# Lost part



## Krown Kustoms (Aug 19, 2009)

Im not sure if this fits in, but here goes.
I know that most people here are technical and organized especially with their current build.
A key thing im sure they do is keep up with their parts.
I made a spark plug .5 inch long .22 dia. (pretty small for me)
it took a while to build with milling the bottom then cutting and filing...
I lost it!!! :rant: I went upstairs for a minute, came down then the phone rang, answered it, then came back to it and couldnt remember where I layed it down. :wall:
I have looked for two days now and still no luck.
needless to say I have started a new one.


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## rake60 (Aug 19, 2009)

*Been there - Done that...*

When I built the Poppin I parted off the first brass bushing and set 
it on the corner of the lathe bench. I finished the second bushing 
and the first one was gone. After a short search effort I just made
a third bushing to replace the lost one. A few days later I did find 
the missing one. It was embedded in the sole of my shop shoe.
At least I did get two good ones.






Rick


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## zeeprogrammer (Aug 19, 2009)

Krown Kustoms  said:
			
		

> I lost it!!!I went upstairs for a minute, came down then the phone rang, answered it, then came back to it and couldnt remember where I layed it down.



Don't worry. Don't worry. It'll show up...right when you don't need it anymore.

It's inevitable...it's like hanging onto something for years...you finally throw it out...then you need it the next day.

By the way...it doesn't help to 'pretend' you don't need it anymore. It know.


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## CrewCab (Aug 19, 2009)

Yup ;D it'll turn up just as soon as you've finished the new one :

CC


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## Maryak (Aug 19, 2009)

It's when you lose the one that you made to replace the one you lost that things get a little out of hand.   

Ask me how I know :-[ :'( :-[ :'(

Best Regards
Bob


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## vlmarshall (Aug 19, 2009)

A week or two ago, at work, I was oven-blackening the third set of railroad wheels I'd made (as spares, indending on using them on rolling stock), and I dropped one out of the shop rag I had them bundled in.

I felt it hit the rubber mat under my feet, and heard it hit something metal. That was the last I've seen or heard from it. :-\
Now I have three spare wheels, fairly useless without a fouth.


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## mklotz (Aug 19, 2009)

Some tricks I use to avoid the lost tiny part syndrome...

I keep a small clear plastic box on my workbench. Tiny parts go into it immediately after manufacture and remain there until they can be fitted. This works well but you need to develop the discipline to *always* put the part in the box - even if you're going to need it ten minutes from now.

Tiny parts with a hole (e.g., a bushing) are fitted with a bit of bright-red chenille (ask at the craft store - chenille is like colored pipe cleaners on steroids) before going in the box. If dropped, the chenille keeps them from bouncing and makes their location very visible.

Dip the tips of the forceps you use to handle small parts in liquid electrical insulation to make them slightly "gummy". Parts won't want to go "sproing" when you pick them up.

Before assembling or disassembling a small mechanism I cover the benchtop with a well-washed, white baby blanket. It, like me, is utterly unresilient. Drop a tiny screw on it from a height of 18" and the screw won't move more than a quarter inch from where it impacts.


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## Kermit (Aug 19, 2009)

I've found it only gets worse with age.  :-[

Learn to laugh at it 'cause you are gonna do it again  ;D

Like Marv said- learning a 'system' will help prevent the inevitable. <--- Is that even possible? 


Kermit


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## Tin Falcon (Aug 19, 2009)

The metal munching shop gremlin has struck again : :
Tin :big:


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## tmuir (Aug 19, 2009)

Tin Falcon  said:
			
		

> The metal munching shop gremlin has struck again : :
> Tin :big:



I find if I just keep them fed on 6BA cheesehead screws they leave everything else alone. I just need to drop one of those every few weeks and they are happy.
Bugs the hell out of me when it happens though as I have to import them from the UK to Australia.
Thankfully I bought them in bulk.


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## black85vette (Aug 19, 2009)

My version of that is that when I drop something it will go into a hidey hole where it cannot be found. I was working on an engine and had the carb off. I dropped a small part of the linkage and watched in horror as it disappeared down the intake manifold and then heard it keep traveling all the way to the intake valve. I could not get a magnet down to it, so the manifold had to come off. Ever since then I have always plugged holes with paper towels or shop cloths. Until the one time I missed the exhaust pipe disconnected from the header and had a nut make two or three bounces before it dropped into the one available unplugged hole and then slid all the way back to the catalytic converter. Had to drop the pipes to get it back.

