Harry Potter and the Tool I Never Thought I Would Recommend

Anyone who knows me personally knows that I love sweeping the workshop. It clears the mind and removes the visual clutter that distracts the brain.

It gives you a little mindless (or mindful!) moment to turn off your brain and do a task that doesn’t involve wielding sharp axes at hard woods or trying not to get killed by blood-hungry power tools.

Sweeping is a task that happens multiple times a day in my workshop. Not because I am a clean freak. But because it resets the bar to zero. After sweeping, I can start working on my project again with a fresh mind.

My weapon of choice is a simple broom stick from the home center. I am no fancy boy. I have used different brooms in my life and they all work. This one is from Germany. Does it fly? Not sure. But it sweeps fine.

Brooms work well when there are shavings on the ground that need to be swept up. But how about shavings that cover the tools on your bench? You can’t sweep your benchtop without sweeping up your tools.

You can try picking up all the tools from under the shavings and then brush off the workbench. But I have brushed tools off my bench that were hiding under the shavings. Not ideal. Especially with sharp chisels.

This is where a different tool comes in handy.