# Shop smells



## Mo deller (Aug 27, 2009)

I've come to the conclusion that my shop just doesn't smell right. It's not bad, I like it but it is a mixture of wood, paint and everthing else.
I have just received a parcel from GLR distributors. When I unpacked it and got to the metal bar some old memories were stirred by the smell. 
When I was a littlun I used to visit an engineer who had a worshop just across the road. I remember my dad and I helping to move all his stuff 1/2 mile down the road from the old blacksmiths shop to a new building in his garden. We pulled it all on a four wheeled cart and did quite a few trips. When he retired I bought a mill and tooling from him. Happy memories indeed but getting back to the point it was the smell his workshop had that I loved and this package brought it all back. I think it must be the grease that new metal is protected with. It is almost a sweet smell. Perhaps I could get some of the stuff and put it in a spray to "freshen" things up or maybe just roll my clothes in some :big: I do miss it though.

Best wishes to all,
Peter.


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## bearcar1 (Aug 27, 2009)

Yes, there are aromas that will trigger the pleasant times of our lives. My Father operated a welding/machine shop for close to 45yrs and I still can recall the smells from the welding rods being used and the "Riley Bros." cutting oil heating up on a part as it was being turned on the lathe. Of course there was also the sickening (literally) smell of galvanized metal after it had been welded or cut with a torch. The sounds too, of his hammer as it smote the red hot plow shares that had been heating up in the forge. Ah, the many stimuli that we will hold deep in our minds until that one moment when their presence evokes sweet recalled memories of another time and place. 


BC1
Jim


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## Brian Rupnow (Aug 27, 2009)

I get all nostalgic when I smell those little pine tree car air freshners. It reminds me of when I was 17 and had my '52 Chev, and Mary-Lou Watson and I drove down and parked behind the old airstrip and----Oh Yeah, this is about machine shop smells----sorry about that---


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## Mo deller (Aug 27, 2009)

Brian Rupnow  said:
			
		

> I get all nostalgic when I smell those little pine tree car air freshners. It reminds me of when I was 17 and had my '52 Chev, and Mary-Lou Watson and I drove down and parked behind the old airstrip and----Oh Yeah, this is about machine shop smells----sorry about that---



 :big: :big:

What we need is a pine tree that smells of engineering. ;D


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## Stuart B (Aug 27, 2009)

It's easy, you just need to purchase something like my 1963 Colchester Chippie, with a bit of an oil leak. Shop will soon smell luverly. 
A few leaky oil seals and you don't even have to run it.


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## old-biker-uk (Aug 27, 2009)

Today it's a mixture of Old Holborn (hand rolling tobacco for those in foreign parts), hot coolant, amyl acetate (cleaning some metal prior to painting), acrylic spray paint & pine sawdust. That's just today, it varies although the OH is usually around.....
Mark


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## chillybilly (Aug 27, 2009)

i used to train with a mate who was a diesel fitter,when we would go into the sauna after 5 mins the smell of rocol ,suds and diesel used to clear the palce ,makes you wonder how deep in it goes as showering before saunas seemed to make no difference at all !!!!!!!!!!!! 

These days the smell of fridgeplant seems to haunt me


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## zeeprogrammer (Aug 27, 2009)

Is why I get upset when my clothes get thrown out. :big:

When I was a kid, I got a microscope in a wooden box. Odd kind of wood.
I don't have the microscope any longer...but I still have the box.
Every once in a while, I open the box, smell it, and return to when I was 12.
Not about the scope...just the time.

And they don't say time machines exist.


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## mklotz (Aug 27, 2009)

I've been known to clean a gun even when it hadn't been fired just to get the odor of Hoppe's No. 9 in the air.

I'm gonna buy one of those annoying air fresheners, throw away the awful stuff it comes with, fill it with Hoppe's and put it on a one hour timer.


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## ChooChooMike (Aug 27, 2009)

Don't eat too many beans before going in to your shop .... ya'll know the resulting shop smell .... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





;D :hDe:


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## Maryak (Aug 27, 2009)

ChooChooMike  said:
			
		

> Don't eat too many beans before going in to your shop .... ya'll know the resulting shop smell ....
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That's funny and oh so true, :big: I have the same problem in my shop when I break a parting tool. :

Best Regards
Bob


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## rake60 (Aug 27, 2009)

My shop has the constant smell of burnt machine oil.
I believe way too much is far better than a bit too little.

On days I cut cast iron it smells like dry cucumbers that have
been burnt in machine oil.

The cat's litter box is also in the basement. If I happen to forget
to change that in a timely manner, I'll give it a spray the air 
freshener. Then it smells like flowers that have been burnt in machine 
oil after the cat s#!t in them.
:shrug:

Rick


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## zeeprogrammer (Aug 27, 2009)

ChooChooMike  said:
			
		

> Don't eat too many beans before going in to your shop .... ya'll know the resulting shop smell ....
> 
> 
> 
> ...



You say that as if it's a bad thing. ???

Just this evening had a discussion with family about memorable bean results. :big:


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## joe d (Aug 27, 2009)

Just got my bandsaw back up and running, so finishing a "Honeydo" that leaves the shop smelling of fresh cut pine... with subtle undertones of manila line and tarred hemp (was doing some ropework) and a hint of WD 40... perfume, I tell you!

Joe

(and NO beans. At least not lately......)


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## Mo deller (Aug 28, 2009)

mklotz  said:
			
		

> I've been known to clean a gun even when it hadn't been fired just to get the odor of Hoppe's No. 9 in the air.
> 
> I'm gonna buy one of those annoying air fresheners, throw away the awful stuff it comes with, fill it with Hoppe's and put it on a one hour timer.



Great idea Marv. I take it Hoppe's is a special gun oil. I need the stuff new metal is coated in,any idea what it is?


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## Tin Falcon (Aug 28, 2009)

Mo hoppes no 9 is a brand name usualy associated with solvent for breaking down powder residue. IIRC there is gun oil also. It does have a distinct nostalgic smell at least for those that grew up with it. 
Cosmoline is commonly used for coating and protecting metal for long term storage and shipping. It that what you yo are thinking ?
Tin


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## Peter Neill (Aug 28, 2009)

Whilst not strictly a 'shop smell', I ride motorbikes and have both a BMW and an old 1975 Yamaha RD350 2-stroke.
Half a capful of Castrol R in the petrol tank of the RD (or rather R40 now as the original R is no longer available) produces a wonderfully evocative whiff for all those who remember this smell from racing 2-strokes of the past ;D

Peter


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## Mo deller (Aug 28, 2009)

Tin, it could well be cosmoline if that is what's used. It was so strong on that piece of bar I bought I dont see how it could anything else. I guess the old engineers shop I mentioned smelled like it because he had lots of new stuff around. I always thought it was a mixture of everything but nothing I'd had smelled the same until I got this new stuff. I had to smell it again today and to me it smells sweet.

Peter, yes castrol r is a great smell. Although I never used it myself I do remember it well. 

I've enjoyed reading all your posts and only wish I could visit all your shops to smell for myself. Although for some I think full firefighters breathing apparatus may be required :big:

Cheers
Peter


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## old-biker-uk (Aug 29, 2009)

Just added 'wet dog' to my place. Looking after a Golden Doodle for the weekend who seems to enjoy checking out what's happening in the shop.





Mark


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