Clean the bench?

[Bill DeShivs]

Should I?
Nah!

[ThatWeirdKnifeGuy]

But that knife you lost?

It's in there!

[zed6309]

Had to clean my work space the other day as was working with micarta so was a right mess

[rea1eye]

I use to have a boss that had a sign that said an organized desk is a sign of a sick mind.

Bob

[TripleF]

100% Agreed!! Mine looks the same....

[ThatWeirdKnifeGuy]

I guess. Since all the cool kids are doing it.
Mines mostly an antique writing desk i got for free next to an antique piano that came with the house and a rolling tool chest i found on the curb on bulky waste pick-up week. With rusty pokey stuff scattered about.

[bestgear]

Should I?
Nah!

Good call Bill!

Quick story: my grandfather Bill left home at 14 to work as an auto mechanic for a gangster who was smuggling Canadian whiskey across the border during prohibition. My grandfather had a knack for making anything perform well and he had a special gift with automobiles and hence could make them go faster than law enforcement. Fast forward 50 years, my grandfather owns 4 gas stations and an auto repair business and for the first time in 50 years, he decides to go to Florida for a month with my grandmother. During their absence, the auto repair business was shut down so my brother and I decided to "spruce the place up" as a surprise for my grandfather. We cleaned out the entire garage, scrubbed it from ceiling to floor, organized all of the contents and tools, and rebuilt his garage without discarding anything. When my grandfather returned from Florida, he graciously accepted the change but my brother and I knew it was the beginning of the end for my grandfather's vocation because he couldn't find anything. He walked away from the auto repair business about 6 months later and ran his Gulf and Sunoco stations until he was 84. The subject of sprucing up Grandpa's garage was never spoken about again.

[Colonel26]

Should I?
Nah!

Looks perfectly “organized” to me. I see no need to mess it up!

I tell folks that I have a piling system, not a filing system.

I use to have a boss that had a sign that said an organized desk is a sign of a sick mind.

Bob

I had a professor whose desk looked much the same as mine does now. He had a sign up tha said, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, then what does an empty desk mean?”

[glennbad]

If you can still SEE the bench top, you're good!

[treefarmer]

I use to have a boss that had a sign that said an organized desk is a sign of a sick mind.

Bob

Thanks for posting this, Bob.
Going to show this to my wife.
Treefarmer

[Reverand]

I finally cleaned up my workbench, but ONLY because I wanted to video some knife repairs, and I was embarrassed at how badly it looked.
Basically I just piled everything in a cardboard box.
I tend to organize projects in a geological order:
Older things on the bottom, and newer on the top.
Works for me!

[cody6268]

I have currently been cleaning my late grandfather's shop and basement workshop--mostly of messes I made over the years. The mess my Dad made in the farm shop was terrible--I actually threw out half a thirty-gallon bag full of pop bottles that had been thrown behind a toolbox.

My rule is that as long as I can see most of it, it's clean. But I've been using it in and out for several days straight during a big cleanup operation.

I've found that a bread or pop crate laid down is a good way to keep it clean while organizing, as I can just lift it off as needed.

Main basement workshop. Most of the "bench" space is former kitchen cabinets my Granddad made, and when those were changed out during a remodel, he put them in the basement.

Box contains the "little" stuff I use--a 1/4 and 3/8 socket set, my "good" whetstone, various small pliers, screwdrivers, and measuring stuff.

Desk. Came from the dye plant when it closed in the early '70s.

Need to have a buddy of mine (who is a machinist) see if he can fix the jaws of the old Columbian vise--one pad is ripped out, and the other is worn down past the screw heads.

The 1980s Buffalo is junk.

Wanted just the box week before last at a local flea market, but I was told I could have the box+contents for $30. The contents are all machinsts tools, including a lot of Starrett, taps, big drill bits, tooling, and other specialized stuff.

Used the thread gauge a few times already. New, it's 3x what I paid for the whole lot.

And I could've sworn I cleaned off my farm shop workbench last week...

[cody6268]

Had to clean my work space the other day as was working with micarta so was a right mess


IMG_2156.jpeg

I really like how you marked an outline to show that's exactly where each tool goes. Need to do that myself.

[ThatWeirdKnifeGuy]

I finally cleaned up my workbench, but ONLY because I wanted to video some knife repairs, and I was embarrassed at how badly it looked.
Basically I just piled everything in a cardboard box.
I tend to organize projects in a geological order:
Older things on the bottom, and newer on the top.
Works for me!

Geological order

[Rockingkj]

I set something down and have a hard time finding it again. Not real sure why.

[Bill DeShivs]

My bench "eats" stuff all the time!

[wlf]

Should I?
Nah!

Good call Bill!

Quick story: my grandfather Bill left home at 14 to work as an auto mechanic for a gangster who was smuggling Canadian whiskey across the border during prohibition. My grandfather had a knack for making anything perform well and he had a special gift with automobiles and hence could make them go faster than law enforcement. Fast forward 50 years, my grandfather owns 4 gas stations and an auto repair business and for the first time in 50 years, he decides to go to Florida for a month with my grandmother. During their absence, the auto repair business was shut down so my brother and I decided to "spruce the place up" as a surprise for my grandfather. We cleaned out the entire garage, scrubbed it from ceiling to floor, organized all of the contents and tools, and rebuilt his garage without discarding anything. When my grandfather returned from Florida, he graciously accepted the change but my brother and I knew it was the beginning of the end for my grandfather's vocation because he couldn't find anything. He walked away from the auto repair business about 6 months later and ran his Gulf and Sunoco stations until he was 84. The subject of sprucing up Grandpa's garage was never spoken about again.

Great story Tom.

My wife always asks me where things are, because when I put them away I always return them to where they were.
I remember where I put them that way , but it gets messed up when she moves them around.

[bestgear]

Great story

thanks Lyle - I learned so much from my maternal grandparents that I wouldn’t be who I am without their influence.