I seem to be spending more and more time in that state of "Where did I put that?"


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## Stan (Aug 20, 2009)

Since Marv has told us about his life's work, it is apparent that higher education has it's benefits. Who else among us has room on his workbench to spread a baby blanket? I don't have room to spread a shop rag. He has also found a fine technical use for the word 'sproing' ;D


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## mklotz (Aug 20, 2009)

Stan  said:
			
		

> Since Marv has told us about his life's work, it is apparent that higher education has it's benefits. Who else among us has room on his workbench to spread a baby blanket? I don't have room to spread a shop rag. He has also found a fine technical use for the word 'sproing' ;D



If you suffer from the "cluttered workbench surface" syndrome, you might want to think about some variant of what I've done.

I can't sit comfortably with my legs under the workbench due to a beam at the front of the bench. I built a small two-legged, folding table that attaches perpendicularly to the front of the bench with two quick-release pins. With it in place, I can sit comfortably at it to work and, when it's not in use, it folds flat and stores out of the way behind the mill.

Now the really nice thing about this table is that it sticks out far enough that it makes it impossible for my wife to park her car in the garage. [Yes, we still park two full size cars in Garaj Mahal.] This means that it's imperative, in the realest sense of the word, for me to remove the table when done using it. As a consequence, it's always available to provide a few square feet of uncluttered work surface when needed.

Bottom line: Motivating shop discipline with the SO's ire is a sure way to get yourself organized.


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## Krown Kustoms (Aug 20, 2009)

since the lost spark plug I have implemented a small plastic box between the lathe and mill and also came across a cabinet full of plastic slide out bins of all sizes.
Out of the 30 drawers ranging from 3in to 6in it took an hour to fill it up.
I too suffer from "cluttered workbench surface" I cant even spread out a red shop rag on the bench.
and yes the washer in the engine has happened to me as well, I wasn't so lucky I didn't know it was in there until I turned the key. :fan:
That one got bored .030 over and a new set of pistons. Thm:


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## Stan (Aug 20, 2009)

My shop is in the basement and I have a handicapped wife who can't go downstairs, so I just build more work tables which are soon as cluttered as the first one. Would you suggest a mistress in the basement to motivate me, or even better to keep the tables organized?


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## vlmarshall (Aug 20, 2009)

Stan  said:
			
		

> Would you suggest a mistress in the basement to motivate me, or even better to keep the tables organized?



My wife suggests that you also add an escape hatch in the basement. ;D


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## shred (Aug 21, 2009)

My current experiment is to reduce my bench space to as little as possible, thus having a reduced area to pile junk on and an easier time cleaning it when needed. so much of the junk on the bench really needs to be stored elsewhere... as soon as I get an elsewhere defined.

Dropping little parts is a constant pain though-- I have foam rubber mats on the floor as cushioning, but it can really launch little parts. You have to listen "hmm.. sounds like it hit the aluminum sheets, then dropped into the steel bin..."


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## Krown Kustoms (Aug 22, 2009)

I have been using a one month method for junk collection.
It is pretty effective.
If I havent used it in a month, am not going to use it next month or havent seen it in over a month and didnt need it when I found it it gets trashed.
Thad of course dosent apply to stock materials.
The only problem I have now is, I find a need for something I threw away last month.
-B-


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## black85vette (Aug 22, 2009)

Krown Kustoms  said:
			
		

> The only problem I have now is, I find a need for something I threw away last month.



My problem is that even when I use the "one year method" I still end up needing something I threw out last week! 

I have done better recently in the garage. I threw out 8 of the largest trash bags I could get all filled with stuff I no longer wanted to keep / store / hoard. Then I made 2 runs to the city dump with my pickup filled twice with larger "stuff".  I now have everything up on shelves in the garage and have some empty shelf space, something I have not had since I moved here!


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## Krown Kustoms (Aug 23, 2009)

I was at work today so I had plenty of free time, I drew up a new garage floor plan.
I have a 7' x 4' x 3' powdercoat oven in the middle of the garage on casters. every time I need the room I roll it out of the way, that is getting old so this plan includes removing even more inventory from the garage.
I hope somehow this will minimize the clutter. With more room I shouldn't loose as many parts and maybe find my spark plug I lost in the first place.
-B-


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## sparky961 (Aug 24, 2009)

The suggestions of reducing bench space are part of my own plan as well. It actually goes a bit farther than that even. Any horizontal surface is just begging to have stuff put on it.

