My Shop Must Be Haunted; Stuff Disappears

[rbattelle]

I'm always amazed at how you can misplace an item in the shop and then never find it. This happened to me today. I removed an o-ring from something... and that's when it disappeared. GONE. Thin air. Bermuda triangle. Spent over an hour searching for it. Tore into my work area (which is very small... maybe 25 sq. ft. ). Nothing. Never found it.



I hate stuff like that. I swear quantum mechanics comes into play in my work area.



-Ryan

 

[WDixon27]

try it with a couple other mechanics and a scatter brained boss that loves to screw with stuff

 

[Jeff H]

Then ya go and buy that part ya lost. Only to find it the next day. #@$%!

 

[Allnew2Me]

1 2

 

[rbattelle]

I've always said the absolute most frustrating thing when working on a project is spending 25% or more of your time just lookin' for crap you JUST had in your hand 1 minute ago. It doesn't seem to matter how organized and careful I am about things. Every job, every time, something gets lost and requires a lot of time to find. Usually things grow legs and wander off right when I'm laying under the truck with my arms and hands contorted so I can just barely get my fingers into position to use whatever tool I need to get at that far-away fastener... and then it's like "where the [expletive] did that go?".



If I had a nickel for every time I spent 10 minutes searching for a tool I just had that turned out to be under the creeper, I'd be rich. Now under the creeper is the 1st place I always look. My stuff realizes that, so now things never hide under there.



I'm 27 years old, so it's not "old age".

 

[WDixon27]

my favorite is go to your tool box for something and forget what you went there for "uhhhhhhh... ... whad i come here for... ... . dammit... . " and i am only 27

 

[bmoeller]

Oh good. I'm not the only one. I just turned 27.



Sometimes I have help, too. My tools walk off all the time by others. Usually comes back, but not always. I've had enough metric wrenches taken (fricken dirt bikes), that it was cheaper to buy a complete set than just replace the ones that were missing. Royal PITA. ^$##%* anyhow. I waste so much time looking for MY OWN tools.



OK, enough griping. But DANG! That is why I own Crapsman tools, and not upgraded to Snap-on, well that, and the upfront cost.

 

[Allnew2Me]

1 2

 

[kiwi bird]

Go figure!



I am still looking for a piece for my spring tester - it's 2 feet long and 2" in diameter and appears to made of invisible aluminum.



On the other hand while rebuilding a shock I had the adjuster come apart because I wasn't paying enough attention and the two detent ball bearings (about the size of mosquito testicles) went "ping" off in to the great beyond. 20 minutes crawling around the workshop with a 12" bar magnet and I found both of them!



The best place to hide something still appears to be right in front of me, that is if I can remember what it is I was looking for... .....

 

[MFalkinham]

In my shop I can never find a phillips screwdriver when I need one. I'll have about 100 flat blades handy, but the phillips ones always disappear. It drives me crazy.

I wish Sears would sell a "phillips only" screwdriver set!

 

[keimmmo]

My shop has a bad case of the "Bolt Gremlins". Every time I take something apart, the "Gremlins" come and steal all the good stuff and leave me with a few parts/bolts that won't fit ANYTHING!!!



Steve Keim

 

[sardoghauler]

I have a solution for shop gremlins. I don't have a shop and do all my work in the driveway. Eventually they freeze their nuts off, can't reproduce, and I am gremlin free. Actually, I buy old white sheets at garage sales and lay one down before I work. It has enough cushion to keep tiny doodads from bouncing when they hit and parts stand out against the white cloth. works like a charm.

 

[Turbo Thom]

Y'all just don't know how good you make this old man feel. I can go from one room to the other and stop and ask my self,"why did I come in here? And I don't have the answer, either... ... ... ... ... . I love it. I just love it.



It ain't just me. You younguns got it too.



Thanks for the memories



. . Preston... ... ... ... ... ... Age... ... ... ... ... ... 62... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

 

[Deerediesel]

The miss'n parts gremlins arent as bad in my shop, its the sticky handed smurfs that like 9\16, 1\2, 14mm, 11mm wrenchs. Never have these around when I need em, oh yea and vise grips too.



Dont feel bad about the walkin up to the tool box and forgetten what u were gonna get out of it, happens to me too, and I'm 25.



Shane

 

[E7mack96]

My shop gremlins keep taking the danged Mag-lights I have bought 3 of those 4 "d" cell jobs, and each time they disappear. the last one lasted 3 days. :{



The gremlins definately like 14 & 15 mm wrenches and 1/2 & 9/6 wrenches too.

 

[Todd T]

my shop is not haunted, it's infested! there are three of them two males and a female. all appear to be about 17-19mos apart ranging from I'd say 2-5yrs old.



HeEEEY, wait a minute those are my kids!



I just solved the problem though. i enclosed a section on the barn for the RV, its 44ft deep 15ft wide and has just enough room for all of my shop tools in the rear. plus there is a 14x14 room off that, i plan to put all my wood shop tools in. I can lock it down and not worrry about my stuff getting messed with again.



I can fit all my dirt dikes, tractors and ATV's in there so the keys dont run off anymore too. and no more doggy tumble weeds blowing around either. damn golden retriever, his hair is in everything i do.

 

[JRagland]

I just love it when I carry what ever ratchet I have in my hand INTO the garage and promptly set it down, walk right back out, get back under the truck, reach for THAT ratchet and cuss when it's not there, for the 50th time that day!



Do the same thing with the remote left in the kitchen!

Only 28 years old, what thread is this again?

 

[RT66DOC]

I just love it when I carry what ever ratchet I have in my hand INTO the garage and promptly set it down, walk right back out, get back under the truck, reach for THAT ratchet and cuss when it's not there, for the 50th time that day!



Do the same thing with the remote left in the kitchen!

Only 28 years old, what thread is this again?

Sounds like you need a girlfriend. :-laf

 

[nickleinonen]

i loose tools all the time, not so often at home, but at work more times than i want to know. i now am in the habbit of raiding the retiree's toolboxes when they are leaving and take the 9/16" & 3/4" sockets and all the screw drivers i can get fit into my toolbox [all the tools & tool boxes are property of the company, so it ain't stealing, just relocating]



i remember one job i did, i lost 3 9/16" sockets, a 3/4" shallow and a 3/4" swivel impact all under the engine of the loco i was working on. there was 4" of oil and water in the sump so i fished for a few minutes and gave up... all because the spring clip on the end of my impact gun is nfg. i got 2 new clips sitting in the toolbox now [as well as another impact gun snickered from a retiree ]

 

[WDixon27]

i had to bug the crap outta my snap on guy for my spare clips

i got 2 new clips sitting in the toolbox now [as well as another impact gun snickered from a retiree ]