Art & Inspiration I'm not the only one who does this.. ;-)

Yesterday afternoon my wife and went to my buddy Jake's shop, to replace the kingpin bushings in the spindles for my '34. He has a Ford kingpin reamer, I had the bushings and spindles, simple job, right? On his clean, steel top workbench, we laid out the parts and the tools, wives watching. After a minute or so figuring how to clamp the awkward spindles in the vice, we had a plan and pushed the old bushings out. Easy.
Or so we thought.
Now, after not leaving the bench, not moving anything, we had only three new bushings. We looked in the plastic bag the parts came in (clearly empty, but that didn't stop us from both looking at several times. We looked on the vice. We looked in the trash. We looked on the floor, we spent at least 10 minutes, all four of us, looking for the missing bushing. We even pulled the old ones out out of snap bin and checked to find one that wasn't worn enough to reuse.
After all this, I picked up the reamer, again, for like the hundredth time, and there was the missing bushing. One of us had slid it on the shaft, laid the tool down on the bench, and left the bushing on.
Success!
We pressed the new bushings in one spindle, grabbed the second one, pushed the top bushing in, reached for the last bushing, and...
No bushing.
AGAIN!
Repeat of the whole search and recovery mission, this time just Jake and I, having lost the women, turned the bench upside down, and finally, Jake went to the scrap bin again to go through the old ones, and there were not 4 old bushings, but 5.
He'd picked up the last new one off the bench with the old ones and tossed it along with them.
This is why it takes us so long to build a car. We spend more time looking for the part or tool we just laid down, and then, 90% of the time, end up doing the whole job over again because it didn't turn out right, we don't like it, or it interferes with the next step.
Thanks Jake, I'm glad I'm not the only one! ;-)

 

At least you found the bushing, I've been working in the garage and lost tools and parts that never turn up. I clean off the work bench when I start something and soon it is covered with tools and parts and I'm digging around for something. Must need a bigger workbench.

 

Man - I've done crap like that a 1000 times. Sometimes I have to just quit . . . because some 'monster in my shop' must have ATE a tool or a part . . . and he'll spit it back out tomorrow so I can find it. Or, you go buy a tool that you know you already have - cause you 'lost' it in the last day or so! Now, I don't leave shit all strewn about the place - I always clean and put my tools away - but every once in awhile the same beast that is responsible for eating my socks out of the dryer - gets into the garage!

Side Note: On king pins - I no longer use a reamer (just not that precise in my mind). I take them to my machine shop and have them done on a long mandrel hone (think piston pins). If you have a mandrel that is long enough to pickup both bores (you need to do both at once), then you get a really precise fit - much better than any reamer I've used.

 

Ha! - strikes too close to home - think that there are gremlins in another world that love to trick us into thinking that we have whatever project or action all figured out - then poof, the bushing or whatever disappears or moves to an unknown location - much of this happens in a split second - I certainly could not have made this error happen on my own because I am too sharp at thinking things out

 

I happened to be in H'pot and walking by the tools [husky] so I pick up a 9/16 comb wrench since one of my regulars has been missing for months..Bet the missing wrench pops up soon? Of coarse!

 

Got the same issues. I clean the shop and workbench before I start, seems to help a little.
Started doing things like buy an extra wrench and made a hook on my grinder buffer base. All the wheels and the right wrench are already there.

I still walk across the shop with a part, leave it somewhere, then can't find it.

 

Been there, X 1000. Insult to injury, if one of my sons are close by. Let me stew, cuss, and stammer for a while, then point it out, usually within arm's reach. Damn!

 

I've figured out the name of one my my gremlins . . . while in the laundry room he goes by the name of the 'Sock Monster' . . . in the shop . . . the 'Socket Monster' --- loves to eat small sockets like 5/16, 11/32, etc . . . eventually spits them back out (on the floor, under the bench, in a corner) . . . sometimes not . . .

 

My shop gremlin has a nickname....and it's CRS. He is frequenting more often these days. He is fond of specialty items that are hard to come by, and he observes me lining up a project and grabs tools that are needed and absconds with them for several days or weeks. I'll catch his sneaky little ass one of these days and beat him over the head with a BFH....if I can find one!

 

Never happens here..... Most days there are two of us working my shop. When one of us sees the other wondering around with that "I have lost something look" the other will pitch in and help find the part or tool with legs.

 

It's always at the last place you look, try and go there first

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh brother.Does THIS thread ever bring back memories.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

He lives in my Garage also!!!!!!!!!!!
I spend many hours looking for a tool I just had 2 minutes ago!!!

 

Only way I do stuff anymore.

Sent from my SM-J320V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Never happens to me you guys must be losing it.

 

I forget what the missing item was, doesn't matter, I went to the hardware store and bough a new one. Came home walked down into the basement and put on the shelf RIGHT NEXT to the one I had been looking for!. Bob

 

Man I hate when this happens. If it hasn't happen to anyone yet it will happen. especially when you already have plans to complete what you have in the next hour to 4 hours. Something is gona get lost until you either ready to give up. Or until you find something else to work on and bam all of a sudden that damn thing you was looking for just pops up in your face mocking you

Sent from my Z981 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Just go in the house for a coffee or beer, when you get back to the shop you'll have forgotten what you were working on, and start something new.

The part or tool you lost only reappears after you don't need it.

Ta Da.

 

Things like this happening is why I drink. LOL.

 

Yea man, all the time,So often I don't wanna admit it.

 

Boy oh boy, been there sooo many times! I used to blame it on all the partying I did in the '70s and '80s. Now I can blame old age. Whats bad is, you go buy a new tool to replace the one you just can't find, and as soon as you bring it home the lost one shows up.

 

lol Yeah, that's happened before.

I try beating them with a stick........

........but the elves keep coming back...................dang elves.

 

I too have a shop gremlin. He answers to the name "Murphy's Law ".


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

This is why I have three Stanley flat bars, and can only EVER find one after I've made a trip to the hardware store o buy a new one. The last one I found with my zero turn mower...

 

Ouch! Time for a new set of balanced blades!

 

Happens to me all the time .My usual solution is to start walking around the shop and picking up tools I was working on a 31 chevy a while ago and did the same thing with the king pin bushing .

 

Looks like your just another card carring member of the huge club, HRP

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/have-you-purchased-a-part-and-then-lost-it.1043179/

 

You are not alone, for myself and most guys I know in my age (69) group, it's the same.. Everything I do/work on projects, cars, house, yard, etc, It's at least 25% or more time involved looking for what I just had in my hand or looking for what I just set down somewhere. Finally getting used to it and laugh at myself rather than getting PO about it. Someone said, "Aging is not for the weak" The positive, still walking, talking, typing, enjoying life in general and still playing with cars.​

 

I spent all morning on the prowl for my missing coffee cup. Walked past this at least 20 times . I was so pissed when I found it and realized I looked right at the bowl but never saw my coffee cup.
I would have fired my ass right on the spot.

 

It's been going on for years, so it must be Traditional!
Happens to everyone, and more often than they will admit!
The older we get, the more often it happens, so it must be Traditional!
KK