If you happen to have a rolling tool cabinet with a bottom box and top box, there's a "handy" little shelf in the front if your top cabinet isn't as deep as the bottom. When you open the lowest drawer of the top cabinet, you often knock whatever is sitting there on the floor. The solution? Pull the top cabinet forward, in line with the other one. I still miss the handy space, but I don't miss cursing the parts as they fall on the floor, or jam under the drawer when I open/close it.

There's another simple thing that I'm still trying to master myself.... CLEAN UP! If there isn't a big mess with lots of things shoved against walls and into corners, it's a lot easier to find something you've dropped. If you're quick enough, you may even be able to follow the falling item with your eyes and trace it's approximate trajectory.

Also, I recently built a put my table saw onto a rolling platform with locking casters for my table saw. It took all of about 40 minutes, and WOW, what a difference for cleaning up and relocating in tight space for various tasks.

-Sparky


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## tmuir (Aug 24, 2009)

sparky961  said:
			
		

> There's another simple thing that I'm still trying to master myself.... CLEAN UP!
> -Sparky



I have a rule that I try t live by.
All tools must be packed up into their toolboxes / cupboards at the end of the night and the lathe or mill swept down and oiled if it was used.
As its winter still here and I have no heating / insulation in my workshop any tool that is left out and not oiled will rust so its a good incentive for me to pack up each night.
It also means I always have room to move in my workshop. ALthough I must admit I'm starting to run out of places to 'pack up' things into.
I even swept and vacuumed my workshop floor on Sunday.


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## Krown Kustoms (Aug 24, 2009)

I have no self discipline, I am doomed. 
A tool box or cabinet??? I have a tool pile and a cluster on every flat surface you can think of. 
My daughter is almost 3 months old, the things she isn't old enough for is in a corner in the garage still in the boxes, they are covered with RC helicopters and the tools for them. :wall: 
In front of that on the floor is all of my RC trucks and cars. :shrug:
I have too many hobbies, I am interested in everything. 
-B-


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## shred (Aug 24, 2009)

One tip that works for the habitual non-putter-away-ers like me was this rule of shop cleaning-- "Once you pick something up, it has to be put where it belongs, no setting it down somewhere else"


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## steamer (Aug 24, 2009)

Ahhh Shred...you speak wisdom....that method does work!...well when I follow it.... ;D

Dave


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## Krown Kustoms (Aug 24, 2009)

My problem is the putting away thing


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## zeeprogrammer (Aug 24, 2009)

Krown Kustoms  said:
			
		

> I have no self discipline, I am doomed.
> 
> I have too many hobbies, I am interested in everything.



Sounds like we have enough people qualified to join "the forum of the doomed".
Not too many hobbies...just too many toys.


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## rake60 (Aug 24, 2009)

shred  said:
			
		

> One tip that works for the habitual non-putter-away-ers like me was this rule of shop cleaning-- "Once you pick something up, it has to be put where it belongs, no setting it down somewhere else"



I agree *100%* shred!
I *ALWAYS* put things back where I got them.







Hummmmm. Last time I had that tool it was in the garage....
 scratch.gif

Rick


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## Krown Kustoms (Aug 24, 2009)

There...
Rake is as organized as me. I know where everything is laying.
If I put it where it belongs I will never find it.
-B-


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## tornitore45 (Sep 11, 2009)

There is mini black hole under my bench, parts fall in never to be found.
Mauro


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## vlmarshall (Sep 11, 2009)

tornitore45  said:
			
		

> There is mini black hole under my bench, parts fall in never to be found.
> Mauro



Feed it light, and it won't eat parts. ;D


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## black85vette (Sep 11, 2009)

I use the vertical method of finding things. I put everything in a pile and then when I need something I become somewhat like an archeologist: go to the strata associated with the time frame of the object. It is usually somewhere near there. Do a similar thing at work with piles of paper and folders.


