Winnowing cotter pins
Doing the shit i do, it’s not uncommon for me to need a cotter pin about, oh, once a week. To keep the jones at bay, I’ve developed a box of cotter pins that I refer to mysteriously as “The box of cotter pins”. This vital bit of kit sits on the shelf in the shed, or did, until I KNOCKED IT OFF last night.
So I swept the assorted crud up, and spent a while winnowing the cotter pins out of the dust, because hey, my cotter pins! and damn, I don’t want one of these in my tractor tire.
20 comments Og | Uncategorized
heh. I’m that way with boxes…
If you were a wealthy stud, you’d have a cotter pin tray in your Lawson chest o’ drawers!
I built a compartmented tray that fits in my roll-about tool box drawer that holds the cotter pins by size.
Also use a magnet to pick up nails, cotter pins etc when I drop them.
YeOldFurt
The cotter pins goal in life is not tractor tires. Tractor tires are the domain of roofing nails. Cotter pins are restricted to left thumbs, puncture thereof. On the same line, safety wire aims for right hand index fingers. They all follow the same rules, such as any small part dropped from your work bench will bounce underneath the bench and the smaller the spring, the farther it will fly.
Cotter pins are really under-rated. Everyone extols the many uses of duct tape and baling wire, but a cotter pin when you need one is a beautiful thing!
The most time consuming mess I ever had to clean up was a dropped assortment box of cotter pins of varying sizes. Round about 1500 hundred or so of those little bastards, if I recall correctly. Still pisses me of to think of it.
…winnowing out of the dust.” And that’s why every Mancave should have a good magnet stuck on the wall somewhere, heh.
I’ve heard of these cotter pins.
Are they something to use when you don’t have a nail to put through he hole?
Ed, Cotter pins are an upgraded nail. Similar properties in application, but more secure against loss.
Dropped many a box my self. My depth perception sucks so I pick up a lot of stuff. No easy way, just gotta do it.
Depth perception, Paul?
Bummer, man.
My cotter pins are in a antique lard bucket that I found in my grandmother’s basement. Its about 1 qt size. I have never spilled it.
However, the top drawer in my workbench is for misc screws, bolts, washers and nuts. The drawer is 18in wide, 2 feet long and about 6 inches deep. It is about 2/3rds full. It is heavy.
Last week, I was in a hurry and wasn’t paying attention and I tugged the drawer too far out, the slides collapsed and dumped the entire drawer onto the floor in front of the bench.
I’ve put heavy duty slides on the drawer, reinforced the bottom and refilled it. I briefly thought about sorting out the contents of that drawer, but my son and two neighbors who are always borrowing from that drawer talked me out of it.
Floor of the shed is covered with bits and pieces of other crap too, a magbet would have just provided me with a lump of gonge. Picking and winnoiwing was the best way, unfortunately.
AWESOME POST! Thanks for putting this up!!
Steve
Common
http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com
I get what you’re saying Og. I know from experience on our farm that any shop or shed where there is metal working and welding done the dust has enough ferrous content to be as easily picked up with a magnet as sweeping with a broom.
I keep about 20 cotter pins in my tool bag in the back of my SUV. You never know when you need one for a job requiring one, or when you refashion one into something it was never meant to be. Way cool things.
Dropped a tray of small pistol primers and like above said 99 out of 100 will head for the deepest corners.
Stray rounds out of a mag from a range session will find the only hole in your overcoat pocket, fall through, and migrate to the bottom of the lining. Where it will create hours of fun w the TSA ‘tards at O’Hare.
Just keep them out of the light and don’t get them wet. . .
Put the magnet in a small, heavy plastic or paper bag. Then use it to sweep up the debris pile. Easy, peasy.
I have a dump magnet- but as I said, there’s just so damned much rusty dust there I would have just gotten a gob of junk.