When you head out to the shop ... ?

Shop time is shop time. I don't usually go with a specific job in mind, but as I will have 4-5 projects going at once (restoring something, fixing something, testing something, thinking about something) I will always gravitate to what seems to fit my mood at the time. I also shoot 10-meter(ish) air guns alongside the shop, if nothing else I will do a little of that.

The shop is a 11'x13' room right in the basement below, so I don't worry about a throne room or office being part of it, as both are a short flight of stairs away.
 
My shop is in the basement, with access through an exterior door, so not far but also not super convenient, particularly when it is raining. I don't tend to go down there to just hang out, but I've got a stereo and lots of things to do so it is not uncommon to go down there with a quick task, and have it turn into a couple hours bouncing from one little thing to another.

If I have a specific project that needs doing, I'm pretty good at staying on task. Otherwise it is whatever is shiny that catches my eye. I'm really bad about jumping from one thing to another. It is a hobby shop, as long as I'm having fun it really doesn't need to actually do anything.
 
I seem to have a similar issue with perpetually organizing the shop. We bought a house with a large detached garage with a loft above it in 2000, and most of my stuff was electronics/radio equipment. Never got that mess organized enough to be able to efficiently work on anything. Grandfather passed away, and I inherited a 12" Craftsman/Atlas lathe and a Chinese mill/drill, table saw, jointer/planer, and his collection of hand tools to add to what I'd accumulated. Then we bought the new place up in northeast Texas, with a house on 19 acres that kept me busy with remodeling for a few years. I did get a 40x60 shop building put up, and promptly messed it up with stuff I moved up from the old place. I work a tech job from home, and my desk is set up in the shop to avoid spousal distractions during the day. My pile of ham radio gear is on a table next to the desk.
Then my father passed away about 2 years ago, and I had to deal with his hoard of tools. 4 lathes and a Nantong mill, lots of attachments and tooling for them. He couldn't even get to most of this stuff to use it, it was crammed in so tight. I gave away 3 of the lathes to one of Dad's old toolmaker friends in exchange for help in moving the remainder up to my place. This has forced me to put a lot more effort into planning and organization, and things are finally starting to come together nicely. Once I run conduit from the main breaker panel over to where I'll put a sub-panel, I'll have solid 240V power to feed the larger machines (Big lathe has a 3-phase variable-speed drive!)
My big problem with getting things done is this desk, with internet at my fingertips. I can spend all day looking at sites pertaining to my too-numerous hobbies, and not actually do much! Once I get everything set up, I'll be able to find things and efficiently focus on my projects. At least I don't watch TV, which seems to eat up time for a lot of folks...
 
So, when the shop is a cluttered mess, I know where everything is based on where I used it last. Tools, boxes of bolts, bits of abrasives, all cataloged in yon noggin.

When the shop is "organized" I only assume to know where things is...

But I never confuse organized with clean. The shop is always kept free from accumulations of trash, swarf, grinding dust, dross, and debris. That stuff will ruin work. But organization? Bah! Waste of time.
 
rabler said:
How often do you head out to the shop with a plan on what you are going to do, verses going out to the shop and then deciding what you're going to work on?

My shop is easily heated and cooled, has a beverage fridge, good network connectivity, etc. In other words, it is a fairly comfortable place to be. I'd guess it is about 50/50 for me, time I spend in the shop with a plan on what to work on, verses heading out to the shop to see what I feel like doing. Maybe the later, heading out to the shop to see what I get into, is the definition of a "hobby" shop?
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Since the thread has been resurrected, I’ll play. My shop is very much like yours in its amenities. For the last year I have had a specific task to do most of the time and the work has been time sensitive. I’m just a hobbyist amateur but the work has to be approached more like it’s a job shop. It’s really expanded my skills.
 
pontiac428 said:
So, when the shop is a cluttered mess, I know where everything is based on where I used it last. Tools, boxes of bolts, bits of abrasives, all cataloged in yon noggin.

When the shop is "organized" I only assume to know where things is...

But I never confuse organized with clean. The shop is always kept free from accumulations of trash, swarf, grinding dust, dross, and debris. That stuff will ruin work. But organization? Bah! Waste of time.
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Yea, much of my stuff is stored in chronological order. Last used is on top. I try to do better but no.
 
Chip Hacket said:
Yea, much of my stuff is stored in chronological order. Last used is on top. I try to do better but no.
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That's me to a T! Like Pontiac428, I hate swarf everywhere, and I try to sweep up every time in the garage. I also have this weird obsession that requires me to at least put tools back in the boxes and hanging on the pegboard, and then the boxes have to be closed. But parts and materials pile up on the benches or any other horizontal surface not the floor. I suppose I can thank/blame my mom all those decades ago for that weird obsession, as my toys always had to be off the floor. The bed, the bureau, my side table, or any other horizontal surface in my bedroom however, were usually cluttered.

I suppose that's not a bad thing. Keeps stuff out from under my feet. And tripping and falling is definitely off the agenda these days
 
pontiac428 said:
The shop is where I spend the best hours of my free time. By best hours, I mean before my body starts hurting or my eyes get tired. I don't have anywhere to sit in my shop, no sofa, no recliner, no chair, so once the aches and pains start, I head for the house. I'm also in the 50/50 club, sometimes I go out there to find something to do, finish a side project or clean up. Else it's focused work toward a current project. It's my space, my cave, my fortress. If I had a shower and a crapper out there, I'd only come out for meals, if only I had a place to sit (not counting the hypothetical porcelain chair).
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I have several padded stools with backs much like the old drafting table stools of yesteryear, I am in the 50/50 club as well although I have a pad with a list of projects I would like to do to choose from...
 
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