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## Cedge (Sep 12, 2009)

I long ago realized that the day I unpacked my first lathe and mill, one of the boxes also held an inter-dimensional portal, something akin to a black hole but different. It not only effects dropped fasteners and tiny parts, it allows tools and any other part not secured in a machine chuck to disappear into some other time continuum or reality. All I know is that they certainly don't seem to exist in my current reality when I go in search of them. Then, just as suddenly as they were gone... there the item is right where it wasn't a moment ago. 

I've often wondered if I'm actually sharing my stuff with another "Me" in some other dimensional reality, or if some poor slob opened up his KFC box, over there, to find a carbide reamer hiding among his chunks of chicken. The reappearance of your small bushing in the sole of your shoe would tend to lend support to the KFC theory. I'm tending to lean to that theory if for no other reason than the other "Me" never seems to send back any of "His" tools... just my own. 

I'm at a loss to say where in the shop this portal is hiding, since it seems to move about and follow me around. Orkin exterminators say its not something they can spray for and I'm afraid to ask NASA about it due to Homeland Security issues. Perhaps Marv can calculate a way to trap the darned thing for removal but I hesitate to ask lest the other "Me" owns a Bridgeport or maybe a Monarch that might just appear in my garage someday. Then we can get real serious about closing the stargate.

Until I'm sure it's safe, I'm keeping small children and pets out of the area while inviting certain neighbors over for coffee on a more regular basis. Nope..... my wife ain't gonna understand why my ex-wife might be standing in my garage holding the annoying dog from next door. But Hey!!.... somethings simply never return from the other side.

Steve


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## ozzie46 (Sep 12, 2009)

Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof}

 Ron


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## tmuir (Sep 12, 2009)

:big:

Thanks I needed a good laugh.


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## vlmarshall (Sep 12, 2009)

Ha, that was great! ;D :big: :bow:


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## zeeprogrammer (Sep 12, 2009)

If there's another 'you'...there must be another 'Marv'...and that means nightmares for both 'me' and 'me'. :big:

What's really scary is that there's nothing to support two parallel universes. It could just as well be an infinite series of universes.

Oh my. Now it's day-mares.

Infinite Marvs...and Vernons...and Roberts...Arnolds, CCs, Bobs, Daves, Ricks, Andys...

I feel bad for all the me-s.


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## mklotz (Sep 12, 2009)

The concept of another me frightens me almost as much as it must frighten you.

Actually, it's funny because there is another me and he lives nearby here in southern California. Neither my surname nor my given name is very common so the existence of a nominative Doppelganger, especially one so close, is really surprising.

Shortly after I moved to SoCal, I was living in Westwood, quite close to the UCLA campus. I kept getting phone calls for "Professor Klotz" from students who wanted extensions to the due date of their semester projects. That's how I learned of the existence of my Doppelganger. It turns out he's a (spit) liberal arts, wine and cheese type who wouldn't know a micrometer from a C-clamp.

A few years ago, I stumbled across one of the books he co-edited at a library sale and snapped it up to put on my shelf next to the quantum mechanics text to impress the sort of people who are impressed by that sort of thing.






Oh, and to close the story, after a while I got really annoyed by the phone calls and started granting the students generous extensions on their project deadlines. I may have even told a few that they were excused from submitting a project.


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## d-m (Sep 12, 2009)

Oh, and to close the story, after a while I got really annoyed by the phone calls and started granting the students generous extensions on their project deadlines. I may have even told a few that they were excused from submitting a project.
[/quote]

 Rof}


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## Krown Kustoms (Sep 12, 2009)

Thats pretty deep, and I just thought the part is always in the last place I look, or right where I forgot I put it.
-B-


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## mikey00 (Sep 12, 2009)

Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof}      Thm: th_wav I also needed a GOOD laugh !


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## Lykle (Oct 22, 2009)

I had cast the logo of my car, it is made of three shapes in alu.

I ground and polished the bigger piece, then the smaller piece and started to work on the smallest and last piece. It always is the last piece, isn't it.
On the belt sander, I lost grip and it went flying. I heard it fall, bounce off the car wheel and then a metallic tink. OK, so it is near the shelves.

I have spent an hour worshiping the floor, could not find it. I have since cleared out the garage completely and still have not found it. So I made a new one, knowing that I would find the original seconds after I finished it. The alternate Me most be happy because he now has two last pieces.
Belt sander, wheel and tink. Worship some more. Nope, gone.

