Is It Just Me?

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jttheclockman

jttheclockman

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
19,784
Location
NJ, USA.
I have been in the shop for a couple weeks now and started working on a couple jigs for some projects I want to try. Everything was going along smoothly and then out of the blue I decided to put this on hold and start organizing a few things. I guess I got tired of dropping my turning tools and looking for things and was getting frustrated. So now I find myself in the midst of going to Home Depot and buying some plywood and some other supplys. Bought some shelving stuff too. Also going on Amazon and buying tool racks of many kinds. Wound up buying a drill press table top that actually was something I wish I had done years ago. I always used a piece of plywood with double sided tape on top of table. I would clamp a fence and stop block and was good to go. But this thing has a sliding fence and sliding stop block and tracks for clamps. was not expensive and works like a charm. So now I am hanging a few shelves, hanging tools on racks and doing a little clean up. have to say I never done this before. At least not in the middle of working on projects anyway. It is weird but guess necessary for safety and sanity.

So my question is has this happened to anyone else? Or am I alone on this island? Hope to have this done by end of week so I can get back to task at hand. Help me understand this. Thanks for reading.
 
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All the time. Every project. I have not been out in the garage/shop for few months. Too cold. I have several pending projects (retired), but I have an overstuffed garage that will need a winters worth of cleanup and organizing.
 
I am constantly organizing. I don't like having to look for something. I've built lots of shelves and holders. Bought tons of plastic organizers and labeled them.
 
Hi John, I've got it too! - Yesterday I re-built a storage thing on my lathe so I could have a spot to put my tool rests and my pen turning mandrels when I have the lathe configured for something else. I am much more apt to use a more appropriate sized tool rest now that I don't have to pull out a box to retrieve it. I also built a new tool post height gauge as nearly all of my carbide tools use the same height to bring their cutters right to the center line. I made it from a 3/4" inch PVC pipe cap by drilling a hole through the cap part so that the tool rest fits down through it, fixing the rest at the desired height.

I also took off a Jerry-rigged and jury-rigged LED light support, then disassembled the gooseneck face shield on my lathe replacing the shield with the light, re-routed the wiring, tied it down, etc. etc.

I get a lot of satisfaction by completing projects like that.

Dave
 

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KenB259 said:
Just want to comment on a drill press table. My opinion is they are a must tor using a drill press in woodworking. I built my own, but that's not here nor there. You are going to love it.
Click to expand...
I love the thing already. Kicking myself for not getting one sooner or making a better quality one than the haphazard way I use to drill things. I was working on some of these jigs I was making and man that thing was so easy to dial in it was ridiculous. I had gotten plans from a guy years ago who I saw built an elaborate one that tilted the table and all but never got around to it like so many other projects in my mind. Can not even remember where those plans are any more. His was nice and that is what stood out but this is perfect for what I do.
 
Count me in on this one. I got super busy trying to get everything done by the holidays so keeping things organized and cleaned kind of took a back seat. I took a break and then came back to the shop to work on some stuff, but got totally aggravated over the mess I had left. So far, I have totally taken my lathe apart and cleaned the tailstock and bed rails fully, and did a long wanted but not gotten to project of a small worktable similar to Dave's. I have a Nova DVR with the outrigger - a feature I rarely use with my penmaking, so I repurposed it to a swinging tool holder! I've also ripped pretty much everything else in the shop apart and cleaned, but the table looks cooler than a clean shop!

I put wedged soundproofing foam in it allowing me to keep all my pen making drills, dies, taps, and collet chucks in an ordered way to follow my pen making process. I've used it once so far and it seems to be a big help.


Kevin
IMG_2878.jpg
 
egnald said:
Hi John, I've got it too! - Yesterday I re-built a storage thing on my lathe so I could have a spot to put my tool rests and my pen turning mandrels when I have the lathe configured for something else. I am much more apt to use a more appropriate sized tool rest now that I don't have to pull out a box to retrieve it. I also built a new tool post height gauge as nearly all of my carbide tools use the same height to bring their cutters right to the center line. I made it from a 3/4" inch PVC pipe cap by drilling a hole through the cap part so that the tool rest fits down through it, fixing the rest at the desired height.

