January 4Jan 4 5 hours ago, MeltedSocks said: You feel humiliated and stabbed in the back just because he said your shop was messy? Maybe you need to thicken your skin a little? Well i told it myself, yes like @Ridgeway forge said , he pointed it out to other person, long story short i asked him how his bellows are doing and how he is making them, he said he is not in rush to build them. Well i guess i wont be asking him does he want this book that i bought about blelows couple years a go. He will come later i think when he change mind to ask tip, i wont be asking him anything else regrads of shop. Its not like iam humiliated or something, just i wont be backbiting someone and point his messy shop to other person just so i can look better. "Iam messy but his shop is in way more mess".
January 4Jan 4 I've rethought my last response Nat and have to agree. What the owner of another shop thinks is unimportant unless it actually damages your business. There are courts for that sort of thing. Over here anyway. There are sayings about this sort of thing. IIRC one goes, "A clean desk is a sign of an idle mind." A person could turn it around and say, "I'm too busy to polish the concrete." Better, just make a point of not hearing them. If a customer brings up hearing it from a competitor. A mildly snarky reply might be called for like. He says that about everybody, or similar. Mostly though ignoring it is better. Frosty The Lucky.
January 4Jan 4 Excuse me, but who has a clean shop? I organize mine from time to time, but the slow creep is just part of its natural life cycle. the work triangle, on the other hand, remains free and clear- my paths to the tools as well. But flat surfaces are toast.
January 4Jan 4 If Friend 2 asks Friend 1 if Mike's shop is clean, and Friend 1 says "No, it's messier than yours," that seems like a completely ordinary conversation about a shop. What does seem a little odd is Friend 2 telling me what Friend 1 said. Unless it's something like "Oh! what a neat shop! Friend 1 said it was messier than mine." (But rest assured, no one would ever react that way on seeing my shop!)
January 5Jan 5 Spent a lot of time over at the yarn shop helping Lisa with the annual inventory count. (Fun fact: the US government taxes businesses on the value of their inventory as of December 31 every year. This is why so many businesses have end-of-year sales.) Also glued up some long pieces of cardboard for a sword prototype, which demonstrated the value of having a large smithing library.
January 5Jan 5 In organizing a shop don't forget that the floor is the largest available horizontal surface. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Also, how weird would it be and what would you think of a person who said, "Everytime I use my shop it is more organized when I leave than when it was when I went in." I find that idea somehow disturbing. It seems somehow contrary to nature. GNM
January 5Jan 5 My shop got horribly disheveled over the past year. It was even a hazard to get into my working triangle. It took me three days to get things back into reasonable order and honestly the only real reason I took the time to do that is I have a hammer-in at my place on Saturday. I’ve still got more cleaning to do and preparations for a demo, but at least it’s a feasible task now… Keep it fun, David
January 5Jan 5 My wife is particular about the outside of the shop looking nice. So much of my flotsam and jetsam reside either behind or inside my shop. Nothing may reside in front of.
January 5Jan 5 10 hours ago, Goods said: My shop got horribly disheveled over the past year. It was even a hazard to get into my working triangle. It took me three days to get things back into reasonable order and honestly the only real reason I took the time to do that is I have a hammer-in at my place on Saturday. I’ve still got more cleaning to do and preparations for a demo, but at least it’s a feasible task now… Keep it fun, David every year I do a clean up. Crazy how much my workshop has grown every time.
January 5Jan 5 Nat, do not get caught up in what we call the "he said, she said bull spit". What person A said may not have been in any, way shape, or form meant as an insult. Or it may have. It could have been person B said something like "Sure, come on in, just excuse the mess." And person A responding with "No big deal, Nat's shop is worse." Basically just and off hand remark not really meant as anything. Now had person A went on and on about how much of a slob you are, need to learn to clean, etc. then yes i would call that insulting. I will not judge a single sentence a person says with out knowing the entire context of the conversation. With out knowing that you just waste you time and energy on something that may be meaningless. Insults and derogatory comments are just air moving through the vocal cords of a person. What gives them power is you. It is how you perceive them. How you handle them says more about you than the person who said them. Ask yourself why does the comment anger you so much? Is there a nugget of truth? Do you feel that you are a messy person? Do you feel you can do more to correct it than you have and are angry at yourself for not doing so? If so this is an opportunity to reflect on that and improve yourself. If not it is just meaningless air. Treat it as such. It is usually a reflection on the commenter trying to bring you down rather than lift themselves up. Those people deserve neither your time nor your energy. If that person comes to you again asking for help, "no" is an acceptable answer. Your time is the most valuable commodity you possess, it is the only one you can never get back. Do not waste it. ----------------- I am 2 different people when it comes to keeping my shop clean. Come to where i work and all my tools are put away, in order, neatly, after every single use. My mics are laid out neat and orderly, my gauge pins in order, etc. When i worked in a trans shop same. I could grab a socket or wrench with out even looking at my tools. If you borrowed a tool i expect it put back exactly where you got it from, or at least give it to me to do myself. Come to my shop at home and it looks as if a tornado came through. Pile of rags on the floor(not oily), tools laying about, trash overflowing until i have to start stacking it on my tool box or work bench, sweep the floor? i do not even know where the broom is. But what is weird is i also know where everything is at. My anvil bick is on top of the small tool box, in front of the toaster oven, next to my hot cut hardy, under that old worn out left glove.
