Jack Evers Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Moving my shop after many years. As I was going through the scrap pile, I had fun trying to remember the purpose of things that I found. Couple of 1/4 inch plates with slots - Oh yeah, that was to help disassemble and reassemble the drive chain on the manure spreader (fecal flinger). hook type assembly with a flat plate on the hook end - yep, when I had to straighten a horse trailer divider. Anybody have that problem - you've made some special tool for a single job, when you find it some years later it's hard to remember why you built it in the first place. Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tech413 Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Funny you should bring this up, I was just cleaning out my toolbox at work yesterday. I came across some custom bent and welded wrenches. It took me some time to remember what I bent them for in the first place. Don't think I'll ever use them again either. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike-hr Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I think that's pretty common. My used-to-be-good-sized-shop is out of room, now i'm tripping over an errant 5 gallon bucket. That means I have to clean up the place all the time. I've tried saving all those one hit wonder fixtures, but everything can evolve better. I've found that I can rarely locate those specialty doo-dads when needed a second time,and even worse, identify what they do, so I usually just make another one if needs arise. I bet there's some resourse re-appropriator at the scrap yard that's filling his shop with things that I made a year ago, and junked out, not remembering what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ten Hammers Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Clogged up shop I understand. Take notes. Write on tooling or fixture with a paint pen. You may need that in a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TASMITH Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Ten Hammers is right. I make notes and little sketches of each new thing I make. even if it is a different type of scroll or twist. It is suprising the number of times I've looked through my notes and discovered something I made that I thought I had just come up with the idea. It is especially helpful when you get a bit 'OLDER'....LOL. I have an 1 1/2" binder of sketches and a 3" binder of notes and am soon goint to have to start a couple of new ones. It is amazing to realize how many weird and wonderful things you have made already and would otherwise not remember what is is or what it was made for. It sure helps to keep you from re-inventing the wheel sometimes.:o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rthibeau Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 getting older and having trouble remembering something from years ago????.....nahhh, not a problem in a blacksmith shop, you just need to........umm.....errr.......what was the question? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Thompson Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I usually stamp the date onto special tools/jigs. At least then I know when it was that I was doing what it is that I can't remember Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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