Workshop Tidy
by John
I sometimes feel a bit ashamed when I have visitors at my workshop.
The reason is that when I am in the middle of a project, I really concentrate my energy on the decisions, the machining, working out how to fix the mistakes…
…. and tidying up as I go, is near the end of the list of must do’s.
Consequently, tools tend to be put aside at the spot where I have been using them. And off cuts of steel or brass or wood or whatever, lay where they fall.
And as mentioned in a previous post, I have a policy of leaving swarf on the floor, to discourage wildlife from slithering into my workspace. (see the old post about the tiger snake between the lathe and the milling machine). And if you are not Australian, look up tiger snakes. They are just about the most dangerous reptile on the planet.
So my workshop is not the tidy, organised sort of workspace which you might expect from a retired gynaecological surgeon.
But occasionally, the mess becomes so extreme, that I cannot find tools, I trip over stuff on the floor, everything is really dirty, and it is dangerous and embarrassing when visitors call in. And some of those visitors have workshops where you could eat off the floor.
So yesterday I spent a whole day tidying, sorting, putting away tools, throwing out rubbish, and sweeping the floors.
What about the tiger snakes I sense you asking.
Well, here in the antipodes, we are in the depths of winter, and it is bloody cold. And all sensible cold blooded reptiles are asleep in their homes. So for a few months it should be safe to sweep up the swarf. Here’s hoping anyway.
johnsmachines 
I get embarrassed when I find swarf at the elevator entrance, you see, no one else does metal work in the basement so it is difficult to ignore it as someone else’s fault.
Sent from my iPhone
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Yes. And swarf in the washing machine is hard to pin on someone else.
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Ha!
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One strategy I use is just keep going (hopefully in the right direction) but as soon as something is lost or cant be found, start tidying up till the thing is found and then continue.
Another is that when a working surface has become overwhelmed with bits that might be useful but probably aren’t, is to put the whole lot in one big box and then only take bits/tools as required.
john f
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I will try it. But as the pile of big boxes mounts I can foresee “now which big box did I put the ….. in?”
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When I’m at work in my studio it often looks like a cyclone has passed through. I don’t like to stop the creative flow when I’m cruising on a project. I know where things are, no one else needs to know, lol. Creation is messy stuff.
Luckily, we don’t have snakes in Hawaii!
Aloha,
Richard
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I like it! “creation is messy”.
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