January 5Jan 5 Every time I put away a tool, I think of it as a gift to Future Me, who won't have to go looking for it.
January 5Jan 5 John, I agree with you. It is a gift, but only if everything originally had a place to live before inhabiting every surface. I have more tools than tool storage. Notably, I’ve recently attracted a number of twisting wrenches, after having only one for 15 years.
January 5Jan 5 I'm also stuck at the "A place for everything" part. (And I don't see much hope of getting unstuck until I've learned the difference between a tool and a piece of stock I put a couple of bends in so I could do X.)
January 5Jan 5 I tend to believe the "Place for everything and everything in it's place" adage was more of an observation than advice. A tool in in-place wherever it is. Tools are like children, you don't have children they have YOU. Frosty The Lucky.
January 7Jan 7 On 1/5/2026 at 11:50 AM, BillyBones said: I am 2 different people when it comes to keeping my shop clean. I think I mentioned this recently in regards to me working at my friend's shop after hours versus me working at my shop at home. At his shop, everything is picked up and put away - no sign I was there except the days I get carried away and start sweeping the floor Then at my shop, I finish forging for the night and quite literally just throw everything into the storage container and close it up. Once in awhile, I take a minute to sort through the pile of tools/punches/tongs/pieces of metal and put things back where they belong. It's getting difficult to step into the container lately so I guess it's time to sort through that mess again
January 12Jan 12 I have a place for everything in my shop. Hammers on the table next to the anvil, in progress projects on the table next to the anvil, hammers on the floor, in progress projects that annoyed me on the floor, scrap on the floor or in the quench barrel.... I've picked my kettlebells back up after a year and a half of making excuses for not going to the gym. It really is rough trying to swing the hammer with muscle fatigue and soreness from trying to get back into my old gym habits. I've been lifting weights and working out most of my life. The challenge is most of my programs I've written down in the past are for when I wasn't almost 50 and had shorter recovery times and higher growth potential. When did this getting old thing happen?
January 12Jan 12 Hahaha - I feel you on the workout recovery changes! In all honesty, I've completely given up the ghost of thinking I'll get back into the habit of any kind of workout routine, lol - but a few years back when I thought I was going to ... I would flip through my notebook of previous routines, stats, etc and would eventually see the segment of time when I was doing the Shaun T "Insanity" workout program. I did that program 3 or 4 times over the course of a few years in my early 30s. High intensity, high impact, high everything and I would just shake my head. Nope, not even TRYING that again. I'm also almost 50 and my joints ache just from sitting for more than an hour. I can't imagine what I'd be tearing up if I tried to do power jumps or high knees or half of any of the moves in that program So I would flip to a routine that was less intense, more like a relaxed version of the Insanity warmup, lol. Heck, I would even flip to a routine that was basically just sets of squats, lunges, pushups etc and never would stick with it. I figure as long as I'm still walking in the evenings more often than not - and still swinging a hammer and lifting heavy metal things around - I'm probably doing just fine.
January 17Jan 17 On 1/5/2026 at 12:31 PM, JHCC said: Every time I put away a tool, I think of it as a gift to Future Me, who won't have to go looking for it. This is a great point. At times on my kitchen remodeling jobs, I'll have tools strewn all over the place, and I spend more time looking for the tool I just laid down than actually working. This is when I make myself put each tool back in it's special place in my tool bag or tool tote. It greatly increases my efficiency. I'm less disciplined in my home shop when I'm mostly just playing. This started out in the kitchen, but cherrystone clams are some tough muthas compared to oysters. I had visions of me running this sharp oyster knife through my hand, so I took these out to the shop and got inventive. Clamped it, hammered the knife in, inserted a shim to keep it from closing. Repeat. I used to eat these by the dozens every weekend when I was in Annapolis, MD. There was a market right outside the main gate of USNA that had a shellfish bar. The shucker dude made it look easy.
