Where in hell did it go?

[6.5 Fan]

Dropped the bolt stop spring from a Rem 700 yesterday**#***. Hunted for that little bugger for 20 minutes, moving everything that might be hiding it, was using a strong light to help search. After a lot of fluffies, there it was right where i had been standing. How in hell did i not see it as i hd been over that patch of floor several times.
I'm sure none of you guys ever drop stuff.....right.

 

[Aliva]

I drop stuff all the time but I use a magnetic pick-up tool and sweep the floor. That's of course if its magnetic, if not, on my knees and a strong light.

 

[Mcgyver]

Better not take up watch work lol. The near microscopic parts get held by tweezers which makes them always kind of spring loaded. They go "ping" all too often. A partial solution (real solution is experience and skill) is one of those portable vacuums. Vacuum up the area and dump the contents on a piece of paper and magnifies start sifting through. The charmed life I lead, sifting through sweepings.

Anyway, just posted as the idea might work for you.

 

[Canadium]

I've had such things happen so many times I'm now extra careful when working with small parts. I try to make sure there is something close by underneath to catch bouncing parts before they reach the floor. But you know what they say. Sh#t happens!!!

 

[Susquatch]

I like to lay that strong light on the floor and then look for shadows. Even a teeny tiny part casts a much bigger shadow. Doesn't always work, but works more often than not.

PS - I hate that EFing part too. Not as much as I hate the ejector pin spring though. I think it was the inspiration for sending stuff to Venus.

 

[DPittman]

Just last night I was not being careful enough with a disassembly and a trigger spring when "SPROING!" into orbit it went. I didn't see it go but I heard something over I the corner I keep my band saw. So I start carefully moving stuff about and searching high and low and sifting through the dust and swarf that collects in the corners and under machinery. Well I was about to give up finding it and started to replace machinery and things I had moved about in my search when I looked in the apron/pan below my bandsaw that catches the sawdust and there was the spring. I keep my bandsaw covered/draped but there was obviously a little area/crevice that a spring could fall into.

 

[Hacker]

I hate that feeling of seeing something disappearing somewhere into corners of my shop. I have a cheap handheld magnetic nail sweep that I use. It wouldn't have helped in your case. I'm not sure if it saves me any time but it sure finds an amazing amount of swarf that gets missed when I do clean up.

 

[historicalarms]

The very first chapter in the very first gunsmithing book (Dunlap) I read instructed us readers to "build a glass covered box with two arm holes in the side big enough for any gun you will ever work on so those "spoingy things" will be captured inside....but I never did,,,
With my eyes the way they are now and if I hear one of those "ticks" things make when they land from being airborn , I just holler " hey can you come help me find this" now.

We did have an incident a couple months ago to that caused a little ruffle in the household. I had taken a gun apart for something or other and a couple days later started to put it back together but one screw was missing, it couldnt have gone fare from my gun desk ( it wasnt spring loaded) but obviously I hadnt heard it fall. It was big enough that I should have been able to find the damn thing but it just disappeared into thin air. After hours of moving everything in my gunroom I grumbled to the wife about it when having lunch the next day....and her off hand comment was "I didnt notice it when I vacuumed in there yesterday morning"....no need to guess where I found that fcn screw!! We have a whole new understanding on vacuuming in my gunroom.

 

[Everett]

I haven't had a rifle apart in quite a while but will admit to having a few close calls with small parts falling into engine areas where they don't belong.

About 10 years ago a coworker at the dealership I was at lost track of an M6 nut during reasembly of a 5.9 Cummins. Got the thing fully assembled and the nut made its presence known in #6 cylinder with much commotion on startup. After a second teardown, and new piston and head, it ran much better.

 

[Johnwa]

LOL. We had a small is discussion yesterday when a few of my precision screw driver bits disappeared. I later found the magnet in my iPad case had picked them up.

 

[6.5 Fan]

I feel much better knowing that i'm not alone. I learned long ago about disassembly inside a plastic bag if the part is small enough, that helps with springs flying across the shop. I find the arthritis in my right hand is causing me a lot of problems dealing with small parts.