I also took off a Jerry-rigged and jury-rigged LED light support, then disassembled the gooseneck face shield on my lathe replacing the shield with the light, re-routed the wiring, tied it down, etc. etc.

I get a lot of satisfaction by completing projects like that.

Dave
Click to expand...
yea Dave. Now you did it I was thinking the same thing about my tool rests. I too like to grab the right size so I can get head stock and tailstock as close as possible. I now have a shelf just for my chucks and man I bought alot of chucks over the years. But now the shelf is eye level so it is easier to see things. Simple little things like this. I just found the need to do this. But in the middle of projects is what was odd. Oh well I am committed now because everything is in disarray till I sort it out. Then back to the fun stuff. But you are right it is satisfying when tools and things are put away in a proper place. Wonder how long that will be for though.:)
 
egnald said:
Hi John, I've got it too! - Yesterday I re-built a storage thing on my lathe so I could have a spot to put my tool rests and my pen turning mandrels when I have the lathe configured for something else. I am much more apt to use a more appropriate sized tool rest now that I don't have to pull out a box to retrieve it. I also built a new tool post height gauge as nearly all of my carbide tools use the same height to bring their cutters right to the center line. I made it from a 3/4" inch PVC pipe cap by drilling a hole through the cap part so that the tool rest fits down through it, fixing the rest at the desired height.

I also took off a Jerry-rigged and jury-rigged LED light support, then disassembled the gooseneck face shield on my lathe replacing the shield with the light, re-routed the wiring, tied it down, etc. etc.

I get a lot of satisfaction by completing projects like that.

Dave
Click to expand...

That is a great little setup! I attached a pegboard to the back of the workbench i have my midi lathe on, but with my dust collection in the way, its often still hard to get to the stuff I need most. When I find the time, I may have to try and put together a little tray like that... Will probably have to figure out where I can put it, as it couldn't go behind my lathe (would further block access to the pegboard), but...maybe a shelf on top of the pegboard might work for more easy access.

Also, love the tip on the spacer. The 3/4" PVC tip....its amazing how simple some of the most useful advice often is. Its like Rex Krueger...a popular woodworker. That guy, has THE MOST practical advice I've ever come across. He makes woodworking simpler, CHEAPER and easier with just about every video he shares. This height gauge is totally "Rex-Level" advice! :D
 
lisa77581 said:
I am constantly organizing. I don't like having to look for something. I've built lots of shelves and holders. Bought tons of plastic organizers and labeled them.
Click to expand...
My problem is that I could never organize my shop tools in a suitable way. MOST people work IN their shop. Me, I have 3 daughters in 3 surrounding states, and a few friends that I have to take my tools, saws, hammers, drills etc to the location. I HAD a good organization once, but then, being the good dad and friend, I started taking what I needed for one place, and then very few tools got back to where they were originally. Then I decided to have a dozen different tool boxes or bags and sort my tools that way. That didn't work very long because I needed a different mixture of tools everywhere I went! It is hopeless for me. 🥴 😁 But I enjoy helping everyone!
 
Totally. I started organizing my blanks by type of wood and color and found my drills and chargers were in the way. So bought one of those charging stations to hang on the wall. While I was at Home Depot I saw a sweet workbench I figured I needed, along with another Gladiator hanging wall cabinet. Well, I guess the epoxy I used to glue in some tubes will definitely be ready by the time I'm done.
 
Tanner said:
Totally. I started organizing my blanks by type of wood and color and found my drills and chargers were in the way. So bought one of those charging stations to hang on the wall. While I was at Home Depot I saw a sweet workbench I figured I needed, along with another Gladiator hanging wall cabinet. Well, I guess the epoxy I used to glue in some tubes will definitely be ready by the time I'm done.
Click to expand...
Boy I am so glad to read these. I am not alone on this island. Go into Home Depot for one thing and come out with more projects worth. As I said I had no intention to do any of this but it just hit me and here I am. I know I have some large tools I want to sell off this summer so will pull them and put on the side. Was telling my brother I have to go through all the small stuff some day to start whittling this stuff down. I may have some things to sell here soon too.
 
My wife calls that the "Squirrel Sydrome" ...like my dog happily chewing on a bone, that sees a squirrel and chases it, forgetting what she was doing before that! I am a huge offender of going after many other things, while still getting what I originally came in for. I was hoping some day we could have a support group.....(secretly telling each other about the cool stuff you just bought....but with cookies at the meeting.)
 
