The Shop While Working - The Ugly Truth

[glenn bradley]

I have gotten more than one comment on how organized or clean my shop appears. I always get a smile out of that as you only get to see what is "on camera". Well, I ran a bit short of time today and so was leaving the shop without my usual 'end of day' pick up effort. As I turned to hit the lights, I saw this:

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Just felt I should share the facts ;).

[Jim Rimmer]

Still cleaner than mine - but I'm working on it. :D

[Gary Kvasnicka]

Compared to me you are neat freak.:D

[Rich Aldrich]

I don't see a mess by any means.

[Brian Effinger]

Still cleaner than mine - but I'm working on it. :D
Yeah, I'm with Jim on this one - waaayyyy cleaner than mine. :D

[Bruce Page]

That's a nightmare! :eek: Are you going to be able to sleep?

LOL! I always get the neat freak comments too. :rolleyes:

[Jack Wilson]

How organized and clean your shop appears! I will NOT post a picture of my shop, even when it's "clean"!

[Jaze Derr]

pfft, you can still see the floor. Not even remotely messy!
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4448890923_d627a29579_m.jpg

[John Coloccia]

When I pick up my shop, it's like a trip down memory lane. "Hey, what's all these brown shavings. Oh yeah, that's from that mahogany neck I made last month. Hey, what's all this white stuff? Oh, that's from scraping all that binding last week. ...Well shoot, I've been looking for that chisel for 2 weeks" etc etc.

[Dave MacArthur]

LOL, cleaner than not only my shop, but my baby's room too!

[Karl Card]

I dont see a problem, eheheh i wish my shop looked like that right now.. but yes I know what you mean, you creat certain standards and when those standards arent met then it is a mess..

[Philip Johnson]

Come over and mess my shop up....your mess is cleaner then my clean shop.

[Fred Perreault]

When i clean up my shop, which is not often enough.... I find all the tools and other stuff that had gone missing in the dirty interim. It is sorta' like Christmas... new tools again.

[Fred Belknap]

What mess, the only thing I see is the open drawer, I find they can be painful.

[Rob Holcomb]

I always pause and take a look at my shop before I clean it up. It gives me a nice feeling knowing I worked hard and accomplished my goals of the day. Then back to reality. Tired, hungry, aching back and feet, need to sit down but that broom and shop-vac call my name. And when I'm done, my tools smile at me and say thank you! :-)

[Mark Woodmark]

My workshop clean????.......Ha!!!

[Mitchell Andrus]

Just wondering....is that a spring clamp on the bandsaw blade? Watzit for?
.

[Greg Peterson]

You should see a doctor. That shop is not the sign of a healthy mind.

[Bruce Page]

Just wondering....is that a spring clamp on the bandsaw blade? Watzit for?
.

A reminder to tension the blade?

[Glen Butler]

Leaving a glue up in the clamps does not count as a mess.:) I want to see some sawdust on the floor.

[Peter Quinn]

Wow, looks like my shop if I were to clean for several days, oh, and build some storage units, and a proper bench, and sweep, and vacuum, and throw out all the junk. Oh heck, my shop doesn't look that good on its best day.

Funny thing is I help keep the shop at work in fine order, but I can't seem to transfer those skills to my own shop. You might write a book on organization Glen. And I might buy it, but would probably never read it as I wouldn't be able to find it in the mess that is my shop.

[glenn bradley]

Just wondering....is that a spring clamp on the bandsaw blade? Watzit for?
.

That tells me the tension is backed off. That 1970's Delta has some sort of fibrous plastic wheels. I don't use the smaller saw that much so I back it off. Since I don't use it that much, I need a reminder :rolleyes:.

[glenn bradley]

Maybe its because my office at work is a disaster. There is stuff on the floor in the same spot I set it down on the day I walked in about 5 years ago; seriously. In the shop I have a place for almost everything as a self-defense mechanism. I have a less than enjoyable time if I spend my shop time looking for something as opposed to walking over and picking it up.

I read some old timer's article once where he had set "the prime directive". This is the one law of his shop that will not bend; if you have to move something to get to something else, the prime directive had been violated. He didn't use his jointer as a lumber storage area, he didn't use his DP table as a coffee cup holder. If he couldn't walk up to his bench or a machine and start using it, the prime directive had been violated.

I don't come close to his standards but, I do like to use my tools, not look for them :).

Funny side story; I lost some white shelf brackets. I had a box of a dozen or so. I had mounted the standards in a location I had chosen but then couldn't fond the brackets to save my life. I searched off and on for almost a month before I found them. They were in a box, in plain sight, with 2" tall letters on the end that said "White Shelf Brackets". :eek:

Need I say more about why I need a place for everything :D:D:D

[Jim Kountz]

When I pick up my shop, it's like a trip down memory lane. "Hey, what's all these brown shavings. Oh yeah, that's from that mahogany neck I made last month. Hey, what's all this white stuff? Oh, that's from scraping all that binding last week. ...Well shoot, I've been looking for that chisel for 2 weeks" etc etc.


Now this I can relate to!! Very funny and familiar!!

[Terry Hatfield]

I have gotten more than one comment on how organized or clean my shop appears. I always get a smile out of that as you only get to see what is "on camera". Well, I ran a bit short of time today and so was leaving the shop without my usual 'end of day' pick up effort. As I turned to hit the lights, I saw this: Just felt I should share the facts ;).

I posted some really messy...messy to me anyhow...photos of my shop a few years ago. Didn't convince anybody that it actually was messy any more than yours are. :D It's not a bad thing to have a clean shop. Really.

t

[george wilson]

I have been ashamed to post pictures of my shop!! But,some of you guys have been encouraging. My trouble is,I just have TOO MUCH STUFF to get all put away,and I have NO more space to put up shelves,let alone make cabinets!

[David DeCristoforo]

Oh pluuueeese. That's all you got? If there was a "messiest shop" contest, you would not even make the first cut. Sorry....

[Chip Lindley]

It's all in your mind! There's no mess there Glenn...it's only in your mind! There is help for OCD ya know!