The Merits Of An Orderly Shop

[crokett]

We poke gentle fun at Rod and a few others who keep an orderly shop. (well ok so you could perform surgery in Rod's shop) Anyhoo...

I was at another blacksmith meeting yesterday. This one was at the home/shop of a guy who makes money at it. His shop was not that big, about 14x20, not counting the attached lean-too that houses the blasting cabinet and compressor. He had it crammed about as full as it could be, but it was all well-organized, enough so that 7 guys were working in there on 3 different projects without any trouble. I commented on it and he said that it took him 20 years to figure out it is a lot easier to work in an orderly shop than one where you are looking for stuff all the time.

So I started thinking about how much time and $ I waste looking for stuff when I am working on a project and/or because I don't have tools set up properly. I realized it is a lot. So... my next project is to find a place for everything and put everything in it's place.

[jonmulzer]

So... my next project is to find a place for everything and put everything in it's place.

That is the easy part! The difficulty lies in keeping it that way! You can put everything away easy enough. It is those times where we are working in our shop and we realize it is midnight and time to shower and hit the bed where you think, "eh, I will clean up tomorrow" and leave it in disarray. Then the next day you work until your SO reminds you that it is time to get ready to go to whatever social event is planned for that weekend. Then it is the week and work kicks your butt so you never make it back out there so nothing gets put away. Then life repeats.

At least in my experience.

[RodKirby]

In my defence, as an OCD sufferer , I do have an advantage - the cleanup thing for me is HABIT

LOML (really), is a slob - everything is left where she finishes with it Perhaps, knowing I will cleanup after her, she will NEVER get into the habit

[cabinetman]

Along with being able to find things, there is a definite safety factor in keeping a clean unobstructed floor, keeping the general debris out of the way, and maintaining cords. Tripping over something on the floor or getting a cord wrapped around your foot, is a great way to take a fall, or yank a tool off the bench.
.

[crokett]

That is the easy part! The difficulty lies in keeping it that way! You can put everything away easy enough.

Well... My problem is most stuff I don't have a place for. So things change places a lot and I lose them for a while. That is why I have 3 rubber mallets. Well, 2 rubber and a deadblow. For example, my CMS is in the shed because I got tired of moving it around the shop. It could sit on the shelf under my bench if I didn't store cutoffs there. They are there by default since I never bothered to build a cutoff bin. That's just one example, of many. Friday I have comp time coming so one of the things on my list is.... a cutoff bin.

I am under no illusions that I will keep it neat all the time, but once it is a bit more organized and I have places for things, it will be more fun to work in.

[gary]

LOML (really), is a slob - everything is left where she finishes with it Perhaps, knowing I will cleanup after her, she will NEVER get into the habit

I'm having "The Odd Couple" deja vu

[crokett]

In my defence, as an OCD sufferer , I do have an advantage - the cleanup thing for me is HABIT

LOML (really), is a slob - everything is left where she finishes with it Perhaps, knowing I will cleanup after her, she will NEVER get into the habit

I'm having "The Odd Couple" deja vu

I'm thinking that to somebody with OCD everybody is a slob. His wife is probably just as normal as the rest of us.

[jonmulzer]

Well... My problem is most stuff I don't have a place for. So things change places a lot and I lose them for a while. That is why I have 3 rubber mallets. Well, 2 rubber and a deadblow. For example, my CMS is in the shed because I got tired of moving it around the shop. It could sit on the shelf under my bench if I didn't store cutoffs there. They are there by default since I never bothered to build a cutoff bin. That's just one example, of many. Friday I have comp time coming so one of the things on my list is.... a cutoff bin.

I am under no illusions that I will keep it neat all the time, but once it is a bit more organized and I have places for things, it will be more fun to work in.

I now subscribe to the Tom Clark way of thinking. If you see a bit of dead space, put drawers there if it is below waist level or doors and shelves if it is above. That is what I am in the process of doing. Next on the agenda, after my fingers heal and I finish the drawers for my workbench, is to build a roll-about cabinet for my bandsaw. Dead space is really starting to bother me. You can never have too many drawers. Now that I have more space to put things away, they do get put away more. I certainly agree with that.

Having a ton of tools and 500lbs of drawers makes for lots of misplaced stuff.

[dbhost]

Oh, I am probably annoying all of you guys with my mental anguishing and rethinking my garage shop layout. But it is for just this very reason that I do this... If I wasn't concerned about it, I would simply shove everything into the garage, and find a way to make it work... And to be blunt, I am kind of organizationally challenged... It is very tough for me to keep things tidy...

[bmuir]

10 things

I don't know if it was here or not, but the bet tip on keeping the shop clear of clutter is this:

Every time you enter the shop, put ten things away and then you can start doing whatever it was you came into the shop to do. That is if you can remember what that was! LOL.

Bill

[wardprobst]

Having a regular place for tools and supplies is more efficient. It's counter intuitive but if you clean up at the end of every session, you actually save time in the long run- if you have a place for everything. I learned this building furniture in a custom shop 30 years ago.
It also cuts down on end of the day accidents.
DP

[dbhost]

I don't know if it was here or not, but the bet tip on keeping the shop clear of clutter is this:

Every time you enter the shop, put ten things away and then you can start doing whatever it was you came into the shop to do. That is if you can remember what that was! LOL.

Bill

Yeah, the big trick is, for some of us anyway, having that place for everything anyway... I am busting my tail trying to get that all squared away, not succeeding too quickly though. I AM making progress, but that is slow and painful progress at best...

[Thalermade]

Now, a twist to all this organizing for me, is that once things are put away, so is my memory of where it was put. So aside from having plexiglass doors and drawer fronts, the next step is to label the cabinet doors and drawers - with BIG, EASY TO READ LABELS.

Of course I will probably end up needing a sign to remind me to read the lablels..............


Russ

[pacwind3]

I am trying to mentally implement a new idea in my shop. A bit over a year ago I worked in an industrial furniture shop. We all had our own set of certain tools, but some tools the shop only had one of. Routers and pocket hole jigs for example. Obviously, when you were done with a tool, it needed to be put back so the next guy can use it. You'll piss off a coworker fast if they have to hunt the shop for a tool that's laying on your bench unused.
Of course, this plan means everything has a place to be "put back" to. I'm still working on that part. It's getting there.

[shoottx]

Now, a twist to all this organizing for me, is that once things are put away, so is my memory of where it was put. So aside from having plexiglass doors and drawer fronts, the next step is to label the cabinet doors and drawers - with BIG, EASY TO READ LABELS.

I have spent the last 30 years trying to get organized. Four moves, four different shop configurations, more time to collect tools, wood, miscellaneous goods (one man's junk) and a crazy work schedule has left shop organization the hunt for the holy grail.

Some of the problem is a good problem, like I have a stack of oak and walnut taking up a big chunk of floor space. This is a self liquidating problem, but in the mean time I have to organize around it. The other part of the problem is self induced, just not being able to toss a lot of good stuff.

Having time recently, and being able to spend a little extra time in the shop, I have been inspired by Rod’s shop. I am building a new router table, and a small cabinet for under the drill press. When those projects are done will build a new or modified stand for the BT3K with lots of drawers.

And as Russ stated all of the drawers are going to be labeled with easy to read signs. I don't know how many times I have had to go and buy something just to find my original, that was tucked away safely.

Thanks all for the inspiration.