usn ret Loc: SoCal High Desert

PIFLABS, you may ask what is PIFLABS? Explained below...........
A Case Study: PILAFBS

Although I've become much more aware of it and careful about it, I've always seemed to have occasional bouts of the "Dropsies" which come on when I least expect it. You know what the Dropsies are, that irritating practice of dropping little parts (or big ones for that matter) while you are filing, or transferring them from the vise, or in some other way have the darn things suspended in the air within your fingertips. But the Dropsies problem is one that in the end I have control over and can take steps to improve or eliminate if I choose. The more universal problem I am referring to is one that is quite beyond our control and comes into play only after the precious part has left your fingertips and lept to freedom. I've named the problem, and the object of my inquiry, PILAFBS, or the "Post-Impact Lateral Acceleration of Falling Bits Syndrome".
For the non-scientific this curious phenomenon is defined as follows: "The tendency, when dropped, and upon impact with the workshop floor, for a very small but crutical part to: A) accelerate laterally with several times the energy that it could ever possibly have developed during its fall, and B) and at an angle that is completely random and bears no relationship whatsoever to either the dropped object, it's dropping point, the floor surface, the obstructions thereupon, or position of your feet". A perplexing subtlety of the problem, not evident from this definition, is that the more time invested on the part, the faster it accelerates. The PILAFBS problem continues to perplex scientists and model engineers the world over and at the moment no preventative or cure is known.
The second part of the inquiry was to develop an equation for determining MCT, or "Maximum Crawl Time". This would be the maximum amount of time one is justified in spending crawling around on hands and knees in the chips on the workshop floor looking for the lost bit, often with a flashlight and/or magnifying glass, before coming to one's senses, regaining ones dignity, and beginning work on a replacement. From my own experience, the more times you have been struck with PILAFBS, the less likely you are to expend valuable time on a search which you inevitably will come to realize is a fruitless waste of energy. The only consolation you will have is the certain knowledge that years from now, when your heirs clean out the shop, they will find a treasure trove of tiny, beautifully crafted, but inexplicable bits behind and under this bench or that machine.
In closing I have to say that you may be comforted to know that there is an exception to the PILAFBS phenomenon which is of course summed up in the "Chuck Corollary", which states simply that "When dropped, the free-fall of a chuck will invariably be interrupted by ones foot, where it will come to rest thus neutralizing the effect of PILAFBS. Of course for the purposes of this inquiry "rotary table" or "dividing head" can be substituted for "chuck" in the equation with no loss of effect. Further reports of my inquiry will be posted as work progresses.

H. Wade, Professor Emeritus (© Harry Wade 2001)
Dept. of Unexplained Workshop Phenomenon
Wotsamatta U.
That my friends, explains it all and now you know where and why all those bits and pieces disappeared in the shop.

surfdog

love it!Do I sense the profound wisdom of a Chief or perhaps even a MCPO?

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Wow, I finally understand the problems I've been having with falling pits and pieces! I often repair computers and have always wondered what happened to all the screws I dropped... Now I know.

Another example, the other night while shooting astrophotography I accidentally dropped the pen associated with my smartphone. I was on my deck but the pen was small enough to dive through a crack probably only 1% larger than its diameter. Ever tried to find a black pen under a deck in the dark!? If only I could have this sort of luck at the local carnival!

bwa

usn ret Loc: SoCal High Desert

CWO4 Aviation Maintenance and a hobby machinist

usn ret Loc: SoCal High Desert

Double post. OOOPs

surfdog

Aaaahhhhh.....................definitley outranked me on ''the ''knowledge and wisdom scale''..........as I was but a mere "Railroad Track LT''. LOL Thank you for your service.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

I have found when I drop something I only concentrate on watching it fall and accelerate laterally. It took many years to develop the skill of doing nothing but watching. I find my crawl time greatly reduced and my find rate also great increased.