January 18Jan 18 You can eat all those you want. My dad loses tape measures. He will be working on something, lay down his tape, lose it and go get another. My mom goes around and picks them up to put back in the tool box. When hurricane Gustav hit a pecan tree took out the hallway between the house and mother in law apartment. I helped my parents rebuild and it was one of the funniest cycles i have ever witnessed.
February 6Feb 6 On 9/29/2023 at 2:27 AM, TWISTEDWILLOW said: Howdy everybody! How’s it been going around here? everyone doin alright? well I’m busy here in eastern Oklahoma as always gettin into everything under the sun and usually over my head! recently we started gutting out a really old house in westville we bought to fix up for a rental property, it used to be a hotel for the Frisco railroad that shut down here locally back in the 1940s, im not sure when it started or when the house was built, im assuming sometime before state hood in 1907 we started finding newspapers and paper bags in the walls and under the floors! I found one complete newspaper from the town in westville from the spring of 1912! It’s pretty cool! We are still working on our ol commercial building downtown westville too, on top of that been looking for a bigger house for us to move into the mower shop has been busy an behind but I called up my ol partner from the shop I used to work for and he’s been helping me try an keep things goin! on the weekends I try to slip out to the creek or river an catch a few fish if I can get a break! Max has started school this year!!! Which has been a whole new adventure! Lol also he’s playing on a 3 year olds soccer team and that is the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen!!!! I’ve also started trying to figure out the whole VA thing and that’s a bit mentally draining… Anyways just busy busy busy here running around! how about everyone all y’all? What adventures has everyone been gettin into outside the smithy? Jerry, have you received any Okie post yet? Randy, how you liking that new set of peepers? Scott, you found any new train stuff? Frazer how’s camping? Jennifer, you always got something new going on! Shaina, thank you for pickin up that fishin pole for me! Les, I ain’t tried that bowl yet but imma try it out soon on some Christmas stuff! John, any jet setting? How’s the store? Mr Goods how about you? Things have been pretty steady on my end, thanks for asking. It's been a routine week. Your post actually reminded me of something I was looking into recently regarding secure online platforms. I’ve been casually reading reviews at https://casinosanalyzer.com/online-casinos/fast-payout to understand reliable payout structures better. Their comparison metrics on withdrawal speeds and licensing checks are quite factual. It's a straightforward resource that breaks down operator reliability based on concrete data like payment method efficiency and support responsiveness, which I find useful for making informed decisions without any fuss. It’s good to have clear, updated information. Hope everyone else is having a calm week. any everyone else that I didn’t mention what all y’all been doin? I have been helping my brother build a shed in his backyard on weekends. I’m the “measure twice, cut once” guy, which is good because he’s more of a “cut it twice and it’s still too short” type.
February 6Feb 6 I've been researching used class-a motorhomes and have decided that I'm losing my mental faculties. Our plan to move my broke daughter back home to Florida from San Francisco--and her broke boyfriend, two dogs, and two cats--is to make it a fun trip there and back. Every once in awhile I have a period of lucidity where I think it is better for me to fly to SFO, rent a U-haul, drive it home while they follow in their car, and stay in hotels...make it a grueling trip. That way I know my finite losses up front. The wife wants one, though. So while she goes to the gym or a Bridgerton-themed costume tea party, I'll be spending my time NOT in the smithy. Hopefully I'll snap out of it.
February 6Feb 6 Socks, i feel for ya. I had to do much the same but the drive from Ohio to N. Carolina not near as far. But i had to go get my daughter, my granddaughter, 1 cat, and 2 dogs, big dogs. In a Toyota 4runner. Ran into a blizzard in the mountains of W. Virginia. Yeah real fun trip.
March 23Mar 23 Decided to fly to San Francisco in June and drive a rented Class-C motorhome back with daughter, et. al., following in her car. We're staying at campgrounds in Barstow, CA, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Amarillo, and Jackson, MS. It will be at a minimum a more expensive drive and a Book of Eli/Mad Max adventure at the very worst. Either way, I'm getting my daughter back home. After a two or three year hiatus from gardening due to the compost contaminated with persistent herbicides that I amended my soil with, I'm trying a garden this year. I hope some of my 2-3 year old seeds germinate and that whatever chemical was in the compost has been washed away or broken down. The best thing is I got to use my two forged gardening tools. I can't wield a hammer for a few more days. Got a stent last Friday. They went in through my right wrist. I refused sedation so I could be fully aware. It was a fascinating experience, talking to the dude who is inside my heart. He said it was an outstanding outcome, as good as they get. Cool!
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