You are definitely not alone. When it comes to organization, I frequently come back to one of my favorite Albert Einstein quotations...

1740013816542.png


A while ago (we won't talk about how long ago), I picked up this vintage beauty, thinking it would be perfect to store my materials (blanks). After finally figuring out and shuffling things around to get it in the perfect spot, I am now throughly in the paralysis of analysis of how exactly to organize my materials in the drawers. Do I put my 8"+ Alumilite and Ebonite blanks by vendor/artist and the wood alphabetically? What about the hybrids? What about exceptional pieces of wood, keep them separate? At some point, I just need to start moving them into it.... :eek:

8F0C1608-02DD-4478-B808-64D65441D00C_4_5005_c.jpeg
 
jttheclockman said:
I have been in the shop for a couple weeks now and started working on a couple jigs for some projects I want to try. Everything was going along smoothly and then out of the blue I decided to put this on hold and start organizing a few things. I guess I got tired of dropping my turning tools and looking for things and was getting frustrated. So now I find myself in the midst of going to Home Depot and buying some plywood and some other supplys. Bought some shelving stuff too. Also going on Amazon and buying tool racks of many kinds. Wound up buying a drill press table top that actually was something I wish I had done years ago. I always used a piece of plywood with double sided tape on top of table. I would clamp a fence and stop block and was good to go. But this thing has a sliding fence and sliding stop block and tracks for clamps. was not expensive and works like a charm. So now I am hanging a few shelves, hanging tools on racks and doing a little clean up. have to say I never done this before. At least not in the middle of working on projects anyway. It is weird but guess necessary for safety and sanity.

So my question is has this happened to anyone else? Or am I alone on this island? Hope to have this done by end of week so I can get back to task at hand. Help me understand this. Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...
Down with cleaning up, organizing and getting things squared away. I'll never find anything.
 
I must be the odd man out. I hate going to the store. So much that before going to town, I look up the aisle/bay/bin that the items are located. When I get to the store, go directly to the locations, get the stuff and get out. If the items are not where they are supposed to be, they get dropped off the list since finding an employee to help is sometimes impossible.

On the extremely rare occasion when I must go to Lowe's, I hope to not need help. The last time, the Lowe's employee did not speak English but luckily enough there was a nearby customer heard and acted as translator. I have since heard that Google Translator is relatively accurate.
 
I hate shopping too and only go in stores where I need specific things. But I will walk the isles in Home Depot and Lowes and look for yellow tag sales. Sometimes they have blow out sales. Last year my brother found one Homer selling Murry lawn mowers for $100 brand new. He bought 5 and sold them on market place and made some $$ Sold them under asking price but over what he paid. Many examples of this can be found but need to be right place right time most of the time.
 
No JT you're perfectly " normal" , and highly skilled IMHO. Trouble I find is the "oh that'll make things so much easier syndrome".

I have a filing cabinet full ( now) of tools that I know where they are! Had to make a rolling frame for it so I could get to the tool and cutter grinder . I find the clutter keeps me slimmer as otherwise I can't actually get to the workbench! That's what I tell SWMBO and I'm sticking to it.

Moke Count me in for that club but can we have coffee as well please ?
 
howsitwork said:
No JT you're perfectly " normal" , and highly skilled IMHO. Trouble I find is the "oh that'll make things so much easier syndrome".

I have a filing cabinet full ( now) of tools that I know where they are! Had to make a rolling frame for it so I could get to the tool and cutter grinder . I find the clutter keeps me slimmer as otherwise I can't actually get to the workbench! That's what I tell SWMBO and I'm sticking to it.

Moke Count me in for that club but can we have coffee as well please ?
Click to expand...
But that is what started this whole thing. I could not get by the tablesaw to get to the lathe without knocking the turning tools off the bench and then when I bent down to pick them up I hit my head on the gate of one of my dust collector openings. It was not pretty. So right there I said enough of this. I am fairly close now to getting things back to working stage. Have to say I now have 3 more shelves I did not have before. That will be nice. So much better than what it was till next time any way. I am just so glad reading that others have been down this path. Maybe hope for all of us then.
 
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