# What best describes your shop organization?



## cdcarter (Jan 19, 2008)

Good shop organization saves time and money. You work faster without sacrificing quality, and you don't have to replace lost bits and bushings. But it takes a little effort. How well organized is your shop?


----------



## ed4copies (Jan 19, 2008)

As a matter of "risk control" you are not allowed in my shop.  I know when I need to step over the blank that flew off the lathe last month, and I WILL get around to picking it up, Meanwhile, if YOU step on it, you will ruin it.

My drill bits are well organized, beyond that, well, if I MOVED it, I certainly SHOULD be able to FIND it.  AND I CAN!!! (given enough time).

We have a lathe in the back of the trailer for shows.  THAT is well organized. (Put on a good front).  The lathe that really MAKES pens - well, it ain't neat, but it turns out some NICE work.


----------



## palmermethod (Jan 19, 2008)

Last night I was using my drillpress and changed bits. After I drilled that hole someone stole my chuck key. Right in front of my eyes. I can't believe it.

Of course my wife "claims" she knows naught about it, but you know how wives are.

Plus...Plus, they put the part I just drilled in an open box and tried to hide it. I will search the rest of today even if it means strip searching you-know-who, until she confesses. And don't even ask about the strawberry jam. That little episode still torques my jaws.


----------



## maxwell_smart007 (Jan 19, 2008)

Next year, we should have a 'messiest shop' contest!  I know that I'd finally win a prize if that were the case! 

Andrew


----------



## Poppy (Jan 19, 2008)

They better have more than one prize.[:0]




> _Originally posted by maxwell_smart007_
> 
> Next year, we should have a 'messiest shop' contest!  I know that I'd finally win a prize if that were the case!
> 
> Andrew


----------



## ed4copies (Jan 19, 2008)

The chuck key USED TO wander WAY too often.

I have now strung together several rubber bands and attached one end to the key in question and the other to the cord of the drill press.  Follow the rubber band and the chuck key turns up EVERY TIME!!!!!


----------



## winpooh498 (Jan 19, 2008)

For the most part all of our materials are in a "home" and labeled.  Shane and I have 2 separate work areas, mine is usually the messier one (ya know, creative minds work better that way). Shane's area is a little more tidy then mine.  I usually have used sand paper out, all of my turning tools laying on my bench, a few different projects laying next to my lathe. Where as Shane is one project at a time start to finish.  Ya know "creative minds" work on a project until the "creative mind" decides to move on and then we can go back when the "creative mind" wants to.


----------



## jwoodwright (Jan 19, 2008)

OK, I've been in shops that were so organized and set-up exactly correct.  Miles of pegboard painted yellow.  Tool locations outlined in black.  Wood neatly stored on rack.  All Power tools with guards in place and lowered blades.  No dust or sawdust visible.  Work bench polished, floors with outlines for machines and walking lanes.  "Please wipe your feet" sign on door.  Hardware organized in parts compartments with labels...

I kept looking for the velvet ropes and the donation box you find at the museum!

My shop is like Norm's, just not as many tools...[:I][]

Delta, Jet, Porter cable know who I am, they just don't send power equipment for me to try.[:0][:I]


----------



## GoodTurns (Jan 19, 2008)

I can (and have) spent hours "organizing" my shop...generally takes about 40 minutes to destroy everything! I have lots of cabinets, plenty of storage space, clear plastic boxes...all the necessary tools, just can't keep it that way.  (the lathe is bolted to the bench...I can usually find it on the first try)


----------



## VisExp (Jan 19, 2008)

" A place for nearly everything, and it's usually there."

Funny you should ask.  I'm busy building some dovetail drawers so that I will have a nice area to put all my pen making supplies, blanks and kits  

My shop is fairly organized.  It certainly isn't like a museum, but is, at least to me, a nice combination of clean, functional and well used.


----------



## rhahnfl (Jan 19, 2008)

Pathetic... best describes my garage/shop. Every time I go to clean it, the weather is uncooperative. Then I get to where I don't want to work on it... just go out and work in it. I had really wanted to get out and clean this long weekend but the wind and rain are upon us. Oh well...


----------



## great12b4ever (Jan 19, 2008)

My shop is somewhat organized.  I have an inherited welding shop with metal sides, metal posts, metal trusses, metal roof, and 35 years of my fathers accumulation.  I have been remodeling by building stud walls, insulating, covering with 1/2" plywood, making drawers and cabinets, labeling where i want things to go, installing a central dust collector, rewiring and relighting shop.  Plus remodeling house, building decks, building my flat work orders, turning pens, turning other items, collecting wood, collecting tools, working 60-70 hours per week.  So my shop is in the process of getting organized completely.  But I have to clean out one area by moving the stuff into another area to remodel the area I just cleaned out so I can clutter it back up with the stuff from the next area.  I will tell you that a 30' x 40' shop building is just not big enough.  Now if it was 50' x 80', with a separate 30' x 40' wood storage area, then I might have enough room.  After all, I have about 10,000 board feet of cherry, maple, oak, and cedar stickered and drying in my shop also.  But I do have paths made


----------



## wdcav1952 (Jan 19, 2008)

> _Originally posted by ed4copies_
> 
> As a matter of "risk control" you are not allowed in my shop.  I know when I need to step over the blank that flew off the lathe last month, and I WILL get around to picking it up, Meanwhile, if YOU step on it, you will ruin it.
> 
> ...