So I modified the logo, now all I need is two pieces.

Lykle


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## Brian Rupnow (Oct 22, 2009)

mklotz  said:
			
		

> The concept of another me frightens me almost as much as it must frighten you.
> 
> Actually, it's funny because there is another me and he lives nearby here in southern California. Neither my surname nor my given name is very common so the existence of a nominative Doppelganger, especially one so close, is really surprising.
> 
> ...



Marv---That is kinda scary!!! A couple of months ago, I was surprised to learn of my demise, on the internet. Apparently there was another Brian Rupnow living in USA somewhere, and the poor fellow passed away. Although Rupnow is a very rare name up here in Canada, it seems there is an entire tribe of Rupnows (non of whom I have ever met) living in Wisconsin.


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## gilessim (Oct 22, 2009)

I dropped a small gear wheel while standing by my bench a couple of years ago,I looked everywhere for it also a friend came round at that point and helped, I even tried dropping a similar sized piece on the floor but it just stayed exactly where it landed without rolling off somewhere! anyway ,after a couple of hours, could not find the cog. This was for the Liney RV2 and I had ordered the 2 cogs to come with the kit, this was infuriating as I was just about finished and it would take 2-3 weeks to have a new one sent over!

In the end I remembered that I had a small gear cutting wheel that I picked up somewhere so I decided to have a go at making one as I have an RT (never tried before!) after a lot of sweat I got a good one that meshed nearly perfectly, just needed a touch or two with a Swiss file.

Shortly afterwards I moved house and shop and one day, I had to pull right out the drawer under the bench to rummage for something and there in plain view ,right at the back, was the lost part!, I'm sure that I looked well in there and that it was closed at the time ??? ???

anyway, at least I learned how to make one!

Giles


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## rcplanebuilder (Oct 29, 2009)

lmao..... :big:

OK, last night I was thinking about just such a topic. 

I was making some dimple dies for my jet engine burner cans, to go into my rivet squeezer. 1/2 inch stainless, about 7/8 inches long total. I started parting it off, and I was soooo pleased that my 9 x 20 lathe was parting it like a champ, ;D it just kept rolling the chip ribbon out, going deeper, and deeper, and deeper, until it broke smoothly free and rolled down into the lathe, ....headed that-a-way, into the ways, under the spindle. Perrrrrfect! Yeah, I LOVE my new parting tool! Life is awesome!

 I turned the lathe off, and pulled the stock out, giving the hot part a few tics to cool off. I pulled the slides back and away, and went to grab the part, ...and it wasn't there. It wasn't under here either, it wasn't under that, and oddly, it wasn't even under this... There wasn't much swarf, but just to make sure, I pulled all of that out. Nope, I must be missing something here. It went right... down... here...

AHA! ...The Super Stinger flashlight and mirror to the rescue, ...but, alas, the mirror was empty too :-\. 

So, I opened up the gear door, ...and nobody was home there either. 

Not to worry, once I take the chip shroud off, there will be no place to hide. :

Awwww COME ON! (10 minutes has gone by now)

Behind the tray on the bench? Nope. 

On the floor? Nope.

Under the bench? Nope.

It *couldn't* have gone into the motor's fan shroud! It won't even fit in there... will it? It HAS to be in there. It's only 3 screws, albeit hard to get at, besides, I don't want that thing ruining the fan. ....Well how can it ruin the fan if there is NOTHING IN HERE! 

All I need is the step stool. I'm just too short to see it. Altitude enhancement, that's the ticket! 

COME ON! This is STUPID! 

(20 minutes has passed now, and the dog, sensing the moment, has now disappeared )

Chip brush bristles go around corners quite well. Nope. 

Acid brushes can be bent around corners... Nope. 

AIR! *THAT *WILL flush it out! Nope. 

Sticks, dental picks, bar stock, shake the table, ...*yell at it*.... Nothing! 

(27 minutes has gone by, and now I am calculating whether my 205 pound middle aged body can pick up a 275 pound lathe, and put it back on the bench, after I shove it on to the floor and roll it around angrily, and DUMP IT OUT of there!) (ONLY the fact that I recently spent many hours getting all my taper out of the spindle, and aligning the tail stock, prevents this from actually happening, there was no question that I could get it onto the floor at that point, and really, I didn't care so much about getting it back up there so much anymore anyway. lol) 

(The dog is looooong gone now)

So, I slam the gear door shut, and decide that I am going to bed....

