With these television shows shedding light on people who hoard things, I thought it appropriate to post something here on the subject. People who allow everything to collect in their homes, the stacks of newspaper, clothing that doesn't fit, bottles, cans and trash all stacked up to the ceiling, yeah, all makes for Good TV, right? And now there's a show about Animal Cops, where they seek out abused, neglected pets and often come upon 'animal hoarders'. The new issue of our local 'Humane Society News' publiished an article on the subject and, of course I read everything with woodworkers' eyes. So I wonder… am I guilty of hoarding? Welll, perhaps… I have a shelf full of un-assembled presentation boxes with lids…all cranked out for the sole reason of refining my handcut dovetail techniques. There they sit, all stacked up and ready to go, but they have no current purpose so there they sit. Ditto a collection of fences and miter gauges, some belonging to tools I don't even own any more. A milk-crate full of pulleys and v-belts…..another crate full of salvaged wire…a collection of shelf brackets… pillow blocks and ball bearings by the dozen, every nut, bolt and screw size you can think of, cans of paint and stain more than 10 years old, one rollaway toolbox full of cylinder-honing equipment and suspension tools that I've not used in 20 years…and 5 more rollaways full of tools I may probably never use again. A machinists chest full of calipers of every size and gender, and 12 micrometers and dial gauges. One small den filled with hardwood lumber. One corner of the basement dedicated to future furniture projects to be refurbished someday. I haven't even mentioned the garage!
Everything, however is nicely stowed, and sorted well enough that I can generally go right to it. Is that orderliness, or just another sympton? People come to me when they need a widget, is that scary? I always have one on hand… Perhaps…. hmmm, as an adolescent, my friends all had state-of-the-art slot cars. This was early-mid 60s. My slot cars were ones I made from salvaged tin or aluminum, or handmade chassis constructed from coat-hanger wire and GI Joe motors. Maybe that's where I learned to be resourceful, and addicted to that rush of fabricating something out of junque, and it is still a very gratifying thing today. Tinkering is almost as much fun as woodworking! But…this need to have all the giblets "in stock" is a bit of a problem! How's YOUR stockpile? Do you agonize over your backlog of materials?
Everything, however is nicely stowed, and sorted well enough that I can generally go right to it. Is that orderliness, or just another sympton? People come to me when they need a widget, is that scary? I always have one on hand… Perhaps…. hmmm, as an adolescent, my friends all had state-of-the-art slot cars. This was early-mid 60s. My slot cars were ones I made from salvaged tin or aluminum, or handmade chassis constructed from coat-hanger wire and GI Joe motors. Maybe that's where I learned to be resourceful, and addicted to that rush of fabricating something out of junque, and it is still a very gratifying thing today. Tinkering is almost as much fun as woodworking! But…this need to have all the giblets "in stock" is a bit of a problem! How's YOUR stockpile? Do you agonize over your backlog of materials?
