# What the heck is this,ohhh thats were that was,oh no I just bought one these...



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Hello Friends

From my title you might guess what's going on ? Yep I'm cleaning my shop trying to vacuum up loose saw dust and putting things back were they belong(???),after a extended time period working on my last job. It's a much bigger job than it should be because I really didn't focus on dust collection as much as I should have (not smart health wise) but I felt I needed to keep focus on the job since my customer needed the his project for an upcoming event. So as the title says I found things I'd been looking for and things I didn't know I had (66 year old brain) and things I just bought for 
this job. OH YESSS I'm telling myself I don't really use this items so maybe I should sell some of those things ,just like I did last time I did a somewhat of a thorough cleaning of the shop (2001 I think  ,but I still have them,it's that little voice that says "maybe you'll need that".

I'm guessing there might be just one or two of you out there that hear that same voice ?

Oh well back to the dust bowl


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## dawsonbob (Aug 5, 2013)

Oh, yes, I know that voice. I think I still have things from the 50's that I just know I'm going to need "someday."


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

whewww I thought I was alone ha ha


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## dawsonbob (Aug 5, 2013)

You are not alone, Jim. My former girlfriend was convinced it was a sickness until she needed something I had in a pile of stuff. Okay, she still thought it was a sickness, but she was happy I was able to help.

Sickness? I think not. Compulsive cleaners now…


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

My shop is a death trap and I guess I have a death wish.


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## dawsonbob (Aug 5, 2013)

"My shop is a death trap and I guess I have a death wish."

No one could have said it better.


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## shawnmasterson (Jan 24, 2013)

I purge every 6 months. I go usually get fed up and start throwing things out in the driveway. My wife knows to steer clear. Usually in the spring, when I can open the door, and in the fall just before it gets cold. And yes I usually start looking for things I had the day after the trash goes out.


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## Sigung (Nov 20, 2013)

Jim, don't feel bad, I found this thing the other day that I bought for my Shopsmith when I first got it. I remember that I felt I just had to have it, now I can't remember what it's for…


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## Sanding2day (May 6, 2013)

"My shop is a death trap and I guess I have a death wish."

Awesome!!


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

One day my neighbor had company come in from out of state. When he got here his harmonic balancer was coming off the car crankshaft. It was like a 1970 something land barge. An Oldsmobile I think. He said I need a bolt like this where can we get on. I said wait right here and let me look in my shop. People shouldn't go into my shop without hazard insurance. I came back in about 3 minutes with the 1-5/16 inch diameter fine thread bolt he needed. He looked at it and said what kind of shop do you have. The neighbor kid that lived there was about 16. He said "Oh, you don't want to go there." Bottom line is I combined my shop with my Dad's shop when he had a stroke and had to move. I had things I didn't buy and some I will never use. I have only had one call for a bolt like that but I can't bring myself to throw out perfectly good hardware. Jim, you have a lot of company


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Great stories guys ,I'm feeling better already


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

My wife would tell you that I never keep anything.
The trash can is my best friend
I end up trowing away stuff that I later need and buy again.


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## distrbd (Sep 14, 2011)

I don't clean my shop regularly but sometimes it's a good thing specially when you find something new in it's original box and say to yourself"I don't remember buying this"!
Latest find: two packs of paint pyramids from LV.


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Find that is an issue too. Went down in the basement and found way too many quart cans of stain I forgaot I had . LOL!

My big thing is "Were the hell did I just put that thing!" Oh yeah Haven't installed my dust collection parts yet. Even with an overhead air filter going I discovered how mucjh dust my orbital sander can throw EVERYWHERE!

Ironic as I pre planned this many years ago. LOL!

When the number of extras is over five, then I decide it's time to go! Except old extra construction 2 bys plywood and pine planks.


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## Racer2007 (Jan 13, 2011)

Sounds to me like Bert is the one around here that has a Problem. 

Jim I am with you and Grandpa , I had a new neighobor move in last week and they lost the bolts that hold thier bed frame together. Short story is another neighobor told them to check with me because I would have them if anyone would , and I did in a box of parts from several frames that had been left on the curb that I took what I thought I might use from them. Living close to a College you get a lot stuff left on the curb when students move in and out.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

Grandpa, you and I are cut from the same cloth! I NEVER throw anything away if there's the SLIGHTEST chance that I might be able to use it someday! 

