How To Find Lost Parts: Back from the Bermuda Triangle

[krpster]

So I have been working on some watches for a friend of mine and I am meeting him in a few days to return his pieces. However, one of them I was never completely happy with how the hands looked so I decided to reset them. After finishing this I was in a bit of a rush to get things done and wouldn’t you know it one of the case clamps went flying out of my tweezers and into the Bermuda Triangle surrounding my desk. The area of course is carpeted so it makes finding things a real treat.

I know these are not expensive and can be gotten easily but I did not have any on hand and I have no time to wait for delivery of new stock. So down on my hands and knees I went to begin the fruitless search. After about 30 min using the traditional search methods and no clamp in hand I was almost ready to give up. Then I had one last idea and it worked out pretty well so I thought I would share.

First off you need three very simple things as shown below, two of which any self respecting man has; a Shop Vac and an elastic band. The third item is a bit tricky for you single folk and that is a nylon sock.

Now the first step is to open up the Shop Vac and install the “Filter Bag”. At this point if you are anything like me you will discover your Shop Vac has a bunch of crap in it. Now is probably a good time to clean it out. Once it is ready you want to locate the intake spigot for the hose. Hopefully it looks something like this.

This is where we will attach the filter bag. What is this filter bag I am referring to? I’m glad you asked. We are now going to make it. In one hand grasp the nylon sock and fish the open end through the elastic band. Should look like this.

Next we fold over the open end around the elastic band like this.

This next step is the trickiest part. We need to slide this filter over the intake spigot. Don’t be fooled, it is harder than it looks. After a few previous attempts at trying to get it to stay on I developed the fold-over technique Once installed it should look like this.

Now it is time to button up the Shop Vac and have at the area where you believe the part to be. Don’t be conservative with this part. Get down there and really dig in. Cover as wide an area as you can. It is best to do multiple swipes in all directions (forward, backward, side to side and diagonal). The idea here is to kick up any trapped items in the pile of the carpet so the vacuum can get it. Once you feel you are done, do a bit more. It doesn’t hurt right.

Now that you are done it is time to check your loot. Open up the Shop Vac and inspect your filter. Hopefully it stayed on through the vigorous vacuuming and looks something like this.

Remove the filter from the Shop Vac and find a clean flat surface to work on. Now slowly and carefully empty the contents. I found it easiest to start rolling it up like I was going to put it on (not that I ever wear nylons of course) and then turning it inside out at the end.

The beauty of this system is that the metal parts are heavy and sink to the bottom of the filter bag with the sediment while all the fluffy stuff stays on top. Now just sift, sift, sift and low and behold…Parts!

More than I was expecting too.

Not only did I get the clamp I was looking for but I also found a spring bar from a few weeks ago, a case screw from last year and a clamp from almost 2 years ago. Very effective I would say. However, if your first attempt does not yield any results have at it again, widen your area and keep going. Repeat steps above as needed.

Once you have found your errant parts you are going to want to clean the nylon sock and return it very covertly to its rightful place. This can be done by giving it a good shake or even a vacuum, since you have it out, and then return it to your significant others sock drawer. Probably best if you don’t tell her what you were doing as she will give you the look (which she may anyway).

You probably don’t want to use this procedure for delicate parts like gears, wheels, and the like but for all the little fiddly bits that like to spontaneously eject from your tweezers it works just great.

I hope this helps a few of you and that, at the very least, you enjoyed reading my story

[Guest zeleni kukuruz]

Hehehe,cool.

I will print this out and give to my wife so she knows how i want it done in the future, thanks

[PeteM]

Great write up mate... thanks for sharing... I prefer a thicker dernier myself ;)

Personally I found a black light will show up any lost parts even in the deepest pile....

[Watchmeister]

Great post. My approach is similar but a little simpler. I take a hand held dust vac, clean it out and then vaccuum away. It has a built in chincy filter and the metal part stays in that.

[freddy333]

Clever idea. A large magnet works wonders, too.

[xwoodbutch]

Clever idea. A large magnet works wonders, too.

I'll second that!! Saved my rear end many times!!

[sneed12]

I take the nylon sock and just stretch it out over the end of the hose (IE, you insert the business end of the vacuum hose into the sock).

Then I vacuum and all my parts stick to the outside of the sock; when you turn the vacuum off they fall out. I hold it over a bowl when I turn it off and the parts + hair + whatever falls into the bowl.

[panera]

Super cool very smart