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i have been having this problem for many years. As i am ageing it seems to be getting worse. While working at my bench I tend to drop things. They fall to the ground which is floor tile. They bounce, roll and vaporize. Many times they are nowhere to be found. I look with a light, if the part is steel I wave a magnet over the area, I sweep the floor and go through the dirt. Sometimes the part is never again seen. On occasion I will make or purchase a new part. Sometimes in looking for a part I will find one that was lost a long time ago. I put it in my scrap box never to use it. I have added a sliding shelf to my work bench to pull out and catch pieces. I am tempted to wear an apron which the bottom is attached to the bench as a method to catch items. That was an old watchmakers trick for this dilemma. I am afraid that I will forget that it is attached an get up and walk away, more trouble. I have also lost items on the bench itself and after a thorough search it reappears right before my eyes but, that's another story. Lucky for me that I have conditioned myself to laugh at the situation with a minimum amount of frustration. What is the solution to this problem anyone out there has, if any? I eagerly await your answer and stories!

Model Railroading is fun.

Nate

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I try to put an old bath towel on top of the surface I'm working on, then if a screw or something small is on the towel, it is less likely to roll off the edge before I have a chance to put it in a temporary tupperware holder or something similar.  Still a problem if I drop the part out of my hand over the edge, but stops those accidental bounces and rolls.

Nate,

   Don't be frustrated. Been there/done that!

   I don't have a solution for you, instead I have my story. I was working on prying apart one of my prewar Pennsy metal cabooses. All of a sudden, the tool box that is underneath came loose and I was 100% certain, based on the angle of how I was holding it, that it went down to the floor in front of my workbench. I looked for 20-30 minutes, but no luck. I asked my wife to help and she found it (in 5 min.) not on the floor but on top of the workbench. How it shot upward I'll never know. 

 

Tom

  

Originally Posted by MNCW:

   I don't have a solution for you, instead I have my story. I was working on prying I looked for 20-30 minutes, but no luck. I asked my wife to help and she found it (in 5 min.) not on the floor but on top of the workbench. How it shot upward I'll never know. 

 

Tom

  

That's the "fresh set of eyes technique".

The fact you asked a woman doubles your chances of the "new eyes" having success.

No there's no explaining it, it just is.

If you step on things you drop, restaurant floor mats have cells/pockets for chunks for food to fall into. That way your shoes aren't looking like they have hash-brown patties for soles. (They're easier to stand on all day)

On occasion something will bounce off a cell wall, traveling sideways like a bad kick-off bounce.   That's when you invite Tom & the Mrs. over for dinner & trains

Last edited by Adriatic

My grandson is a big help too, for a second set of eyes. If he is here when I drop something he finds it immediately. He gets around like a cat under the layout table, quite well! Sometimes when he comes over he finds things under there and gives them to me. He knows I can't see very good so he is always on the lookout. He is very helpful. He is also quite good with those tiny springs in Kadee couplers.

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