Black hole

[dave greenhamParticipant @davegreenham19379]

Hi guys

I think my black hole is in a corner. The reason I say this is because we have a saying. If its not on the floor, the m we've lost it. As for the gremlins. They wait until I put something down and turn round before they nick it, when I turn back, it's gone. I have found stuff the odd time in the seal of the washing m/c I think they hide stuff there to make me think I going mad ( mind you, they ain't far wrong sometimes when I try to read some plans )

happy new year all of you.

p.S. I have heard they store things in Doctor who's Tardis. So they could be anywhere.

[trevor mitsonParticipant @trevormitson56992]

If anyone finds my carkeys in their black hole whill they return them please ASP

[61962Participant @61962]

There's a gremlin in my workshop for sure. Spanners, drills, materials disappear never to be seen again. I think it has some connection with my son who loves to repair bicycles and motor bikes. He's a student and I also think he has some connection to the black hole that keeps emptying my wallet

Eddie

[David ColwillParticipant @davidcolwill19261]

Well I can't see why you're all complaining. Your gremlins only take small stuff, mine must have a hi ab as the bench and one of the lathes seem to have gone missing…..

[SpringbokParticipant @springbok]

I think Hawkins sent a black hole to my workshop years ago, my floor is concrete painted in a red floor sealant, and even when I brush the floor nothing ever appears. swarf yes dust yes the odd cat poo yes but never the missing item. Question Is there some great repository out there that collects them. Also can we get Steven when he sends that awfull tenor out to come back with everything.

Tongue in cheek
Bob

[SpringbokParticipant @springbok]

Second thoughts just send the bits back and leave him

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

I've tried to get my wife to read this thread. Last week a tractor cylinder head disapeared from the workshop, it was found later on the dining room table. I think the gremlins thought the w/shop to cold. BTW a torch laid on the floor shows up an amazing amount of stuff, even tiny bits.

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

In an attempt to thwart the tool stealing gremlins I try to have at least 4 of every item! My entire floor is a black hole but I honestly work by this rule – when you bend down to look for that which will never be found, always surface with two things you find down there. And there are always at least two!

[Halton TankParticipant @haltontank]

I don't always lose things to the gremlins, sometimes I drop things and find them when I look under the bench, but I got fight with the spiders to get them back !

Luigi

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

Worst thing that ever got in my workshop were pets. I had half a dozen gerbils exiled from the house by the asthmatics. They kept escaping by chewing thjrough various parts of the cage, but I had a large version of a longworth trap to recapture them effciently and safely overnight!

Many years ago we had a rabbit – it got in the small workshop I had in our previous house. It peed on a multi-way socket and I got a bad electric shock when I went to unplug something!

At least the dog and cats we have now are capable of being 'trained' to stay out – except one cat who always wants to come in but flees as soon as I spot her.

Neil

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Some years ago I was being tutored on the finer details of taking apart and assembling a Compur shutter, suddenly a small spring erupted and flew past me and disappeared. End of job, no spares.

Some years later came the move of the firm to Milton Keynes and I emptied out my work trolley and lifted out a corrugated cardboard tray and as I did so out popped the lost spring ! So from 1977 to 1989 it had sat there unseen.

I went to the stores and retrieved the said shutter, relieved it had never been used as a spare or sold on, and carefully replaced the spring in its right position, the shutter worked fine.

I know one black Hole which was in the bilges of my sons ship, they pumped out hundreds of gallons of crud and oil and then went in and had a look around and found dozens of spanners and screwdrivers and sundry other equipment. Including crowbars that were used to turn the engine over and lots of nuts and bolts.

Clive

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

I helped change the head gasket on a BMC diesel in a narrowboat in sub-zero conditions. It was not nice retrieving dropped items from the ice-cold, brown, oily bilge

What was worst was starting it up and discovering the problem was actually a leak in the oil heater (a brass cylinder with water tubes a bit like like a small boiler working in reverse). Solving that was five minutes soldering with a blowtorch back at base.

Neil

[Ed DuffnerParticipant @edduffner79357]

It happens in the house too. I was attempting to add a lamp bracket to one of my German HO locos (Class S3) with a pair of tweezers and I suddenly heard the familiar "ping" and the part disappeared. I heard it bounce off two walls and was devoured by the carpet monster.