So Dawn has taken up turning pens??????? [}]


----------



## Phillip (Jan 19, 2008)

Sad but true....I came home from work one Saturday evening to find my shop as neat as a hospital room. My wife and 8 year old daughter cleaned it for me. It took me about a week to find everything because everything was stored in it it's proper location. I did however lose out on a lot of drops and cut-offs because they thought they were trash/scrap. Now I keep my shop clean to ensure the cleaning crew will not return. Gotta love the girls.


----------



## ed4copies (Jan 19, 2008)

Cav,

I have not yet told Dawn how to UNBURY the lathe.  

You keep forgetting, SHE does GLASS - PROFITABLY.  (In the "humans" part of the house where there's sunlight and bathrooms and COFFEE!!!!!)


----------



## Firefyter-emt (Jan 19, 2008)

Well, it's not quite to the point of having the tools outlined on the lathe, but I can tell if something has been moved within seconds of entering the shop if that tells you anything!


----------



## IPD_Mrs (Jan 19, 2008)

> _Originally posted by palmermethod_
> 
> Last night I was using my drillpress and changed bits. After I drilled that hole someone stole my chuck key. Right in front of my eyes. I can't believe it.
> 
> ...


Please .. do tell how are we wives????? 
Besides if you weren't strip searching you-know-who and torturing her with strawberry jam in the shop it might not be so hard to find that part you just drilled. 




[:X] Mrs.


----------



## IPD_Mrs (Jan 19, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Phillip_
> 
> Sad but true....I came home from work one Saturday evening to find my shop as neat as a hospital room. My wife and 8 year old daughter cleaned it for me. It took me about a week to find everything because everything was stored in it it's proper location. I did however lose out on a lot of drops and cut-offs because they thought they were trash/scrap. Now I keep my shop clean to ensure the cleaning crew will not return. Gotta love the girls.



I think the first time I did that in our shop the Mr. earned himself an entire cabinet(overhead) 2 or so empty drawers, one cabinet bottom, almost all of the bottom of his tool chest roll around.. LOTS of new storage would be the point here.  He didn't find anything missing he didn't want missing (he was there working at the time and I was tired of not being included.)  He didn't learn so much about keeping it neat _all_ the time - but he did learn that I don't mind being in the shop and now I am more involved and we get to spend more time together! 



[:X] Mrs.


----------



## OKLAHOMAN (Jan 19, 2008)

An organized shop....did I miss something.....whats an organized shop? The reason I have 2 lathes is that if I look hard enough I can usually find one of them but as to my bits I'm proud to say that thay are ALL in the same box............... somewhere.


----------



## Gary Max (Jan 19, 2008)

Heck I had to reread the first 2 lines twice(ok three times). I could hire someone to follow me around and keep things organized?????????


----------



## leehljp (Jan 19, 2008)

Mine: fairly well organized but gets messy quick; clean up and organize every two or three months. Currently it is messy. 

My *eyes* are *trained* to *watch* things that fall to see what they roll under! I don't even have to tell them that if they don't follow the path of the falling object, they will likely be searching for several minutes in a dusty environment, they will take all the blame for what the hands dropped, and will also get bombarded with severe complaints from the knees and sinuses alike! That is why they water over so quick!


----------



## TBone (Jan 19, 2008)

Everything in it's place????  Are you kidding?  I tried that, but I keep buying "stuff" and ran out of "places" looooonnnng ago.  Besides my shop shares space with everything that doesn't come into the house, yard tools, hunting gear, freezer, etc.  Someone in the house thinks that if it makes it inside the garage, it's my problem.


----------



## CaptG (Jan 19, 2008)

Chaos, utter and total.  Best described as a 30 by 48 maze.  Life line recomended for those entering for the first few times.[:I]


----------



## stevers (Jan 19, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Firefyter-emt_
> 
> Well, it's not quite to the point of having the tools outlined on the lathe, but I can tell if something has been moved within seconds of entering the shop if that tells you anything!



That is putting it mildly for me Lee. Every tool and piece of equipment is kept in it's place. When I'm done with it, it goes back where it belongs. When any major project is completed, the shop is cleaned and vacuumed. Before I start sanding a pen, the lathe is vacuumed off. Before I start a finish, the lathe is vacuumed off. If someone moves something in my shop, I know it. Only one other person is allowed in my shop. My wife. And she rarely goes in it. It is "my place", "my man cave". And thats how I like it. Just how I am.


----------



## clewless (Jan 19, 2008)

Look, I put my Forstner bit extension "away" in a safe place so I can find it when I need it. Now I need it.