If I stumble across a screw, nut, bolt or washer I pick it up and put it in my pocket. Throw it in a pile and every few months I sort 'em into the drawers where I keep all my hardware. I haven't actually had to BUY any screws, nuts, bolts or washers in about 20 years.


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Hopdevel,

That 35% one IS ME! LOL!


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

I just cannot stand any kind of mess, intellectual, spiritual or physical.
There is one proper place for each thing, if you cannot find the place, do not keep the thing.


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## dawsonbob (Aug 5, 2013)

"I just cannot stand any kind of mess, intellectual, spiritual or physical.
There is one proper place for each thing, if you cannot find the place, do not keep the thing."

You have my sympathy, Bert. What kind of a life is that?

You could have the same fun as the rest of us rooting through piles of stuff to find tools, nuts, bolts, old peanut butter sandwiches, etc., if you'd only mend your ways. Life is a more exciting adventure that way.


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## kwolfe (Feb 12, 2014)

Hopdevil hit the nail on the head. Hand plane shavings didn't make it any easier.

My wife hates that I hang on to stuff. "Don't throw that shower curtain away, I might need to paint on it!". She never believed me until the other day. She needed some of the baseboard molding replaced because our one dog and scratched it up pretty good. I said "Oh!!! I just happen to have the stuff I removed from the bathroom when we redid it!". Should have seen the look on her face when I gave her the "I told you so" stare down.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

yeah Tom where the heck did I put that is why I have 10 measuring tapes and 7 caulk guns 

Bert I love to have things organized but the getting rid of it part doesn't always work out so I have one more thing to organize


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## changeoffocus (Dec 21, 2013)

Good series, I'm guilty of everything I read with the exception of Bert's discipline. 
I do have an excuse because for me it was hereditary.


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## docspencer (Jan 27, 2013)

As always, Jim's post is a good one.

From the replies it's clear I'm not the only other LJ who does this. It was just yesterday that I had to buy a large tape measure to replace the one that, I am sure, I will find the next time I clean up the shop. More generally, I currently own two channel locks, several pairs of ratchets of the same size, a dozen phillips head screw drivers of the same size and assorted drill driver bits. I'm not as old as Jim - I am a spry 62  - but my brain is definitely not what it used to be - or at least as I remember it used to me….


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## huff (May 28, 2009)

3 sure signs that you're getting old;

1. Memory lose…..............................I can't remember the other two!

Jim, I have about the same collection of tape measures and caulking guns, but my best collection is coping saws!

Never fails, go on an installation (knowing I'll be installing crown molding) and the one tool I will forget is a coping saw, so off to the nearest hardware store to buy another. I probably have the largest collection of coping saws known to man and yet I still won't get rid of one of them.


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## woodchuckerNJ (Dec 4, 2013)

I purge every once in a while… The draw back to that is, that I usually need it when I get rid of it.
And my brain (not as old as you but close) farts a lot… and sometimes I forget that I purged it… and I'll spend days looking for it. And then one day I'll go XXXX that's what I did with it.

But I don't have room to keep everything, so I do have to purge…


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Charles Neil saw this post and thought you would feel good about your shops if you saw what he's doing moving his shop.
Ok I'll stop whining now I'm glad I don't have his shop to move and organize.

http://www.cn-woodworking.com/moving-in-april-2014/


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

I am just reorganizing my machine shop with new stronger metal shelving to replace the warped plasic junk I bought when I started out LOL ,so I know how ,you feel JIm. Keep going old friend it is worth it in the end LOL Alistair


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Sounds like a big job Alistair you hang in there too buddy.


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## kdc68 (Mar 2, 2012)

*Hey perfect forum !.....*During a recent cleanup at home I found a box in storage with text books from college. While I was going through it reminiscing the good old days, I found all these veneer samples…..Thinking where, what, how…I remembered I attended the IWF (International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair) held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta Georgia back in 1988…...I was in college in '88 and I must have packed the veneer with the books after I graduated…..
The veneer from left to right is redwood burl, European walnut, and makore….Total of 45 pieces about 8"x 10"... All from Chester B. Stem in New Albany Indiana


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## woodchuckerNJ (Dec 4, 2013)

Nice find …. imagine if you threw the book out?

That figure on both sides is gorgeous…


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

JIM,

Saw that post by Charles, but we all have a right to whine, as long as we serve cheese! LOL!


