Am I the only one?

Satch

Audiotinkerer
Today I worked on an amp (Philips FA-930, but that's not the story). Needed cleaning and some resoldering. It took me about two hours. When I was done I realized that:
- I worked for 40 minutes
- Spend 20 minutes searching for my reading glasses
- spend 20 minutes searching for the screwdriver, which I held in my hand 10 seconds ago
- spend 40 minutes searching for that screw that dropped to the ground. I found 17 screws, none of which fitted.

Is it just me?

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You are not the only one, for certain.

This is why I have adopted some "strange" measures when working on a piece of gear. I have a bunch of white tablecloths from a restaurant that would not come clean enough to be presentable, so I use them as "dropcloths". I place one down under the piece of gear, and all parts and tools stay on that white cloth. All removed screws go into a large shotglass as they are removed. Knobs and other larger parts go into a plastic food storage container as removed.

I keep reading glasses everywhere, so I can always find at least one pair somewhere--generally, if I "lose" those while working, they are hanging from my shirt pocket or collar. Tools OTOH are another story. I am not good about putting them away in the same place twice--so that can be a "scavenger hunt". Fortunately, my soldering station and desoldering station both have holders for the tips and drawers to keep solder and flux. Probe/test leads I do keep hanging on a hook on the wall next to the bench, so I know where they are, but they are all together in no particular order, so that can be an adventure--I know where they all are, but finding the right ones can get frustrating at times.

So, no, you are not alone.
 
#4 Dropped and looking for. I have a hard time with small screws, both my index fingers and one thumb have damage. Usually they show up somewhere.
 
I work in my garage, so I placed a piece of scrap carpet in front of my bench so dropped screws don't bounce away. When disassembling a piece of gear I use a series of bags. One large ziploc has the device make and model number written on it with a Sharpie marker. Then as it is disassembled further, smaller bags are marked with a description of where they came from, i.e front, cover, heat sink assembly etc. Makes reassembly way easier, especially if it's a week later after parts arrive.

I wear progressive lens eyeglasses which go on my face first thing in the morning and stay there. So that's not an issue.

I'm pretty disciplined about my tools.

But even with all this, I still drop things and spend time looking for them. And I'll put a tool down on the bench and not be able to find it. I told my girlfriend that I have tunnel vision with a blind spot in the middle.

So yeah, I've mitigated some of these issues but not eliminated them...
 
Reading these posts makes me laugh. Tools and parts that seem to vanish into thin air, the dropped screw finding it's way to the most hidden location... All of these issues are so time consuming and a bit frustrating while we're working, but become humorous upon reflection.
On the flip side, there are times when it goes off without a single problem and a thoroughly satisfying result.
To the O.P.: No, it's not just you.
 
I see. Time to find another hobby then. Maybe repairing watches or something easy like that...
HA... My uncle was a watchmaker... spent a lot of time with him,, I moved on to mantle clocks,,, now they're too small for these old eyes!!!! Just replaced the 5way switch in my "new" Strat project,, and greased the truck... enough work for the day, I believe!!!!
 
After years of playing 'hunt the screw', I too work on a tablecloth and I always have a sectioned parts box handy that has a hinged cover. Screws and other parts go straight in there to avoid being knocked off the table. Also, different groups of screws can be kept together as an item comes apart. Much easier when it comes to reassembly.
 
I use old towels under equipment I'm working on. Small screws and parts tend not to bounce or roll away. Heck, some get stuck in the fibers. A good thing. For any dropped screws or small metal parts that do happen to fly off to the floor I bought a flat round magnet on a stick. I just wave it around the floor like a metal detector until I hear that little "clink". They are found at harbor freight dirt cheap along with magnetized trays. The magnetic trays are great, even if you knock it over the screws tend to stay put.
 
I hate to spend time looking for the tool I had in my hand 10 seconds ago !! But, I realize all the tools are +- the same color, black with some red strip, from the screwdriver, paper scissors, DMM probes, DMM itself, alligator clips, all seem to be made to "disappear" or camouflage on the bench !!

I'm pretty good with dropped screws, I usually find them easily.
 
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