# GETTING READY TO GET GOING,IS ORGANIZING STOPPING PROGRESS OR HELPING?



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

HOW-D
As I posted on another thread I'm trying to complete two projects that have been sitting around for years that are 
90-95% complete, but being someone who likes a place for everything and everything in it's place it seems I'm always getting ready to get going ,Part of the problem is that I'm a tool nut and keep acquiring tools (I know lots of folks would like that problem)but that means I have to find a place for all that stuff and after awhile it's in the way until I find a place for those items, but even without that situation I still spend a large amount of time getting set up to do relatively simple operations on my projects that are not that hard to do. Am I alone in this organizing frenzy or are there others out there that take the same approach? Maybe I'm a neat freak but even after organizing it still looks like there are things that are in the way.
I know I will have volunteers to help me by taking tools off my hands, Thanks but no thanks. Remeber I'm a tool hoarder and hoarders never get rid of Stuff.

Not my shop but someday


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Hey Jim,

You usually have great advice for me when I ask a question and it's appreciated. What would you tell me? I used up wood that has sat around for up to 25 years and materials and built a lawn tractor /wood shed. It's built and my shop is still full of - - - -!

My wife had a good response when I said"How can you find anything in here (her office) and she said "Go take care of your own office." Mine is chaotic and partially clean now. Good LUCK!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Hi Tom

I guess I would tell you a quote from the movie "Moonstruck" where Cher says "SNAP OUT OF IT "

LOL

Send my bill to Cricket


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## papadan (Mar 6, 2009)

Jim, there is no cure or need for one! Time to knock out the west wall and build on, you can't get rid of anything or stop collecting more so you just have to grow with the times. If you can't expand your footprint, then look up to a 2nd floor.

Oh and thank you for unblocking me. LOL


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## RonAylor1760 (Aug 17, 2016)

Well … being a minimalist helps! I also try to keep things organized and cleaned up as I go. I try to keep no more than four or five tools on the bench at any given time. Major emphasis on try! I like to brush off the bench between operations and even stop to sweep up the shop every two or three operations … gives me time to think about what I'm doing next. If my shop looked like the one in the photo I would be pulling what hair I have left out by the roots!


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## papadan (Mar 6, 2009)

Start pulling Ron, that photo looks just like the top of my tablesaw. ;-)


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I use to look forward to the day when I finally
had all the tools on hand I needed. That day
more or less came, and in fact I went overboard
and bought some fairly exotic machines at 
auction. Now I'm out of space and don't have 
much room to put anything together in.


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## papadan (Mar 6, 2009)

Loren ^^^ #3


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Papadan
I already built to the maximum they would allow on my shop and we made a guest room over the shop.

Ron
Sometimes I really admire folks with minimalist shops and practices but obviously not most the time.

your table saw Dan ha ha

Yep it's very tight in my shop too Loren but I don't have the big boy machines you have and yes I've belong to the overboard club also.


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

Hi Jim. You are not alone. I look at it this way. Big shops or small shops, it doesn't matter. Organization is the key here. I have no room for any more power tools, doesn't mean I won't buy another one or upgrade to a bigger and better one. You can always find a way. Even hand tools are a problem sometimes.
Now this is where we get to what you're talking about. When building things we use many different power and hand tools in different areas of the shop. I go to use the table saw and have to move a couple things from top of it. OK next to the bandsaw. Roll it out, connect the collector hose move the miter gauge and maybe a jig or something 
to the top of the table saw. On to the workbench to sand or assemble and move a couple things off that to make room, and so on. It takes more time to set things up when things are laying in the way and have to be moved each time. I consider myself very organized but when you keep buying things for the shop it takes time to figure where to put them. So you are not alone but tools are a good thing.
Now if when working on something and not putting anything away, there are names for that (slob, lazy, etc.) LOL.
Good luck, eventually everything gets a place until the next purchase.


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## builtinbkyn (Oct 29, 2015)

Jim are you just looking for us to tell you it's OK? Well it is  Must be something about woodworkers and hoarding. I know of at least one other lol I can't even get myself to toss out scraps and cut-offs because "someday I can use it".