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## kdc68 (Mar 2, 2012)

*woodchuckerNJ….*They survived 26 years in a cardboard box packed with a bunch of text books….I'm thrilled with this find !


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

My. Whine is having to clean the yard waste w/out my new lawn mower which proved to be expensive crap from day 1. It's in the shop. Cheddar anyone?


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## barringerfurniture (Sep 17, 2013)

This is the reason I have six caulking guns but no pencil. But it can be a good excuse to buy new pretty tools (Woops! lost my Starrett 6" combination square. Woops! lost my No.8 jointer. Woops! lost my table saw").


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## wreckingball (Mar 16, 2014)

HA HA…this thread should be good..;^}


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Some good things happen when cleaning KDC super find.

Tom Whine hmmm Wine hmmm I'll take the cheeze because that's where my humor comes from,cheesy 

Scott Now there's a very sneaky approach but good very good LOL


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## squaretree (Feb 5, 2014)

Im with you, Bert.


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

I'll misplace something, then I grumble and gripe for days. Well, it didn't just get up and walk away, my Mom use to say. Sure enough I grab a broom, start cleaning up and holy wazoo there it is!!! Yup, there's a lot to be said for doing a little clean up. I've saved myself a lot of money by sweeping up and not running out to replace things.


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

After years of saving scraps, I decided it was time to clean it out. I burned enough scraps to heat 3 homes for the winter. Of course then my little "incident" happened. Now, I am not finding tools, but I am remembering tools I had. Some I realize were useless to buy. The others will be replaced.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

I have a collection of sanding blocks for blocking cars out for paint. It isn't even my profession. It's just that I misplace them in that cavern that has never had a vehicle parked in it, between my last place and this one, in 26 years. They work on wood, too. I only have three coping saws, but that's because I used to volunteer for the BSA, and needed them for projects for the boys. I also borrowed three coping saws from a fellow leader to keep the boys going, but I returned them.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

One thing about cleaning up and surplussing old tools that you haven't used in years is that as soon as it's gone you'll need it.


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## kiefer (Feb 5, 2011)

This is a real eye opener of a blog .
I thought I had the most organized shop of all as I always put my stuff away and seldom throw stuff away because it all has a use eventually ,
The thing that bothers me about all this organizing and putting things where they belong is after a while ( 2min to a day ) I can't remember where I put it so I ask my wife if she knows because she knows everything !!!!!!!


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

LOL!


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

the great minds work form a clutter. Look at Einstein's office or Harry Pope's shop ;-)

I can find anything anytime in a clutter. AS soon as things are put away that are normally left where they were used last, they are lost until I stumble across them. Everything that is put in a safe place is too safe. May as well just throw it away.


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

squaretree, thank you , I now feel less lonely.
I hate to waste my time looking for my tools or anything else.


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

I must admit Jim, I can only picture your shop as perfectly neat and organized.


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## Hopdevil (Dec 13, 2009)

Interesting…. my earlier post in this thread was deleted. I apologize if my cartoon offended anyone - it described my life in the shop. I thought it was appropriate to the discussion - I guess someone else didn't. Oh well, moving on…

Now, where did I put that chisel?


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

Hopdevil, you could have say the same thing with different words.
Profanity is not necessary for good communication.
I did like your 'pie', I did not care for your vocabulary.
I have nothing to do with your post being removed.


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

Having a small shop makes it hard to lose and or forget things 

I also have a rule for my shop that seems to help too, if it isn't woodworking related then it doesn't belong in my shop and if so it's thrown out.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

I just bit the bullet and threw away a bunch of off cuts that I've been movin' around. WAIT! Their still in the trash can. I might need to rethink that action. 
Bill


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## woodsmithshop (Sep 10, 2008)

what's a trash can???


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## Silverhill (Nov 24, 2013)

Smitty--A trash can is a portable storage facility, unlike the floor, which is a fixed storage facility.


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## dawsonbob (Aug 5, 2013)

@Silverhill
"A trash can is a portable storage facility, unlike the floor, which is a fixed storage facility."

Oh, I like that. I like that a lot. It explains so many things I've been struggling with.


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## calisdad (Apr 8, 2014)

Sounds like we're living parallel lives.