_Plink... _

You heard me. 

_Plink... 
_
Out of the night sky, and into the tray, dead center, under the spindle, right where I knew it landed 34 minutes ago. 

Kiss... my.... tail stock....


 :big:

That just ain't right.

How quickly a blissful moment can become.... something else... lol

Cheers..


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## zeeprogrammer (Oct 29, 2009)

Much sympathies.

I normally wear some kind of pull-over or T-shirt at home. No pocket.
I couldn't find my glasses the other day. I spent a half hour looking and got pretty hot about it.
That's right. This shirt had a pocket.

And speaking of the "dog sensing the moment"...after I found my glasses I had a question for my wife. I couldn't find her.


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## GWRdriver (Oct 29, 2009)

A few years ago I once wrote just the thing for this thread . . . . A Case Study: PILAFBS

	Although I've become much more aware of it and careful about it, I've always seemed to have occasional bouts of the "Dropsies" which come on when I least expect it. You know what the Dropsies are, that irritating practice of dropping little parts (or big ones for that matter) while you are filing, or transferring them from the vise, or in some other way have the darn things suspended in the air within your fingertips. But the Dropsies problem is one that in the end I have control over and can take steps to improve or eliminate if I choose. The more universal problem I am referring to is one that is quite beyond our control and comes into play only after the precious part has left your fingertips and lept to freedom. I've named the problem, and the object of my inquiry, PILAFBS, or the "Post-Impact Lateral Acceleration of Falling Bits Syndrome".
     For the non-scientific this curious phenomenon is defined as follows: "The tendency, when dropped, and upon impact with the workshop floor, for a very small but crutical part to: A) accelerate laterally with several times the energy that it could ever possibly have developed during its fall, and B) and at an angle that is completely random and bears no relationship whatsoever to either the dropped object, it's dropping point, the floor surface, the obstructions thereupon, or position of your feet". A perplexing subtlety of the problem, not evident from this definition, is that the more time invested on the part, the faster it accelerates. The PILAFBS problem continues to perplex scientists and model engineers the world over and at the moment no preventative or cure is known.
	The second part of the inquiry was to develop an equation for determining MCT, or "Maximum Crawl Time".  This would be the maximum amount of time one is justified in spending crawling around on hands and knees in the chips on the workshop floor looking for the lost bit, often with a flashlight and/or magnifying glass, before coming to one's senses, regaining ones dignity, and beginning work on a replacement. From my own experience, the more times you have been struck with PILAFBS, the less likely you are to expend valuable time on a search which you inevitably will come to realize is a fruitless waste of energy. The only consolation you will have is the certain knowledge that years from now, when your heirs clean out the shop, they will find a treasure trove of tiny, beautifully crafted, but inexplicable bits behind and under this bench or that machine.
	In closing I have to say that you may be comforted to know that there is an exception to the PILAFBS phenomenon which is of course summed up in the "Chuck Corollary", which states simply that "When dropped, the free-fall of a chuck will invariably be interrupted by ones foot, where it will come to rest thus neutralizing the effect of PILAFBS. Of course for the purposes of this inquiry "rotary table" or "dividing head" can be substituted for "chuck" in the equation with no loss of effect. Further reports of my inquiry will be posted as work progresses.

H. Wade, Professor Emeritus (© Harry Wade 2001)
Dept. of Unexplained Workshop Phenomenon
Wotsamatta U.


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## Brian Rupnow (Oct 29, 2009)

I subscribe to the 'Parallel Universe Theory'--If you have ever read any of "The Bachman Books" by Stephen King, you will know that just beyond the universe we all know and love there is a parallel world full of maniacal trains, unspeakable monsters, strange gunslinging cowboys, sheepherding werewolves, men who glow, along with compression springs, small gears, tiny pistons, and assorted small shop tools. None of you have ever seen it, but just as you are looking down, scratching your butt (Or anywhere else that itches, ---After all its your shop!!!) a vortex in the space-time continuum opens and sucks these things thru.---AND THEY NEVER COME BACK!!!


