Poll: Arbor Nuts, Spacers, & Washers...

[Jim Frye]

I was setting up the saw today with the dado set and I wondered how many times I've dropped one of the parts down inside the saw. So, how many have you fumbled while disassembling or assembling something on the arbor?

[dbhost]

I have big old hands and have issues manipulating items n the arbor hole. So any time I pull that arbor nut I keep my magnetic pickup tool right there with me...

[leehljp]

Beginning in the '90's, I started becoming very aware of my affinity for dropping things like that because I did that often. I became OC about it and started focusing on that one issue/job. I am that way about small pieces on the saw or ripping thin pieces or cutting delicate pieces. Anyone watching me would say that I am obsessed with the one object. I go into that mode now when working in tight spots, including the saw. Very focused, very obsessed with one purpose at a time.

I was working on my push lawn mower on Saturday getting it ready for spring. It has a fuel bowl for catching water. It is behind the air intake and hard to see the nut. After taking the bowl off to check it, I worked for about 5 minutes to get my hands into the ideal position to be able to get the nut back on. It is one of those that you can turn and turn and turn and it still doesn't go on easily. Once in the right position, it went on fine. I'm obsessed in my old age. One part, one piece at a time. My knees doesn't like me searching for parts anymore.

[capncarl]

I would have liked to seen who has spare arbor nuts and washers.

Now if you had polled about dropping a part and never being able to find it the numbers would be much higher. Recently I dropped one of my AM prescriptions in our bath room and couldn’t find it right away, I took out the rug, laid down a sheet and shook the rug out, it wasn’t there. All of the base molding is caulked so there is absolutely nothing it could roll under I guess it just vanished. There is no way to count the number of nuts, bolts and washers that I have lost reassembling something. That is the reason I keep plenty of spares.

[twistsol]

Dust collection on my Ridgid R4512 is basically a funnel below the blade. I have a quick disconnect on the elbow so I can easily get the arbor nut when I drop it. When I was teenager I froze my hands one winter and have very little feeling in them. Before that I was already one of the clumsiest people around so there is really no hope for me. It is almost a cause for celebration if I manage to change a blade without dropping something.

[LCHIEN]

There's a magnetic retriever in my basket of odd tools next to the saw and router, just in case.

And I attribute my rare dropping of them to the fact I have a spare set. Murphy, you know.

[duramen]

I have often wondered why so many designers fail to conceive how people will actually use the products they design. Sometimes I wonder if the designers have any experience working in a given field when they design tools and other devices for that field.

The tight space for handling arbor nuts on table saws is but one example. The tight space to adjust a lower guide block on my bandsaw is another similar example. Many woodworkers that I know have large hands with large, thick fingers. If I have problems with my average hands, how much more challenging is it for them?

Why are there plastic knobs on my spouse's 1 inch belt/disc sander for most adjustments and parts removal, but you must get out a screwdriver and unscrew three small screws to change sanding belts?

It isn't only tools. Many electronic devices are designed by young people who never stop to think about how those designs affect older people.

Good design isn't easy, and it takes a rare kind of person to do it well. It also takes an understanding of how an investment in quality design pays dividends in the long run, which is rarer still.

[dbhost]

If you'd like to see poor design in action, try repairing your own automobile. They are NOT designed to actually be repaired...

[Jim Frye]

My one Grandson had a Chrysler mid size sedan that had the battery mounted in the front wheel well and accessed by removing the tire/wheel. I had a '97 Civic that required the hands of a small child to get to the headlight bulbs. However, the engineers of the '13 Civic & '17 Fit we have designed the engines so the oil filter and drain plug are literally right next to each other at the very bottom of the motors. I would kiss their slide rules for that effort, if engineers still used them.

[leehljp]

There's a magnetic retriever in my basket of odd tools next to the saw and router, just in case.

I have 7 or 8 magnetic bars from HF. With so many around, I hardly have to use them!

Good design isn't easy, and it takes a rare kind of person to do it well. It also takes an understanding of how an investment in quality design pays dividends in the long run, which is rarer still.

Woody Guthrie said something along these lines: "Anybody can make something complicated, it takes a genius to make it simple."
Steve Jobs quoted that a few times.