Why, Oh Why? From Sawmill Creek

We suspect that eZine readers may be able to relate to this thread about shop supplies “gone missing” – at least until you don't need them anymore. The title of the discussion thread comes from the first poster, who wondered, why, oh why such shop quandaries keep happening to him. - Editor

[Why, oh why] “When you are looking for two screws in that miscellaneous box of a thousand screws, you can only find one? That is, until you go buy some and then, later, looking for something else, you find five of them, just like you wanted last time.

“When you need a small board that only needs to be 14 and 1/8 inches long, the only scrap you have is 13 and 7/8? If you just need a 1/2 pint of finish, you will find you only have 1/4 of a pint?

“Then the biggie is, every time you go to the lumberyard or big box store, when you get home you find that you forgot the main thing you were going to get. Is this just because I am getting old?” - Bill H.

Some respondents chose to address the “aging” question in Bill's query. - Editor

“No, Bill, uncle Murphy doesn't discriminate on the basis of age. His law applies to all of us.” - Peter Q.

“There are two signs that one is growing old. The first is memory loss . . . and I just can't remember what the other one is.” - David H.

“When you get old, you get forgetful. You forget that you've forgotten stuff like that all your life.” - Alan S.

And others shared how the disappearing shop tools impact their shop life. - Editor

"My method for finding a Phillips screwdriver is to first pick up five slotted screwdrivers from various tool boxes. To find a slotted screwdriver, I do the reverse.- Stephen T.

“This is the excuse I use for having several half done projects lying around. When I go looking for those screws, I will not only not find what I need, I will find the very thing that stalled me out on one of the other projects.” - John M.

“I was in the middle of a project and needed a special size Forstner bit – a bit I knew I had in my shop, but could not find. I looked for over an hour. So the next day I waste two hours driving to Rockler to get another bit. Get back to my shop, pull my Shopsmith drill chuck out of its holder to use. Guess what was mounted in the chuck?”- Dave L.

“My wife doesn't work in my shop at all, but she can find 'missing' things a lot faster than I can. Just this morning, she found the wood putty that I was looking for. Of course, it was just where I left it about four months ago.” - Don B.

“First; my shop is very clean. I promised myself that when I finally got it rebuilt I would put things away, and have an actual place for each thing that would always be the same. My problem is, I can have a tool in my hand and be using it. I'll put it down for a minute (maybe get a cup of coffee), and it will have disappeared. The next twenty minutes are spent searching for the tool I just had!” - David H.

“I lost my Makita cordless drill. Looked for over an hour, tore the shop apart. Finally decided to wait till the wife got home and ask her if she used it. When she drove up, I saw it. Lying on the step bumper under the tailgate of the pickup she had taken shopping. Right where I'd left it. Thirty-four miles, and it didn't fall off or get stolen. The tool gods were with me.” - Gene H.

A Woman is Not a 'Mortise' from Women in Woodworking

As stated in the thread, this discussion is a bit of an unusual one for a woodworking forum – but, as also stated, it demonstrates the influence such forums can have. It began with the first posting. - Editor

“This week, I went into the Seattle Woodcraft store. The women's restroom was labeled with the sign 'mortises.' I have worked in several male-dominated professions; it is never easy to escape the pseudosexual name calling women face when doing that. How do you all feel about using a restroom where the store manager is calling you 'a slot, a groove, a recess or a cavity that receives a male member'? Do you think it necessary to refer to a woman's sex organs to direct her to the correct restroom to use?” - Karin C.

That post brought forth a suggestion, and a reply from the original poster letting others know of the resolution of the issue. - Editor

“This at the least is in bad taste and reflects poorly on the whole organization. I also have a feeling that the city and state have some sort of way to handle with this type of incident.” - Barbara G.

“Thank you for the reply and suggestion, Barbara. I did indeed contact the national office of the store before I posted this problem on the Forum. Before the posting, I received a phone call from the store owner during which not once, but three times, he stated they would not be taking down the sign. I sent a second email to the national office, and it did no good.

“Then I posted on this forum asking peoples' opinion of the matter and sent a copy of my posting to the national office and the local store. That was what did the trick: the signs are being changed to simply say Men and Women.

"Never doubt the power of these forums to help make needed changes in policy. We are no longer one voice that is easy to ignore, we are the power of one individual multiplied by three thousand other members. It might not be the normal kind of everyday conversation on this forum, but having a Women in Woodworking Forum in which to post this kind of problem is what made the difference.” - Karin C.