Must haves in your shop

Frame Maker SA

CGF, Certified Grumble Framer
Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Posts
135
Location
San Antonio, Texas
Just out of curosity, what are must haves in your shop. For example, for me it mechanical pencils. I hate dull pencils and pencil sharpeners.

What is that small tool or item that you cant work without. :eek:
 
Razor blades, razor blades, razor blades. I have them everywhere. I get so frustrated when I am working at home and all we have is scissors... vastly inferior!
 
Ellen beat me to it. Razor Blades are essential!!!

Also... toothpicks, distilled water, sharp pencils, clean microfiber rags, cloth rags, acetone, and all the other standard supplies!

Oh... maybe Heath Bars too.

:)
 
Ellen beat me to it. Razor Blades are essential!!!

Also... toothpicks, distilled water, sharp pencils, clean microfiber rags, cloth rags, acetone, and all the other standard supplies!

Oh... maybe Heath Bars too.

:)

Dave,

I love heath bars. :thumbsup:

Oh, I almost forgot. MY WIFE.
 
I am OCD about my pencils. They have to be Ticonderoga #2's. My shop could be falling down around me and I would care less, because I need a freshly sharpened pencil. It has be sharpened well too. It needs to be able to slide into my hair without catching a strand and pulling it out.

Nothing else matters.
 
Blades. I used to keep an old fashioned single-edge razor blade box cutter in my pocket everywhere I went before I got afraid of arrest if I forgot and went into the wrong place. (now it isn't even safe to have a pocket knife). I think a blade is an essential tool for life, and am frequently frustrated when they aren't around. Maybe I have been framing too long.
 
Little pieces of mat board, like 3"x5" usually. I use them to write all kinds of stuff on that I don't need to keep forever, like frame sizes or item numbers I'm looking up. I seriously will freak out if I need to write something down and I can't find a piece of mat.
 
Like many others ... tooth picks, razor blades, and micro-fiber cloths

Also ... 16X Loupe, 2X glass, variety of weights
 
Mine is a utility knife that Jeff Rodier gave me for Christmas a few years ago.

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Nancy stole the mini one and has never used it and doesn't even know where it is at now. I have carried the larger one almost every day since I got it. When I forget it at home, I feel completely lost.
 
My two 'T' squares, one each side of the bench, mainly used for dragging stuff from the other side of the bench.

That chart ^^^^ is making me wonder why I'm a such a metric-phobe!

1mm = ..... er ...... 1mm! 1000mm = .....uuuummmmm ...... 1000mm! (call it a metre or 100cms if you like tho')
 
#11 Exacto blades..and of course nice colorful ( so I don't lose it ) Exacto blade holder
 
Dozens of tape measures, dozens of utility knives, dozens of razor blades, dozens of mechanical pencils, dozens of Pilot G2 click pens, slightly less than a dozen wire cutters and boxes of moulding stacked everywhere. Other than that I just need several of everything else. I also need 6 price charts mounted to foam core laying around since everything is package priced.

I use the 2 step rule, if there isn't everything within 2 steps I buy more and lay them around the shop.
 
Q-tips. Cotton balls. T-pins. Nut pick.

The olive colored plastic gizmo that looks like a slightly larger version of a nut pick which was once intended to rub down dry transfer letters.

I went crazy last time I thought I had lost it.
 
Razor blades, wooden coffee stirrers for putty, and a burnishing bone.
The burnishing bone is like my 11th finger.
Like the weights, too. The little lead shot filled ones and bricks wrapped in kraft paper. :icon21:
 
I like my Husky 2-in-1 ultra thin combo knife. It features both a utility blade and a lock back knife blade. Both are housed in an ultra-thin (7/16") package that easily slips into that otherwise useless pocket of your jeans.

Both of the blades extend out of the same end of the tool making for safe and easy usage. The razor blade is extended with a sliding thumb tab, similar to any standard utility knife, and the drop point blade extends with a flick of a little nub that's on the blade itself. The folding blade has a nice locking mechanism so it won't flip back and close over your knuckles.

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I enjoy knives ... and am always looking for another one to add to my collection ... I was in Sausalito last Sunday ... sadly (or maybe fortunately for my pocketbook) the store was closed ... they had some gorgeous William Henry knives including this one with a hand forged damascus blade ... it really took my fancy:
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1) Half sheets of recyled paper to write on

2) Blades - sharp and real sharp

3) Cant have enough tape measures

4) Coffee stir sticks from Starbucks

ernesto
 
Thin flexible plastic ruler with accurate markings, from C-Thru (white, NOT clear).