I'm currently dusting, cleaning, vacuuming and organizing myself. One of the things I want to end up with is a dust collection system, on the cheap of course. The other is a wood storage system. Only having 400 sq ft every inch has maximized. If you come up with any *bright ideas* please share.

Regarding tossing stuff out- I've experienced a universal law, time and again, that if you throw something out you haven't seen in 2 years or more, you WILL need it within a month.

good luck-


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## woodchuckerNJ (Dec 4, 2013)

Monte, you burned down your house or shop?

Sorry , that sucks.


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## woodsmithshop (Sep 10, 2008)

I don't understand some of you guys, you actually throw things away? WOW, what a concept, I wonder what that's like, maybe I'll try it sometime, when I get a chance.


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## Mustang67 (Feb 22, 2014)

Oh, I definitely know that voice, but it usually looses to the other voice - my wife telling me to get rid of some stuff in the garage so we can park the cars there. She seems to think that's what it's for.


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## distrbd (Sep 14, 2011)

Smitty,you first start with the saw dust,if you use it for mulch instead of throwing it in the garbage ,you'll never graduate to off cuts.


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## woodsmithshop (Sep 10, 2008)

actually I was considering leaving all of the saw dust to the grandkids, I just hope that my kids don't fight over the off cuts.


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## LJackson (Jan 13, 2014)

I was working on my bench to hold my planer. I have three bits for the drill: one to bore a pilot hole, one for the counter sink, and a philips head for the screws. Now, I was wearing my tool belt, and placing these things in there as I changed them out. Somehow, I lost the philips head bit. Could not find it for the life of me. Fortunately I have another.

Maybe some day it'll show up.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

Ahhh, yes. That little voice is always talking to me. I'm going thru those same thoughts as I've been expanding my shop. The little guy on the other shoulder is gonna win over the hoarder this time around….....................yea, right, .... we'll see. LOL


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## OldWrangler (Jan 13, 2014)

So that's where the voices in my head are coming from. After 20-30 years, I was starting to worry. I guess a lot of us are old farts grew up in an era that things weren't made to fall apart and be replaced every several years. Our tools were a lot more reliable before they started coming from China. And in those days I couldn't afford new tools and had to make them last. I keep every old tool and only chuck the new ones that fall apart….generally repair parts cost more than a new tool.

I have found one truth in all of this. If a tool screws up and has to be slammed on the floor to teach it a lesson, that tool, even if it is just a hammer, will bounce to the least accessable corner behind other tools and damn, that tool is the very next thing I have to have to keep working. This and Murphy's Law are the guiding forces in my shop (and my life too).

Isn't it nice so many of us are in the same leaky boat. I don't feel so lonely any more.


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

I will agree that on occasion I can not find something that I know is there hiding in the shop. And sure you end up going out and buying one to finish the job. What really aggravates me is when I go out and buy what I need and a couple weeks later finding out that I already had one. So in conclusion, knowing you have it but can't find it is better than not remembering you had one to begin with.


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

I have decided I will no longer keep rusty screws with chewed up straight slots. Although you never know when you might need one.

I have a friend who goes to the hardware store for nails. He figures he needs 4 nails, but better get 6 in case he bends one or 2 (our hardware store does sell all kinds of fastenings in bulk).. IF he has any left at the end of the job he returns them (one or both) for a refund. And yet he is a worse pack rat than I am.


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## LeTurbo (Jan 22, 2014)

I could cry about some of the stuff I've got rid of in the past. Original Stanley dowel cutter. Original Stanley compass plane. Original ….. bwaaaa, sob, sniff, bwaaaa ….


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

Generally I keep EVERYTHING after several bad experiences where I had something for a few years and after finally disposing of it, found that I needed it and had to go and buy it new. Old tools are better than new tools. A tool that has survived 50+ years and is still usable speaks for itself. I have an old Makita 9.6V drill I bought new when they first hit the market and is still going strong. New cordless tools I own have quit after just a few years.


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## LJackson (Jan 13, 2014)

runswithscissors, your friend probably uses up about 500 nails worth of gas and wear-and-tear on his car going back and forth to return the unused nails. Unless he can just walk to the hardware store, then he's probably burning up 50 nails worth of calories walking back and forth. Either way, it's likely far more expensive to return the nails than to keep them, regardless of how he values his time.


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## PineChopper (May 21, 2012)

LOL, Jim,
I don't feel so alone now!


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