However one thing you can do for your prized tools if they need to be out and on display is make display storage a priority. Your system may not be as efficient as it can be and maybe there's room for a lot more or as kids would say moar? (I had to look that up) Then plan for expansion or make it so there's "room for extra stuff"  Make the shop a project, unless of course there's more pressing projects, but then you said this is in the way of project progress.

Hope you figure it out


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## SignWave (Feb 2, 2010)

I'm not naturally organized, but I constantly remind myself that everything needs a place to live, or else it will end up some place it doesn't belong (usually in the way). Not there yet, but working on it. Before I buy a new tool, I ask myself where it will live when being used, and when not being used. This has kept me from buying tools on more than one occasion.

Visual clutter doesn't but me, but actually having stuff in the way does. Having tools or materials on the outfeed of my table saw, slows down my table saw cuts, for example.

I also think of tools as solutions to problems, and try to avoid the looking at them from the opposite perspective. If there is an operation that I cannot currently perform, or one that is difficult to do well, then I will think about a new tool to do the job. When you look at tools first, it's easy to think of all the things you can do with them, but that leads to multiple tools to do the same job. The shop starts getting crowded and reduces rather than increases productivity.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Thanks for your input guys you make lots of good points.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

There is a point where the tools own you. Where you work for the tools, finding places for them, instead of putting them to work.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Wow Rick so true.


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## woodbutcherbynight (Oct 21, 2011)

I spent as much time organizing my shop to do work as I actually do work. Then have to remind myself to put things away since I spent time to organize it to begin with. It is a vicious circle. Projects here take time, first I only do projects for me or the wife, second I could care less how long it takes I enjoy the work, lastly I have a project book that is probably 3 lifetimes full of stuff to do I am in no hurry to complete the book.

LOL


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## 000 (Dec 9, 2015)

Organizing is by far helping. 
As you said in your opening, everything has a place. 
Just knowing where to go to get something is by far the greatest advantage of being organized.
While your working everything doesn't have to stay in it's place, but when your done it's nice to be able to put everything back where it goes so you can start over next job.
In your case it's just making the place for everything. 
All I can suggest is to make available space for the tools you use the most, and bury the rest in order of necessity.
Not easy for a tool hoarder…

EDIT: I have a lot of those metal 2' x 4' x 8' tall shelving racks. They hold a LOT of stuff.
Might be worth considering a couple in place of the wall space that only holds 1 layer of stuff.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

I agree with Rick, it's like the old adage you own the land or the land owns you. The same can be applied to tools as well. I found myself spending over a half hour the other day not getting done what I needed to measuring and drawing up a wall hanging belt sander cabinet. Routers are a constant challenge too as are clamps. I really don't need three Unisaws either, but at least I'm trying to sell one of them. You're in good hoarding company.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Hopefully I didn't imply that collecting is bad. Nothing wrong with collecting things as long as it makes you happy and doesn't negatively affect quality of life or relationships. If it weren't for collectors, a lot of good tools would have gone to the landfill. But tool collecting is not for me. Everything in it's place and a place for everything, everything to have a use and a use for everything. This spring I took almost everything but machinery out of my shop to organize it, a whole lot less stuff went back in. About my only indulgence is a 20's GP lathe which will someday finally get a display.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Very good input guys


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

My dad used to play gin rummy with a hardware store owner in LA back in the '50s. He beat the man mercilessly and was paid off with tools. All Porter Cable, from back when the cases were metal. We had a 1/2 sheet sander, belt sander, circular saw, router… it goes on and on. I learned to build things out of wood from him. He was self-taught before the days of youtube, yet everything he built was solid and lasted. He was my teacher starting at around age six - almost 60 years ago.

A couple of years ago I had to sell off an old house I had where those tools were located. It was hard to do, but I left them. I have far better tools today, and I'm too prone to drag baggage like that around for sentimental reasons. I still think about whether I made the right choice.