I found the allen wrench in the box with the bit set (of course no room for the extension in the box).

But now I can't remember where I put the extension...........grrrrrrrrr

Two days after I buy a new one, of course I'll trip over the old one....... 

Joe


----------



## RonSchmitt (Jan 19, 2008)

Find my tools? Heck, it takes me 20 minutes to find my SHOP!!!


----------



## leehljp (Jan 19, 2008)

> _Originally posted by stevers_
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I difference to Steve but in line with Lee, Mine is often a mess, but I can tell if ANYTHING in my mess has been moved . .  and do it within seconds. My mess is my creativity. I KNOW what it looks like!


----------



## GaryMGg (Jan 19, 2008)

I hope to have the shop clean enough for the folks who'll be visiting come Feb. 23rd.


----------



## gmcnut (Jan 19, 2008)

It looks like I'm part of what is the majority group at the moment. "I can find what I need, but you probably couldn't." I do enjoy the cleaning and organizing. Just not as much as I enjoy the cutting, drilling, gluing, turning. Someday I hope to be in the "A labeled place for everything and everything in its place." category. But there isn't enough places or labels.


----------



## jwoodwright (Jan 19, 2008)

I just wish I had more space...


----------



## Daniel (Jan 20, 2008)

I moved into my shop about a year ago. Most of it is stil in boxes, just not the same box it came in. I have been shuffling things from box to box looking for whatever I need all this time.I do have my wood lathe, drill press, and metal lathe stuff out where I can get it. but it is slowly getting buried under things like the peppermill drawings, parts for that jig I wanna make. Sort of like watching an avalanche in very slow motion.


----------



## toolcrazy (Jan 20, 2008)

Your are supposed to organize your shop? [:0][:0]

Hummmm, new concept. Gonna have to think this over.

This is supposed to help me find things?

Now where did I put that list of things to do in the shop..........


----------



## its_virgil (Jan 20, 2008)

Organization in my shop: Nonexistent! I spend way too much time looking for a tool I just used 10 minutes ago. How can it be under so much other stuff? 
do a good turn daily!
Don


----------



## pssherman (Jan 20, 2008)

Organized and shop in the same sentence? Isn't that illegal?

Paul in AR


----------



## Rifleman1776 (Jan 21, 2008)

Actually, I'm pretty well organized. But 'neat' would never describe my shop. It is used and looks it. My workbench does have a lot o clutter. I'm suspicious of shops that look to neat and sparkly clean. Showplaces, not work shops, IMHO.


----------



## polarbear1 (Jan 22, 2008)

I go out to clean the shop, then I see a nice piece of wood, and I see my lathe sitting there not doing anything, and I think: As soon as I clean this up it's gonna get messy again, So I skip the cleaning step and make a bowl or a pen, or a lidded box, or something.


----------



## alamocdc (Jan 22, 2008)

My desire is to have a nicely organized shop and I've taken steps several times to get it that way. It's just that something always comes up that keeps me from finishing the job... You know, silly little things like remodelling the house, orders for pens, bowls, cutting boards, and other wood working, etc. I just never ends, so my shop is probably worse than Ed's. In fact I issue a disclaimer to any and all who wish to visit me in my shop... "Enter at your own risk... and do be careful when stepping over the bowl blanks on the floor."


----------



## Gentleben (Jan 22, 2008)

I would have nice clean shop (studio - I'm told if it has air conditioning it is a studio.  On the gulf coast of Texas it is a almost a necessity) but my wife has her lathe there also and her idea of a neat place to work is to lay down what ever she is working with where she finishes with it So much for a tidy shop.  I have been telling about it for forty years and it doesn't do any good so I just clean up and bite my tongue these days


----------



## R2 (Jan 25, 2008)

The word chaotic - for some strange reason - comes to mind.[}]


----------



## TellicoTurning (Jan 25, 2008)

I need a button for organized chaos..


----------



## guts (Jan 25, 2008)

I know exactly where everything is in my shop,wood, tools,drill bits I mean everything(this is the liars club thingy right ?)


----------



## byounghusband (Jan 31, 2008)

> A place for nearly everything, and it's usually there.



Everything's place *is</u>* in the shop, right.....  I guess I can pick that one.....

No, I clean, I mess it up in one project, I clean, I mess.....  But I do know pretty much where everything is and can find it uder whatever I put on top of it....

My wife offered to clean up the garage.[8] I told her I loved her TOO much to let her do that!!!!  [:I]


----------



## GBusardo (Jan 31, 2008)

> _Originally posted by maxwell_smart007_
> 
> Next year, we should have a 'messiest shop' contest!  I know that I'd finally win a prize if that were the case!
> 
> Andrew




Nope sorry, I would win that one.................  
My orginizing skills amount to,  "I have two of these so I could always find one"


----------



## ldb2000 (Feb 4, 2008)

I have a system that works for me " A pile for everything and everything in it's pile "


----------

