Local camera shop's repair bench had a drawer full of mystery springs

Stopped by Anderson's Photo in Tulsa last week to pick up a part, and the owner let me peek behind the counter. Turns out he keeps every loose spring from every repair in one old fishing tackle box, no labels, just a mess of coils. He said he's been doing that since 1998 and can usually find the right one by feel after a few minutes of digging. I asked how he doesn't lose his mind, and he just shrugged and said it keeps his hand-eye coordination sharp. Has anyone else seen a system like that, or am I the only one who sorts every tiny screw into labeled bins?

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gibson.sean1mo ago

My grandpa did the same thing with screws in an old coffee can for about 40 years, but he took it way further. He would just shake the can and grab whatever came out, no digging at all. It drove my dad nuts because every time we fixed something together, we'd end up with three different sized screws and one that didn't fit anything we were working on. Honestly, I think that tackle box system is basically a religion for some old school repair guys. I sort my own stuff into those clear plastic drawers with labels, but I still gotta admit, there's something kind of beautiful about a guy who trusts his fingers that much. Ngl, I'd probably end up throwing the whole box at the wall after twenty minutes.