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## Cedge (Oct 29, 2009)

Brian
Sounds plausible.... the butt scratching thing is probably setting up a modulation in the harmonics of the portal and opening the gate by acting as some sort of triggering sequence. Gotta admit I'd be thinking twice about using any part that might have encountered a Glowing Cowboy.... but then come to think of it.... after the butt scratching admission, the same goes for the parts you are making. Now.... go wash those hands....this time with soap. (grin) 

Steve


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## Brian Rupnow (Oct 29, 2009)

Steve---My secret it out.---I'm a total sci-fi and fantasy hound!!! Ever since I discovered Ray Bradbury back in '61 or '62 I have been a sucker for this stuff. I have complete collections of Bradbury, Heinlein, Arthur C Clarke,---even at one time had almost the complete set of "Conan the Barbarian" and the old "Doc Savage' stuff from back in the 1930's. I had all of the "Barsoom" collection by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the Tarzan creator.-Actually I had most of his Mars stuff . Steven King ain't no slouch either, but you have to read ALL his stuff to see how he ties all his books together. And Oh Yeah---Mans adventure does it for me too.---Allistair MacLean, Hammond Innes, Wilbur Smith, and yep, Dick Francis!!! I am currently reading Pat Conroys newest book "South of Broad". My favourite fantasy authors at the moment are Robin Hobb and Johny Ringo.---Yeah, I know---Where the heck do I find time to read, machine things, write magazine articles and even occasionally (Too Damn occasionally) do some real engineering work?-----Brian


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## MikeR C (Oct 29, 2009)

Brian,
I do not agree that "things never come back". I firmly believe they "rotate" in and out of our universe on some unknown time frame, possibly influenced by thought waves. Witness the problem of finding a phillips screwdriver, all of the ones in the drawer are straight blade, and an indeterminate amout of time later when you go to the drawer for the straight screwdriver you JUST saw there it is gone and they have all been replaced by phillips. Honest I just set down a #2 phillips Now it's a 1/4" flatblade, really. Very strange, like those particles that fade in and out in a cloud chamber...No I'm fine, you can take the straps off...i'm harmless, no really...

 MikeR C


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## vlmarshall (Oct 29, 2009)

Brian Rupnow  said:
			
		

> Steve---My secret it out.---I'm a total sci-fi and fantasy hound!!! Ever since I discovered Ray Bradbury back in '61 or '62 I have been a sucker for this stuff. I have complete collections of Bradbury, Heinlein, Arthur C Clarke,---even at one time had almost the complete set of "Conan the Barbarian" and the old "Doc Savage' stuff from back in the 1930's. I had all of the "Barsoom" collection by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the Tarzan creator.-Actually I had most of his Mars stuff . Steven King ain't no slouch either, but you have to read ALL his stuff to see how he ties all his books together.



This checklist of at least part of my book collection deserved a Karma point. ;D




			
				rcplanebuilder  said:
			
		

> _Plink... _



So did this story. ;D


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## cfellows (Oct 29, 2009)

Harry,

While I mostly agree with your PILAFBS theory, I disagree on one small point. Rathern than departing laterally in a random direction, my experience suggests that the tiny part will more often than not bounce under the nearest large object. Also attractive to the errant part would be an ever-so-slightly-open drawer and if there are multiple slightly open drawers, it will wind up in the deepest, fullest one, not necessarily the closest.

Chuck


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## Cedge (Oct 29, 2009)

Brian
I got hooked on Sci-Fi reading in the 1970's while doing long night shifts tending a huge AC&W Defense radar on a rather isolated mountain top. My first crew chief had a marvelous paperback and sci-fi magazine collection that must have numbered into the 1000's, running from the 1930's forward. 

I know where you're coming from.... trust me...LOL. I might be the only living soul who ever read the entire Gor series by John Norman and one of only a handful of Spider Robinson fans..... author of the Callahan's Crosstime Saloon series.

Steve


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## tmuir (Oct 30, 2009)

I just remembered my best dropsy ever.
This one happened before I built my workshop.
I some times make silver jewellery for my wife.
I had made her a sterling silver reef knot bangle.
As they are only small items I used to set up a fire proof tile on the old table in the games room and solder on that.
Once it was finished it needed to be polished.
I didn't have a vibratory tumbler back then so I used to use my buffing machine.
Now remember I didn't have a workshop back then and another improtant fact is I live in the bush in the hills.
Buffing makes a lot of mess so there was no way I could do that in the house so the buffing machine used to get set up on my decking.
Hey I had great views whilst I worked, what more could you ask for.