Olfa utility knives with snap-off segmented blades.

Snap-on plastic tape cutters with serrated blades that attach to 3" core tape rolls.

Weights of various sizes.

Little ceramic dishes for mixing and dispensing paste and goache for inklines. Also, special brushes that don't get used for anything else except those special tasks.

4"-wide good-quality paintbrush for brushing dust etc. off matted pictures before laying glass down.

Quick-change hex bit holders for drill chucks.

Etc. etc. etc.

:cool: Rick
 
Forgot about orange sticks till I was using them tonight.

Also little squares of 2 ply and 4 ply to use as shims.
 
Rick, instead of paintbrush, I have used pastry brushes for years.
 
Wax and cotton rag for polishing the frames.

Various sizes of fine japanese brushes for getting rid of dust particles and applying starch paste.

Bonefolders of different sizes for burnishing and smoothing out small blemishes.

Cotton buds, handy for many things, from applying paste to cleaning.

Too many, but most importantly its some good music to listen to :) cleans out your mind, after cleaning your hands.
 
Compressed air.

Linen Tester.

Customers.
 
I will agree with Jeff's two steps rule for knives and measuring tapes - the more the merrier.

My most recent addition to my "small blade arsenal" is a set of el-cheapo craft knives from a Red Dot store (dime store to you Americans). The blades are rubbish but a used wizard blade fits the holder perfectly and is ideal for picking bits of black carp out of matboards or for nicking the sealing tape in the corners.
 
I forgot my selection of old dental tools of all kinds...courtesy of my DMD daughter sending me all her old instruments...they are really excellent for many jobs in the shop.
 
I keep flat-bottom blister pack plastic to use as disposable mixing trays for paint, glue, epoxies - etc. Have bags of them in all sizes so one is always in reach. Also use cardboard tube ends (white plastic) for larger needs.

I have been known to save the little blister tops that pills come in for really tiny jobs.

BTW, Artfolio - dime stores over here are now "dollar stores" - LOL.
 
Razorblades, my "favorite" tape measure, and LOTS of pencils everywhere!!

What is all this talk about razorblades ONLY at work??? :p

I have them all over the place at home too!! Of course, I don't have any children to worry about, and my husband has long ago given up trying to get me to stop having them around...:D
 
Free online listing with Google Places, Bing, Yahoo, Four Square, Yelp and any other local online listing service.
 
OH!!! and a paint brush..... the little one's .....cant live with out them!
 
Xbox 360... for when im bored or to stressed to work...

Punching bag for same reason

Reeses peanut butter cups

i have separate rooms so customers can't see these. :)
 
Can't do without:

4X4 truck with winch...to get the oversize frames thru the door

Chainsaw...for difficult to cut mouldings

5 Lb sledge hammer... to adjust stubborn corner fit

earth compactor...for badly wrinkled or tightly rolled art

Come-a-long for those hard to stretch cancases

Barf Bags ...for when forced to work on TK art.
 
C-Thru rulers......18" with the red markings. Use them for fine detail measuring, making shadowbox spacers, precise marking for trimming, etc etc.
 
Wonder Rags

They're great for cleaning Museum Glass and other stuff. They are less abrasive than paper towels and don't have that strange feeling on your fingers like microfiber cloths. Plus you can throw them in the washer and reuse.
 
Rick, instead of paintbrush, I have used pastry brushes for years.
Not familiar with those. Will have to look into them. (Although it may be best for me not to have anything around that suggests pastries. I have a weakness for those.) The paintbrush I use is one I've had for about 30 years. It works great and has never shown signs of wearing out. Of course it never gets used for any other purpose.
I keep flat-bottom blister pack plastic to use as disposable mixing trays for paint, glue, epoxies - etc. Have bags of them in all sizes so one is always in reach.
I just grab a scrap of glass as a mixing palette. Plenty of those around.
:kaffeetrinker_2: Rick
 
Aside from all the small framing supplies and major equipment:

Hot water dispenser and tea bags.

Fast laser printer for orders. Ours needs a drum unit that is on order right now, and we are sending orders up to the office laser printer and to a small Epson photo printer. All too slow. You don't realize how much you depend on something until it is not working.

Networked computers with Internet access.

Multiple line phones.

A very good office chair.

Tylenol.
 
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