[Jeff DaymanParticipant @jeffdayman43397]

It could be that all the stuff that goes into these black holes travels through a wormhole and ends up on a planet in a galaxy many light years away.

One of these days we may hear that signals have been detected by a radio telescope coming from such a planet. After decoding, scientists may announce the message reads "stop sending all this bl^^dy junk!" or "we've already got a billion small springs and 2 billion 3 mm steel balls thanks!"

JD

[SiddleyParticipant @siddley]

The WW-2 perspective on them follows. It looks like the tribe became more numerous and jobs annoying RAF pilots became scarce, so they started picking on us as well…
( PRU = Photographic Recconaissance Unit = Very Dangerous Job )

This is the tale of the Gremlins
As told by the PRU
At Benson and Wick and St Eval-
And believe me, you slobs, it's true.

When you're seven miles up in the heavens,
(That's a hell of a lonely spot)
And it's fifty degrees below zero,
Which isn't exactly hot.

When you're frozen blue like your Spitfire,
And your scared a Mosquito pink.
When you're thousands of miles from nowhere,
And there's nothing below but the drink.

It's then that you'll see the Gremlins,
Green and gamboge and gold,
Male and female and neuter,
Gremlins both young and old.

It's no good trying to dodge them,
The lessons you learnt on the Link
Won't help you evade a Gremlin,
Though you boost and you dive and you jink.

White ones will wiggle your wing tips,
Male ones will muddle your maps,
Green ones will guzzle your glycol,
Females will flutter your flaps.

Pink ones will perch on your perspex,
And dance pirouettes on your prop,
There's a spherical middle-aged Gremlin,
Who'll spin on your stick like a top.

They'll freeze up your camera shutters,
They'll bite through your aileron wires,
They'll bend and they'll break and they'll batter,
They'll insert toasting forks into your tyres.

And that is the tale of the Gremlins,
As told by the PRU,
(P)retty (R)uddy (U)nlikely to many,
But a fact, none the less, to the few.

[SpringbokParticipant @springbok]

Sidley

My Father in law was a PRU and managed to live through it. Thankyou for that.
Bob

[Bill DawesParticipant @billdawes]

Discovered today the secret of finding stuff in my black hole, don't look for it.

I just happened to glance down and there twinkling away at me by my bench were two solder rings.

Bending down to retrieve these something else caught my eye over by my lathe, a ball bearing I lost weeks ago. (Yes I do sweep up, even vacuum!)

Amusing posts to my original, thanks to all.

Bill D.

[JESParticipant @jes]

Have you noticed that the amount of money in the swear box just about covers the cost of broken end mills but not the cost of parts in the black hole which are often irreplaceable.

JES

[DustyParticipant @dusty]

I have found that these Gremlins are person specific, by which I mean that if you are looking for something they have hidden, invite a friend round, He/She will find it instantly. My wife is not good at this, she refuses to step into what she calls The Death trap, which I call a workshop.

Edited By Dusty on 07/01/2013 12:16:58

[Ian Headland 1Participant @ianheadland1]

We have the same in SA Lost an 8 BA spanner about a year ago since then have removed and refloored the workshop Black Hole still there!

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Have you noticed that the Gremlins leave huge amounts of rubbish on the floor? They sort through everything and just leave it there instead of tidying up after themselves like I do !

Clive

[magpieParticipant @magpie]

I am very short sighted and wear glasses for distance vision only. My close-up vision is very good so 95% of my time in the workshop i do'nt need my specs. Result is i have to call in the wife all too often to find them for me before i can find my way back to the house.

Cheers Derek.

[NJHParticipant @njh]

Derek

That's the best excuse I've ever heard for staying out in the workshop – what's more if you get carried away there when you have other " more important " indoor tasks to do you can legitimately blame it on the wife!

I'm speechless in admiration!

Cheers

Norman

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

I'm like you Derek, but I make it a point of honour to always find my own specs. This can take several minutes… I nearly admitted defeat the other day, then found them neatly inside the top drawer of the 'posh tool' storage unit.

Neil

[magpieParticipant @magpie]

Norman, wadderyermean, excuse ??? it's true, i lose them in the house as well.

Cheers Derek.

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