After another night of searching for little springs, detents, screws etc. i think i'm gonna make a new room just for taking guns apart.
no more than 4' square so nothing can get away to far, with a 4 way sharply tapered floor, covered in smooth white plastic. must have a big magnet at the bottom. that way whatever i drop, goes sprong, etc. hits the floor and ends up in the middle stuck to the magnet. then i line the walls with tiny little drawers that can only hold 1 or 2 items, thereby eliminate the need to dump a big drawer full of stuff out just to find a spring that you need a magnifying glass to see.

Butch

I really... really thought of buying/making a sandblasting cabinet just for that.

If you take enough things apart, over time, you will learn how to perfect the ability to determine departure angles which will come in handy when retracing the mishap. On occasion, I have been known to purposely launch a similar item to see if I can determine the direction of flight of the original part. Sometimes this has caused me to consider launching a third item to locate the second, but common sense usually kicks in about then.

Today, after many, many years of experience looking for things, I find most of the things I drop. At some point or another. And when I find them, no matter how many years have passed, I usually say "I remember that".

Don't you know that those little launched parts go into a time warp never to be seen again.

I keep a magnet on a long hndle available just for the purpose of recovering those items. Lowe's/Home Depot carry them for about $14. Not an absolute guarantee, but has recovered 90% or better in a garage full of "stuff".

I,too generally eventually find the errant part. The problem then is that I put it in some safe handy place so I will never be able to find it again when needed.

one other thing is needed - soundproofing- so the neigbors within 3 miles won't have to plug their ears

i learned to work on caterpillar diesel engine governors in the cab of my service truck, instead of on the ground, next to an open toolbaox... i also learned to cover up the defroster vents with a shop towel... don't ask my why i know....

My dad makes teeny tiny little things for several alphabet soup type places and he mostly uses a desktop mill and lathe. On the front of his table he imbedded a row of rare-earth magnets so when he drops a small piece it will be sucked up by the magnet and he can grab it. Also works perfect to hold the small hand tools he uses.

In extreme cases where I know to anticipate problems, I've been known to wrap myself in a large white sheet for the re-dis-assembly. I say re-dis-assembly 'cause I've lost just as many parts while supposedly putting things back together.....
Regards, Joe

A gunsmith was called into court as an expert witness. As a warmup and to establish credentials, the attorney on the case asked him a number of questions, such as name, address, occupation, etc. He was asked “how many years have you been a gunsmith?, to which he replied “23 years”. He then went on to testify on the technical aspects that he had been hired to present.

The opposing attorney, on cross examination, asked him questions, one of which was “Tell me how much experience you have working on guns?”. The man replied, “2 ½ years”. Immediately, the attorney jumped on this, questioning his credibility: “You testified earlier that you have been a gunsmith for 23 years, now you testify that you have 2 ½ years experience working on guns. What did you spend the other 20 1/2 years doing?”

The gunsmith looked at the attorney, looked at the judge, and then replied “I spent the other 20 ½ years on the floor looking for springs and screws”.

Yeah, I'm not sure how much time I've spent with one eye right at ground level looking for that damnded spring that took a trip. If that fails the broom comes out and I sweep up the area into one pile of sawdust, metal chips and dirt then sift through it while trickling it into the garbage can....for some reason that last ditch effort never works and I either make or buy a replacement. If I'm taking apart a small item that has hazardous springs in it a 1 or 2 gallon ziplock bag works well to take it apart in. Maybe I should find some clear trash bags for the long guns????

This serries of posts has made my evening.
Glad to know this is a common complaint and is not just my own clumsy big fat fingers.

Von Gruff.

Jewelers benches have a sort of cloth gutter along the front edge to catch little droppy things. Pants cuffs, when they existed, served a similar purpose.

There is also the "buy a duplicate of the lost item" syndrome that guarantees after the new part arrives three weeks later and is installed, the old one magically appears right in front of your eyes. If the duplicate is lost when being installed, the syndrome is nullified.

I got so tired of chasing detents on the first couple of AR lowers that I put together that I too went to the zip loc bag route. My bench has a white epoxy paint job and I have learned to tell which way an errant part goes by the sound of what it bounces off of. Plastic means the small parts cabinets, tinny means the tool box, more solid metallic means the metal parts cabinet. Then there is the dreaded concrete. I have considered putting doors and kick plates on the front of the bench so I could funnel them into an 8x4 foot area. Maybe expanded rubber mat to stop the bounce and a magnet to search for the part?

My very first experience with a gunsmith was an old timer just outside of town...Marrion Reed. (RIP) Dont remember the gun or the part but Marrion said NOPE, if you'll come back tomorrow I should have it. What time tomorrow ?...Right after I sweep the floor! Turned into a favorite place to go...

Butch, you forgot the padded walls . . . .

In the 6 or 7 armorer schools I have been to lots times springs go flying. Then someone across the room would say did some one lose this.

quote:

Originally posted by Westpac:
If you take enough things apart, over time, you will learn how to perfect the ability to determine departure angles which will come in handy when retracing the mishap. On occasion, I have been known to purposely launch a similar item to see if I can determine the direction of flight of the original part. Sometimes this has caused me to consider launching a third item to locate the second, but common sense usually kicks in about then.

Today, after many, many years of experience looking for things, I find most of the things I drop. At some point or another. And when I find them, no matter how many years have passed, I usually say "I remember that".

You too! I,ve learned to know the sound of an object hitting the floor, wall, ceiling & heaven forbid somewhere on the workbench.

quote:

Originally posted by Westpac:
If you take enough things apart, over time, you will learn how to perfect the ability to determine departure angles which will come in handy when retracing the mishap. On occasion, I have been known to purposely launch a similar item to see if I can determine the direction of flight of the original part. Sometimes this has caused me to consider launching a third item to locate the second, but common sense usually kicks in about then.

Today, after many, many years of experience looking for things, I find most of the things I drop. At some point or another. And when I find them, no matter how many years have passed, I usually say "I remember that".

That made me laugh great! I once had to go an hour out of my way on a trip to get a spring for the bolt on my 375 because I was taking it hunting and disassembled the bolt and shot a spring across the room. Now I have little girls with sharp eyes and short legs, they help me find things. I agree with a smaller space though, in the shop it's a total gamble whether it is ever coming back.

edited to add: wherever the little parts go is probably the same place as where my missing dress socks go.

Red

Gus the Gremlin


The Gremlins Complete Text

TRUE FACT - I have two shop vacuums. One is reserved only for vacuuming the shop RIGHT AFTER I have unsuccessfully both swept it with a broom and swept it with a very powerful small magnet.

Sometimes I do find the part or spring with the magnet or broom, but only if it is a part I have three or four more of already, and which isn't important to the basic functioning of the gun. And I only find it that way often enough to insure I will try that first, before almost always having to paw through the vacuum bag anyway......

when you get it finished and testes, post a blueprint and materials list...

You know those refrigerator magnets that are flexible? Well don't they come in a 24" by 16" sheet? A guy wouldn't want it on his bench all the time, or would he?

Glad to know I'm in good company. I covered my work bench with lush carpet and it does grab parts and springs that hit it and aren't launched into space. The idiot who did the covering used brown carpet.....same color as most parts. If I know that there are springs involved I usually put a rag over the operation. I always find the part after I have spent 4 or 5 hours making a new one......Tom

Another thing I would like to know. Who put higher than normal gravity under the geographical center of my bench? .......Tom