Thread on WoodNet about putting tools away as you've used them, or not.

 

What's your take?   I tend to leave things out as long as I think I'm going to use it again, soon.   When I'm working on-site, I will put things back in my tool tote as I use.   I don't want to clutter the area or leave a tool behind.  In the shop, stuff goes away at the end of that operation or end of day.

 

In my shop, I've gotten away from peg boards for tools.   I got a mechanic's chest a few years ago and wished I had done it 35 years ago.   All the hand tools are sorted into drawers.

 

I'm not that anal about it, if you've ever seen the guy who runs FastCap and his videos, you know what I mean.   He has all his workers spend 30 minutes each morning to make a 2 minute improvement.   I think I calculated at the end of a year or so, you would save so much time, you would not need to work any more ;-)

kmealy, I am like you at home ,I usually put all the tools away at the end of a project,but sometimes on a long project every couple days I will put everything away. But on the job I always put my tools back in the box so they didn't get legs. Even that didn't keep them from walking off at times.

Herb

Edited October 30, 20169 yr by Dadio

Tools get put away when...

1. The project is completed or...

2. When there's so many that they get in the way or...

3. When I need one and can't find it among the clutter.

 

EOD clean up...

In the home "shop" tools seem to clutter...seems I often move from one fire-fighting mode to another and never get to putting everything completely back thinking I'll need this or that...

Like Gene, when clutter gets to excess or I can't find what I need...time to regroup.

 

Did the same thing a few years back Keith, invested in some Craftsman top & bottom boxes; most all hand, specialty tools not in their own cases go there. It helps a lot if one is disciplined enough to follow through. I dunno, maybe because I taught classes on Lean Manufacturing, Production Systems and 5S, the whole "a place for everything and everything in it's place" bled out of me. Not having a dedicated wood shop is a factor also...least that's my excuse.

 

One major exception is my mechanics tools...For ~18 years I made my living with them...they always were wiped off, put back in in place until the next day; end of job, inventory review to make sure nothing was left in, on, around a piece of machinery...same practice when making field service calls...I can count on 1 hand number of tools lost.

Put stuff away 

Sort of both - end of day or when the project is done. If I am going to need it again, I may leave it out until the clutter gets to be too much, then I put stuff away. I aslo use a tool chest rather than peg boards

1 hour ago, Stick486 said:

EOD clean up...

Is that end of day,or every other day?

Herb

End Of Day...

gets too cluttered PDD cleaning...

27 minutes ago, Stick486 said:

End Of Day...

gets too cluttered PDD cleaning...

Lost me again,PDD?

Periodically During the Day...

Tools get put away, not so with everything else.

I don't like to clean up.  Happens when I can't find something.

 

I wasn't born with a "clean" gene, and a look at my shop (if I had one at the moment) would confirm it. But I do try (emphasis on try) to put tools away at the end of the day. I don't feel too bad about it, there was once a thread on Woodnet about who has the messiest shop; I though I was a shoe-in. Boy, did they show me....I can't hold a candle to the mess some guys have.

33 minutes ago, Fred W. Hargis, Jr said:

there was once a thread on Woodnet about who has the messiest shop

got a link???

On 10/30/2016 at 9:00 PM, HandyDan said:

I don't like to clean up.  Happens when I can't find something.

 

 

Old doors make good workbenches.

Herb

23 hours ago, Stick486 said:

got a link???

No, those threads at the time disappeared after a year, so it went poof. That forum has since switched software and now they live, well, forever, I guess.

 

Majority wins, I guess...I tend to leave tools out while working on the project but I do clean them and lay them out again for next day's (or whenever) activities. 

 

Where I have a small problem is when tools are shared across simultaneous projects...then OCD takes over and it takes me a while to decide which pile to put the tool in 

 

...gonna have to start a "tool time-share" program...  teehee...

where ever they land is the is the best place for me to find them when I need them again.

begin project with clean work bench.  as tools are needed, they are taken from their storage place.  when done with that tool, back it goes.  it could be several days or weeks before that happens.  it's my shop, i'm not shooting for maximum efficiency, i'm shooting for my personal happiness.  you don't have to like it, and if you don't, you can leave.