[ARC5] R1155: The Screw Gremlins Defeated!

[N4ch at aol.com]

I've fought this same battle for years (losing screws and  other small 
parts that I just cannot afford to lose).   For a while,  I'd put a small part 
or two in a magnetic ("Harbor Freight") magnetic dish, on  the FLOOR, away 
from my feet, and in a supposedly "safe" spot (after all, parts  cannot fall 
"off the floor"........or so I thought).   This worked  pretty well for a 
year or two, until a pair of pliers suddenly left my hand,  fell right onto the 
edge of the dish, flipped it, and sent the "safe" part/s  into neverland 
(never to be seen again).   The fix these days: I  ALWAYS keep a couple 
plastic ("Zip-Lok" equivalent) sandwich bags at my  workbench, and I use THOSE to 
store potential "to-be-lost" small  parts.........sometimes I "double-bag" 
key screws, washers, etc.......using a  much smaller resealable bag inside a 
sandwich-sized one, and I do the work  UPSTAIRS, on the dining room table, 
where the floor is clean (and hard surfaced,  versus carpeted).   I've had 
almost NO significant key part defections  this way; the major problem with 
this is that it is hard on the  XYL.
 
73, Herman, N4CH.
 
 
 
In a message dated 5/7/2017 3:42:51 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
arc5 at ix.netcom.com writes:

I post  this to give hope and encouragement to
my fellow Brothers of the Molten  Solder.
We all know of the dread Screw Gremlins who,
among other vile  treacheries, immediately make-off
with any screw dropped from the bench  during a repair.  

I removed the logging scale from the front of  the R1155
to clean behind it.  It is held in place by two  miniscule
screws- about 2mm by 3mm.  
Pictured next to the "70"  marking.  They are most  tiny.
https://goo.gl/photos/5XYgg4A3SeWAoBwe7
I placed a towel under the  area to catch any dropped 
screws before removing the scale.  
Of  course, I dropped one.
It struck something- perhaps my little finger,  bounded
at an angle, missed the towel completely and decended
into the  dark, mysterious, howling abyss of the barn
floor under my bench.

I  don't know if many of you have spent any quality time
with your nose on a  dirty barn floor, going inch by
hopeless inch searching, hoping to fend-off  the 
Screw Gremlins this time.  Doing it with 60-year-old
joints  adds a special something to the experence.
I did not find it.

And  herein is the hope:  
I discovered that Screw Gremlins
are afraid  of the sound of a big shop vacuum!
Emptied the vac completely.
Cleared  the floor of "stuff" for 3-feet around the 
drop point and vacuumed the  area inch-by-inch,
not missing places, never seeing the errent screw.   
Then took the vac out to a flat surface and 
a sheet of white  plastic.  Poured about two
tablespoons of gunk each time and started  hand
sifting.  On the third dump, "saint's be  praised!"
https://goo.gl/photos/wT2dg4LxSyHcf6nC7

The moral of the  story:  The Screw Gremlins can
be beaten, and sometimes it's good if  "you suck."

73 OM DE Dave  AB5S


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