Do you clean before you create?

It's funny how many personality types there are. I'm just the opposite of @Nogoingback, I don't care if there are parts and tools everywhere, but if there are contaminants like dirt, oil, or chips, the vac is always at hand- they get dealt with immediately like evil that must be banished. Oil ruins welds and paint. Chips ruin tools and track everywhere. Dirt is abrasive grit that is happy to work on anything it gets into. Leaving a tool in the last place I used it is a minor misdemeanor in comparison!
 
I can be very anal about the condition of my shop. I hate, I mean really hate to have to look for something. Drives me nuts. I like things in their place. Likewise, I find it difficult to do quality work in a dirty environment. I don't mind the mess of grinding, cutting or turning while I am working on that phase of the project, but when I go to the next stage, I do a clean up to prep for that phase.

I was that way when I managed a maintenance shop and the production shop and I am more so in the small spaces I have had for my personal shops. The little time it takes to clean up, is well rewarded in the time saved and the quality of the end product.

I find it difficult to get motivated to do projects if I walk into the shop area and it is a mess.

With the miniature space I have in the Pilothouse on the boat, it is even more critical. I pull out the tools I need, do the job and then put them back and clean up before the next phase or job. Only difference is my tools are either in storage boxes, tool bags or under the settee in the PH.

@pontiac428 you are so right about the number of personality types we have here. Nothing is wrong with that. That is one of the benefits of this forum. You can learn so many different ways to do things and to think about solutions to challenges.
 
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I agree John, Dirt, oil and metal shavings got to get cleaned up right away. Tools nut so much.

Tim
 
This is a fascinating thread.
My shop is a mess. And I don't like it that way. I suffer from a bit (ok maybe a lot) of ADD and I know that a cluttered, messy space makes it hard for me to concentrate. Ironically, the clutter also makes it hard to get organized because knowing where to start is a challenge.
I'm getting there but man, the struggle is real.
 
David,
I can't tell you how much time I have spent trying to increase floor space, add storage, get things up in the shelves to capitalize on wasted space.
Most of us have a garage, basement or out building we call our shops. We change them and they evolve over time.
I'm still evolving. It is hard to work on a project with crap all over the place.
I have been trying to practice tig welding. The cables go all over the place, my stool wheels are stuck in the wrong place because of the cables, the darn foot pedal is always in the wrong place. I think a desk where you can scoot into the work would be ideal for learning how to tig weld.
 
David,
I can't tell you how much time I have spent trying to increase floor space, add storage, get things up in the shelves to capitalize on wasted space.
Most of us have a garage, basement or out building we call our shops. We change them and they evolve over time.
I'm still evolving. It is hard to work on a project with crap all over the place.
I have been trying to practice tig welding. The cables go all over the place, my stool wheels are stuck in the wrong place because of the cables, the darn foot pedal is always in the wrong place. I think a desk where you can scoot into the work would be ideal for learning how to tig weld.
Totally hear you on the TIG challenge. Don't want to tell you about moving to get more comforable and accidentally stepping on the pedal while the torch tip was about 1/2" away from the work. Suffice it to say...that arc mark sure didn't buff out. :rolleyes:
I'm off work from now till Jan 4th so my plan is to do a re-org and clean. I've figured out that my table saw doesn't work where it is...
 
@Janderso @DavidR8 It is funny to read your posts above. The problem can exist in small shops and large shops. I hate going along, making a really beautiful TIG bead and then I can't move the torch, the wheel on my stool has caught it and won't let it move.

And as for the lovely flash. Might as well go have a cup of coffee or a beer until the spots in my eyes go away and I can see to weld again.
 
My brain geo-tags and catalogs the last location of anything I touch in the shop (house, closet, etc.) and retains it for sometimes years.
Yer a better man than I am, Gunga Din!!!!
 
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