Here are a couple of photos of my old 'workshop'











Now I'm sure you can all see what is coming now....

Finished silver bangle that is still flat and after polishing will get bent round as its an open bangle. 
Bangle sat on wooden board with small peg in it to hold bangle still when polishing.

Almost finished polishing and peg pulls out of board.

Bangle shoots off board hits decking railing and goes skyward towards the natual bushland sloping down hill.
That was almost 5 years ago.
The bangle is still somewhere in my back yard. :big:


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## rickharris (Oct 30, 2009)

Brian Rupnow  said:
			
		

> Steve---My secret it out.---I'm a total sci-fi and fantasy hound!!! ---Brian ...



I am also a sci fi fan, Doc Savage is almost impossible to get here now although I Read lots in the 60's. Now a fan of Terry Prattchet & have a full set of hard backs - very ironic and funny.

Best book - Stranger in a strange land Heinline - have read several times and will do again.


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## vlmarshall (Oct 30, 2009)

Cedge  said:
			
		

> one of only a handful of Spider Robinson fans..... author of the Callahan's Crosstime Saloon series.


 :bow:


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## gilessim (Oct 30, 2009)

Douglas Adams (sadly not with us anymore) of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy books describes a portal where odd socks, biros and teaspoons slip through to end up on a distant planet somewhere all together, Im sure that a lot of small parts end up there too!

Giles


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## mu38&Bg# (Oct 30, 2009)

I don't seem to have trouble with parts disappearing, though there are at least two wrist pin circlips from model airplane engines on the shop floor that will never be found. The trouble I have is when I'm in the middle of working on something while thinking about something else and I set a part or tool down. Occasionally, I find I spend 15-60 minutes looking for it and when I find it's exactly where I left it. However, something I took apart months ago I'll remember the exact details of where the parts are and what needed fixing, etc. My bench is a disaster right now. I'm completely out of storage space. I did add a machinist box this year so that helps with tools, and I'm much better about putting them away when finished.

Last week, I was looking for a lathe manual I purchased on CD last year. I need to get the lathe set up and the disc was nowhere. So I ordered another. A day after I got the disc, I was googling for more info about the lathe, and of course I run into a PDF of said manual for free. :redface2:


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## Cliff (Oct 30, 2009)

When I ran my clock repair business I was trying to put a small spring back into it's barrel for a clock that was about 100 years old it got a way from me and disappeared in my shop I had to find it because to order or make a new one you had to have the old one for the size. So after tearing my shop apart searching every where, getting mad, getting discusted, and waiting on customers and about a hour and a half later I finally found it but for the life of me I don't how it got where it was at. Cliff.


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## dsquire (Oct 30, 2009)

Cliff  said:
			
		

> When I ran my clock repair business I was trying to put a small spring back into it's barrel for a clock that was about 100 years old it got a way from me and disappeared in my shop I had to find it because to order or make a new one you had to have the old one for the size. So after tearing my shop apart searching every where, getting mad, getting discusted, and waiting on customers and about a hour and a half later I finally found it but for the life of me I don't how it got where it was at. Cliff.



OK Cliff, Now tell us the rest of the story. Don't leave us hanging like that! ???

Cheers 
Don


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## shred (Oct 31, 2009)

A friend claims to use the following process on things with lots of fiddly bits and springs--

Lay out a white bedsheet in the middle of the floor. Sit in the center of that with the part and tools. Have someone come in and lay another white bedsheet on top of you and the other sheet. Begin disassembly..  ;D ;D


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## Cliff (Oct 31, 2009)

Hey Don I don't know what you mean. Cliff.


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## zeeprogrammer (Oct 31, 2009)

I don't know shred. If I'm between sheets...I'm not thinking dis-assembly.
I'm not thinking of much. At my age...I'm asleep.


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## dsquire (Nov 1, 2009)

Cliff  said:
			
		

> Hey Don I don't know what you mean. Cliff.




Cliff. This was the part I was thinking about when I asked about the rest of the story. "I don't how it got where it was at."

Cheers 

Dom


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## Cliff (Nov 1, 2009)

Sorry for not knowing what you was talking about but it was laying under some things that it could not have rolled under - only the shadow knows. Cliff.


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