.

No I’m just the same lol

 

[voyager]

my shop always seems to be a mess, i spend a day cleaning up every month but within a week its all over the place again, after a day of making man glitter i tend to have all good intentions of cleaning up but look at my watch and go omg just enough time for a cuppa oveltine and bed, then the next day im always shocked by how untidy it is.

 

[Louie10]

It is a discipline keeping your shop tidy but it is great for the mind thus better workmanship, I dont often have my shop this tidy so I figured I would take a few snaps, plenty of improvement needed for sure.

 

[D_W]

Come on gents, don't you remember your mother telling you ALL the time......"Put things back where you find them, it's where they belong!"? LOL

I'd like to challenge someone to that in my shop. First, the challenge to find them (though I'd be able to in most cases), but then to have the fine random memory to actually be able to return them to where they found them.

 

[bourbon]

I try to keep mine as tidy as possible but when you are busy it is hard.

Everything has to have it's place, it drives me mad if I have to look for something when it isn't where it should be as it can only be my own fault for not putting it back.

When I see other peoples workshops I'm always amazed how much stuff some have, I keep it quite lean. Why do people need 10 pairs of pliers when they only ever actually use their "favourite" pair?

One thing that drives me mad is when you see people who keep about 50 rusty drill bits in a tin and spend 10 minutes sifting through them looking for one that is the right size (and sharp), life is too short, just get organised

Someone asked me why I had 15 pairs of pliers. Each one is designed to hold a different shape, That's why.

 

[D_W]

Someone asked me why I had 15 pairs of pliers. Each one is designed to hold a different shape, That's why.

I kid you not, I would've answered that I keep half in my basement so I don't have to go to the workshop to get them, and half in the workshop so that I don't have to cross into the basement, and then beyond that I need to have about half of the total amount so that I can have doubles of a couple for the inevitable loss of a pair to the mrs. or kids, or in the longer term, a good pair on hand when someone tries to cut hardened steel in some wacky artificial flowers with a set that's made to cut copper wire.

 

[Lons]

I have no intention of counting them but I'd be surprised if I don't have at least 30 pairs of various pliers way more screwdrivers and please don't mention hammers or chisels.

 

[Jacob]

I have no intention of counting them but I'd be surprised if I don't have at least 30 pairs of various pliers way more screwdrivers and please don't mention hammers or chisels.

I think I've kept every screwdriver, spanner, pair of pliers, etc, which has come my way since ar worra lad.
Just survival instinct perhaps. There were hardly any tools in our recently post WW2 house and had to borrow even to take off a bike wheel. We had a few ex grandparents - I recall one massive adjustable spanner, a steel oil can and a ball pein hammer

 

[Doug71]

I only own 2 pairs of normal pliers (not counting long nose), one pair kept in the workshop and one pair kept in the tool bag.

I bought the pliers that are in my tool bag when I started my apprenticeship 34 years ago, they are the only pair I have ever had in my tool bag and they get used most days, I remember thinking they were a bit expensive when I bought them (Elliot Lucas) but think I've had my moneys worth out of them