One machine screw cost me 3 hours

767 Views 10 Replies 8 Participants Last post by jacinda, May 16, 2020

miamicuse

Discussion Starter · May 16, 2020

While we are staying home all day my wife has me doing more stuff around the house. Today was supposed to be a simple ten minute job to change out a pendant light.

I positioned the ladder below the old light and removed that in about three minutes. Then I took the new light out of it's boxes, some fancy light with a glass cover that needs to be secured to the body with two tiny machine screws. So I wired the new light up in about ten minutes and it came with integrated LED bulbs, tested it and everything is fine and just have to put up the glass cover. Well I have two hands, one to hold the glass cover the other to hold the tiny machine screw and I need a third to pick up a screwdriver LOL and well the screw fell off and I heard tink tink tink...and for the next half hour I was looking for the dropped screw under the refrigerator, under the stove, under the dishwasher everywhere and it just can't be found. I did another search even pulling out all the appliances and nope. I also have a bunch of spare screws #4 #6 #8 #10 #12 whatever size but they don't match. This must be some metric screws.

So I took the spare screw to the nearest big box store, wow a long line waiting to get in, they have a maximum number of customers. Waited 20 minutes to get in and went to the hardware aisle where they have those sizing nuts to try...well what do you know I dropped the only other screw I have on the floor, looked down, nothing. Must have rolled under the shelves. So I laid my head almost flat against the floor and there are hundreds of dropped screws on the floor!!!

Not knowing what I need, I end up taking a package of every metric size screw that's close to the size I had in my hand. A long line to pay too.

Went home and it turned out to be a M6 screw. This time I was careful and didn't drop the screws while putting up the glass cover.

Then I collapsed the ladder to put it away, tink tink tink...I FOUND THE SCREW it was laying on the lowest rung of the ladder!!!

Three hours later, for one screw.

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Bud9051

· #2 · May 16, 2020

LOL, I've even tried deliberately dropping another screw to see if by chance it might follow the same path, nope, but it was a desperate hope.

I have several magnets I use and another last resort is to carefully sweep the floor, moving everything into a neat pile I can search.

Well, at least you got to meet some of your neighbors, at a slight distance. Cute story.

Bud

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MTN REMODEL LLC

· #3 · May 16, 2020

Actually.....More exciting than my day.....:wink2::sad::biggrin2:

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SeniorSitizen

· #4 · May 16, 2020

My old fingers need all the help they can get so i've found it be a time saver for me to just go ahead and take a few seconds to tie a piece of thread around the screws before i get on the ladder. A piece about a foot long stops the rolling and most often i just cut the thread off when done and so what if a piece of thread segment stays on the screw. A piece of tape or other may work for you.

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ktkelly

· #5 · May 16, 2020

I related this story to the wife.

Maybe now, she'll understand why it takes so long to do those little jobs..

As an aside. I see that you had a screw loose....:vs_laugh:

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lenaitch

· #6 · May 16, 2020

That type of day should be rewarded with whisky. I like the 'thread' idea - I'll have to try that. My fear of dropping a second screw to see how the first one bounced would just result in losing both of them. I dropped a screw in the shop the other day - no biggie, I had lots. Found it today when I knelt down; right on the kneecap.

I have an old Snap-On tune-up kit from the 60s - back in the day of points, condensers and such. It has a spring loaded screw starter which I find immensely handy. Unfortunately, it is only for slot screws.

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daveb1

· #7 · May 16, 2020

I'm sorry...... I laughed too loud when you dropped the screw in the hardware store.

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MTN REMODEL LLC

· #8 · May 16, 2020

Some of my many screw drivers are magnetized....but I should take the time to put my wifes fingernail polish on them so I remember which ones to pick up.....

Sometimes I stand there trying to find the magnetized ones longer than it takes me to do the project.

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miamicuse

Discussion Starter · #9 · May 16, 2020

and what is it with electricians using slotted screws all the time?

If some of these fixture screws are not slotted, they would not have been dropped as many times!

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MTN REMODEL LLC

· #10 · May 16, 2020

miamicuse said:
and what is it with electricians using slotted screws all the time?

If some of these fixture screws are not slotted, they would not have been dropped as many times!

YES....a biotch of mine too....

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jacinda

· #11 · May 16, 2020

ktkelly said:
I related this story to the wife.

Maybe now, she'll understand why it takes so long to do those little jobs..

As an aside. I see that you had a screw loose....:vs_laugh:

"I related this story to the wife."same with me

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