I lost dad in '84. He was only 68. Everything I build today, I look up and tell him it's for him. I think he'd be proud of the work I do.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

your post is for him too Rich.


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## papadan (Mar 6, 2009)

Here's an idea Jim, build a nice shed in the yard and just put an assembly table in it. Use all your shop for tools and use the shed for projects. ;-)


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

> your post is for him too Rich.
> 
> - a1Jim


Thanks, Jim. Here's an old advertising card from the hardware store:










I'm thankful for the opportunity to have learned from him.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I, too, am a tool junkie, just like a large percentage of our associates here. Decades in, and shop made jigs and such aside, I have gotten to the point the only thing I don't have and want is, a wide belt sander and as of not yet discovered small items.

Other people dump fortunes in vacations, vehicles and so on. My shop is my splurge. I justify it with that the tools in my shop gave me a living income, and build and build things we, likely, would not be inclined to spend money purchasing, because of the high cost.

With exception of a few items, everything I need to work is visible in its place in my shop. Places for things are categorized (e.g., sanding area with sanders, papers, rolls, disks, etc.). This organization before I start work make the actual work far more efficient and pleasurable.

Many of the tools only get used rarely. However, when they are used, they were sorely needed. Often, nothing else would have worked.

Often, I need to get away from something, so organizing my shop is one thing that lets the recesses of my mind figure out what needs to be figured out.


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## cathode (May 18, 2014)

I've been "working on getting my shop put together" for like … 8 months. I built it 8 months ago. Before that, I was "working on getting my shop put together" for about 4 years when I started a basement shop… 4 years and 8 months ago.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

I'm a big believer in continuous shop improvements and that includes organization. But I'm not a collector and now that I've settled into my new shop (took about 3 years) I'm rigorously selling off everything that isn't needed. My eBay account has over 50 listings and that's less than half the stuff I need to eliminate.

Basically, if I haven't used it more than once since I've moved into the shop, there's a good chance it's going to be sold. So far that includes my Altendorf slider, Kapex and Ronk phase converter so I'm willing to get rid of even good tools if I don't get enough use out of them to justify the space they consume.

I do appreciate the CNC routers and the laser since those two tools eliminate the need for many specialized machines. I'm selling the pattern bushing sets that were useful pre-CNC. I used to keep a shaper around for the rare piece of custom molding but I can do a short run on the CNC or order larger runs from my lumber supplier. Small moldings are easily done on the router table. The shaper is on eBay now. MDF patterns are largely a thing of the past and the few that I do make are usually tossed when the job is done.

Once I'm done with eliminating excess tools and move onto proper shelving and storage, the shop is going to look bare if I don't have projects in progress. The payoff is fantastic though. It usually takes 2 of us less than an hour to put everything in order, do a quick vacuuming and start a new project.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Papa 
I live on a very small lot and have no room for a shed what room I have outside the shop I store Contracting material and misl outdoor tools'

Rich your"Amazing View Card" makes a good point, life ie how you look at things. 

Thanks, Kelly glad to know I'm not the only one my shop investments are the only items I really splurge on buying.

JA
Very smart I have many items I planned on selling but probably not the good stuff, that will free up a lot of space if I could store wood elsewhere that would free up tons of space.
I have to admit I was tempted to try and find your 50 items online but that certainly would be counterproductive to trying to gain space.

others who suggested prioritizing the most accessible space to most used tools , I have done that in the past but see I've let lots of wall hangers creep into prime space so I'll have to correct that.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and suggestions


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Hi Jim. I can understand that. When you get a new tool you need to have a dedicated space for it so it is easily retrievable. it happens to me all the time. I either have a box or a rack to make to keep it handy and I like a visual shop where all the tools can be seen and found easily, but then the wall space is gone..it is go to pan B which means storage somewhere. I have forgotten about many I have stored and hope I can find them if they are ever needed. Or, I might buy them again!!

cheers, Jim


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I agree Jim keeping it visual is key so they can be found easily.


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