When you head out to the shop ... ?

[maspann]

It's about 50/50 for me. My shop is about 200 ft behind the house - with no "porcelain chair". But as a retired engineer and an introvert, any day I don't have to go past my mailbox is a good day. My wife knows, when I say I'm going shopping, it's not to a store.....

 

[hotrats]

I usually just "piddle around" in the shop, not had many 'projects' since moving. My profile pic is/was my shop in NC. We moved almost 4 yrs ago to FL. The NC shop was 24x28, no heat, so didn't spend much time there in cold weather. My FL "shop" is one bay of our 3 car (barely) garage. So far, I've just been getting my stuff crammed in/arranged to where it's fairly easy to use. In the last few weeks, I've installed a split unit AC/heat, and a TV. I guess that has been my 'projects'. The AC will help in the FL heat/humidity, getting everything mobile and arranged helps making use easier. I bought some steel for new stands for my mill and lathe. Not had the opportunity to use the mill since making the table, but I think it's a bit too tall.

 

[cathead]

I always have a plan and never deviate from that.
Always and never are two words that get my attention in any conversation.
I find it easier to just walk away and avoid the stress and consternation.

Generally I have a pretty have a pretty good idea of my plans in the shop for any given day
but it really does not matter. It's warm out there especially this time of year and comfortable
so I can sit and cogitate if so desired or clean in the shop or start some new project if I want to.

 

[GeneT45]

While it might be 50/50, it tends to change in spurts. When I am working on a project, almost 100% of my shoptime is deliberate and geared toward the project. This could go on for days, weeks, or even months. Once I complete the project or back-burner it. then I might go days/weeks or months where almost all of my shop time is just going to to the shop to see what I come up with or to just hang out.

This is pretty much how things are for me, except that if I'm feeling particularly unmotivated I'll just wander around tidying up the shop. Sometimes that kicks in the motivation, sometimes it just keeps the shop from becoming a complete disaster. Either way is a win.

GsT

 

[BGHansen]

Probably in the 50/50 club too. I'm retired; have a great wife/partner who tolerates an all-day "putter-fest". I usually walk down to the shop (50 yds. from the house) with an "intent", but am easily distracted. I do some of my best problem-solving "s*itting/sitting" out in my shop!

Bruce

 

[woodchucker]

So to wrap things up, most of us have the cleanest shops because we are constantly TIDYING UP A BIT . Most of us would like to have a PORCELAIN CHAIR aka THE THRONE then we would only need to leave to sleep and eat. And finally we are mostly 50/50 winners.

 

[tq60]

Clean shop...

Our shop has years of being a good customer of a good estate sale company thar gives us the "pile price" for the boxes of garage stuff that the collectors and swap meet folks usually do not buy.

The bins of "that may be handy" someday, things like the pile of rack gear that may have been for under a small lathe, or the box of assorted hose clamps and cotter pins.

We combine this with a good deal on some sort of "storage item," rolling book shelf from a library or another file cabinet.

You can come up with an idea to make something and likely find everything you need. If only you remember where it was stashed, then move things to get to the machine.

We have a spreadsheet we started, maybe 1500 lines, also a database in creation, it makes the labels and has other stuff, major time saver, needed seals for the Bobcat, it seems we bought a packet with multiple sets of what we needed and forgot we had them, another trip saved.

We spend time thinking of how to reduce excess, thrift store gets a box sometimes.

Current project is a clock spring winder, will post here when finished...

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

 

[piper184]

Usually even when I plan to do a particular thing in the shop, there is always a side project diversion. Sometimes it is as small as looking for a particular piece of metal or a tool that I didn't put away.
Being retired and on no particular schedule (unless something is broken) I really don't care where my day leads me. It is usually always entertaining.

A friend taught me to "Have fun every day, no matter how hard you have to work at it"

 

[Boswell]

A friend taught me to "Have fun every day, no matter how hard you have to work at it"

My personal moto and a corollary is "If your not having fun, change something"

 

[pontiac428]

So to wrap things up, most of us have the cleanest shops because we are constantly TIDYING UP A BIT . Most of us would like to have a PORCELAIN CHAIR aka THE THRONE then we would only need to leave to sleep and eat. And finally we are mostly 50/50 winners.

My wife would pay me cash to install a thinking chair in my shop where I can pull the pin on the smoke grenades without bothering her sensitive nose, but that would really backfire (pun selected with intent) on her if I were given the rights of full deniability by having said facilities... I would have done it, too, but hand trenching 50 feet through glacial till with a seperate trench for water and the inspections to go with it turned me off from the idea. It's four precarious, clenching paces back to the house when nature calls uninvited.

A family friend worked for Miller for a full career and retired. When he built his shop, he included the extra facilities. His finishing touch was to place a Lincoln Electric decal below the waterline right on the impact zone of his big white telephone. He said he'd been ****ing on Lincoln for 30 years, no reason to stop now.