Is yer shop a mess...?

Smallshop

Smallshop

KNIFE MAKER
Mine usually is....and so are most of yours from the pics you post.

Is it worth holding each other accountable to clean and organize?

I dunno...

Could the clean freaks on here post pics so the rest of us know what to shoot for...lol?

No doubt about it...a clean shop is more efficient and safe than what I tend to devolve into...
 
Mine looks like a BOMB went off!! My GF and I have been moving in and things have accumulated over the years. Need to go thru it all and throw a lot of stuff away!!
 
I do try to keep my shop tidy (clean is another subject). If I have a busy day I may stop and tidy up the shop and sweep and blow out all the accumulated sawdust and metal dust twice a day. If I don't do that I'm searching under paper towels and moving sandpaper trying to find stuff.
 
In addition with winter coming along, a clean or messy shop need some time of winter climate control. I'm thinking about moving my equipment into a smaller room attached to my knife shop (which is not insulated and quite airy) so I can continue to work throughout winter. I can heat it with a small wood stove.
 
opaul said:
In addition with winter coming along, a clean or messy shop need some time of winter climate control. I'm thinking about moving my equipment into a smaller room attached to my knife shop (which is not insulated and quite airy) so I can continue to work throughout winter. I can heat it with a small wood stove.
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I work in my basement. Everything except for the heat treat that is outdoors (now, if the heat treat oven gets bought :)). I plan on moving the clean work to a spare bedroom, final fitting, final blade sand, glue ups, design work, temper etc... The "Dirty work", Blade Blanks, bevel grinds, scale/handle shaping (the heavy stuff) will still be done in the basement. That should free up some space in the basement and give me a better place for all my final fit and finish. Cellar is cool in the Winter but manageable with a light coat, bedroom is heated. That's my plan anyway we shall see what happens!!
 
I spend too much time making the mess as I play with various projects to waste any of it in cleaning it up. My bench has the present tools on it but I do put tools away between each different process. I make it a habbit to clean the whole place and sweep the floors a couple of time a year but in the main I work and walk out.
 
Yep....I've been called a mad scientist...as a complimentary way of being called an eccentric slob....i think. I don't ask too closely...
 
I'm not a neat freak, but on the flip side I get really frustrated when I have to search through piles of crap to find the tool I just laid down. I try to leave the shop looking presentable when I'm done at the end of the day. Doesn't always happen, but I don't let it get too far gone. I hate seeing piles of chips on the mill or lathe or drill press. But mainly it's a safety thing. My shop is the garage of my house. The kids go through there every day getting something and no matter how many times I tell them not to go in there barefoot they still do it sometimes. Mainly for that reason, it forces me to keep a clean shop.

Having a dust collector made a world of difference. The "dirty shop" literally disappeared when I got a dust collector. Now there's no excuse. The shop is never actually dirty, unless I let it get that way. I'm bad for letting clutter collect at the station where I've been working, but I do a good cleanup when I'm done with that process before I begin the next project.

Working in a small space forces me to be cleaner than I would be if I had a lot of room for the clutter to spread out. It's no different than living in a small home- a little clutter makes the place look like a wreck really quick. Having the place picked up is immediately noticeable.
 
If you think Felix Unger and Oscar Madison from The Odd Couple, I'm a less organized and messier Oscar Madison. Yes, I've been called a slob more than once.
The good news is my wife is very much a Felix Unger type.
That works for our house but she doesn't step foot in my shop. Consequently it is a colossal disaster.

This is what it looks like after I spent an hour cleaning.

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I try to be a mix of organized and messy. Trying to pick up after every task. With that said, I sweep and vacuum but never wipe things down. The wife tells me that a clean flat open surface will never exist as long as I'm alive.
 
I'm sitting here reading this and drinking my coffee and had an idea. I'm thinking about getting one of those nail magnets (maybe from harbor freight) and sitting it on top of my water bucket for an extra metal dust collector? thoughts? taking the handle off of course.
 
Metal chips are the least of my problems...lol.

Guys....my wife started cleaning my shop last week. She puts things that look alike in small plastic bins....It's amazing!!! I actually have a nice shop again. We did a remodel a year ago and I never conquered the reorganizing needed. I literally got depressed with trying to launch new knife biz, wrap up a military job that got pulled suddenly after 10 years, and having diabetic feet trouble yet needing to be on my feet more than ever.(going to the doc today for the latest foot injury...sheesh)

Well...at least I have a fresh attitude...and she doesn't know it but she has a new job.Lol!!

Sleestack are you a machinist? When I see Kennedy's and Kant-twists I think "MACHINIST"...lol.
 
I hope your doctors visit goes well :)
I be dialing back after the first of the year. After a year of retirement my company called up and wants to bring me back as a contract employee with flexible hours. Can you say guilt free knife making supplies and tools :)
 
I'll take a picture of my shop, but you'll be vastly under-whelmed! I use half of a two-car garage. I have my benches and equipment arranged in two rows, so it's like working in a narrow hallway or a galley kitchen.
 
Is my shop a mess? it's all in the eye of the beholder, Ha ha. I work out of 2/3rds of a one car garage. I shop-vac the place upside down once a year and would like to do some kind of make over but I plan on relocating in three years so that idea is kind of out the window.
I don't really have much room for visitors but I know where everything is and there's nowhere else I'd rather be. I have a couple more machines coming but I'm going to store them at a friends place where my new shops going. the present one is booked solid, hopefully the new one will get built next year so I can get it set up for three years from now.
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bladegrinder said:
Is my shop a mess? it's all in the eye of the beholder, Ha ha. I work out of 2/3rds of a one car garage. I shop-vac the place upside down once a year and would like to do some kind of make over but I plan on relocating in three years so that idea is kind of out the window.
I don't really have much room for visitors but I know where everything is and there's nowhere else I'd rather be. I have a couple more machines coming but I'm going to store them at a friends place where my new shops going. the present one is booked solid, hopefully the new one will get built next year so I can get it set up for three years from now.
1AET7PA.jpg

XhpFxnt.jpg

6qR1hPk.jpg

ByYwk2S.jpg

ZbhC6Z3.jpg
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Steve....that was exactly my shop two years ago. Not really messy but jam packed with equipment. Then we closed our small store in the front building and I inherited 2k square ft. !! I would rather have a lot of equipment than a super tidy place.I suppose both is possible but I haven't really managed it...ever...lol.
 
Smallshop said:
Sleestack are you a machinist? When I see Kennedy's and Kant-twists I think "MACHINIST"...lol.
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Yeah that's a dead giveaway.

I did Tool & Die for some years. As a Die Maker I did just about every job there is. Machinist, grinder hand etc.

I'm from Detroit and there's a lot of manufacturing here (as you can imagine) and I've bounced around a few trades. I've worked in shops most of my life but finally gave it up about 15 years ago. Couldn't stand watching a clock and waiting for the break buzzer anymore.
 
Sleestack said:
Yeah that's a dead giveaway.

I did Tool & Die for some years. As a Die Maker I did just about every job there is. Machinist, grinder hand etc.

I'm from Detroit and there's a lot of manufacturing here (as you can imagine) and I've bounced around a few trades. I've worked in shops most of my life but finally gave it up about 15 years ago. Couldn't stand watching a clock and waiting for the break buzzer anymore.
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17 yrs ago I started my own shop for much the same reason....took me 5 more years to learn to eat slow....lol. you probably know what I mean if it was lunch truck dining in detroit.
 
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