Author Topic: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?  (Read 2164 times)

Dibbels81

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I'm looking for emotional support. I'm not handy but I wanted to install a new kitchen faucet for an early Valentines' Day gift for the wife. Very romantic, I know. I got a great deal on a Moen faucet for $80 on Amazon. I watched an installation video and it seemed pretty basic. With some struggle, I managed to get the old faucet off. Confidence was building. I threaded the new faucet through the hole on the counter, crawled under it and started to attach the mounting washer. Looks like a metal E. It slipped and almost hit me in the face. Oops. I patted around my head, not there. I jostled around, nada. I crawled out from the sink, and scoured for it. Nothing. I pulled everything out from the sink, checked my clothing. Still nothing. Beginning to rage, I crawled in/out of the sink searching, did an invasive cavity search on my body, checked the inside of everything I pulled from sink, checked the refrigerator, I even pried the wood from the back of the sink loose to check if it somehow slid behind there. Nothing. The only explanation is that it somehow fell into an alternative dimension. In a neighboring world, there is a metal washer on the ground, baffling the occupants that live in my residence of that reality. I replaced the old sink and just rage ordered a replacement part on Amazon.

Is this a common occurrence in DIY affairs? Asking for a friend. 

iris lily

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2020, 10:33:54 AM »
I am sad for you.

I didn’t know that the alternate world ate tools but certainly we all know it loves socks.
« Last Edit: February 09, 2020, 10:40:05 AM by iris lily »

HPstache

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2020, 10:36:23 AM »
Probably ended up in the same place all of my 10mm sockets disappear to!  Were you wearing a hooded sweatshirt by chance?  Check the hood.

Metalcat

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2020, 11:02:06 AM »
Yep, it usually bounces and rolls off somewhere ridiculous, like under the fridge or stove. I learned this when I replaced the fridge and stove and found missing parts/tools from years before that had truly seemed to disappear.

ApacheStache

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2020, 11:19:37 AM »
Unfortunately this is normal :( Your best bet is to take a break and come back to it.

I replaced my spark plugs last summer and ended up dropping a nut into a galaxy far far away in my engine bay. I triple-checked several places where I thought the nut would logically land and couldn't find it. 3 hours and hundreds of swear words later, I found the nut teetering on some hard to reach ledge near the skid-plate. 30 minutes later, I was able to MacGyver enough socket wrench extensions together to knock the nut onto the ground under the vehicle. I picked up the nut, began to thread it and again dropped it into a different hard to reach and hard to see area. I recovered the nut, successfully threaded it but later dropped a thin metal clip into a different galaxy far far away. I eventually found the clip and got the vehicle up and running but the number of F**ks Per Minute (FPM) that came out of my mouth were off the charts.

Dancin'Dog

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2020, 01:38:15 PM »
Get a beer & watch some TV.  You've got to ignore lost objects before ever having any hope of them returning to this dimension.  You might even need to go out and get a pizza or some BBQ, and more beer or course.


Btw, with experience you'll learn not to fix things that aren't broken.  ;)




DaMa

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2020, 01:44:53 PM »
Oh, yes.  Don't worry.  You'll find it.  Right after you get the replacement.

grobinski

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2020, 04:29:51 PM »
Is this a common occurrence in DIY affairs? Asking for a friend.

I figure a 50% time increase on any physical project for "wormhole loss". It gets worse with age.

If it is any solace, let it be known that this happens to professionals too.  I toured a GE jet engine plant a few years ago and heard a horror story about a production line being shut down for 2 days when a tool went missing (apparently sockets left in engines is not a good thing). Who hasn't heard of surgical tools left in patients?

The E washer will surely show up when the replacement part arrives and you get back under there to finish the task.

Good luck and don't let it get to you.  We're on our 3rd sewing machine on todays re-upholstery project!

Morning Glory

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #8 on: February 10, 2020, 07:22:22 AM »
I once found a car title behind my fridge, that the husband had accused me of throwing away.

My current house is at the other end of the wormhole. I find all kinds of weird things in the cupboards that weren't there before. I even found a hammer when I crawled under the deck to repair a pipe. We always end up with extra parts when we do any kind of DIY. I don't know how many carloads of things I have donated.

I did find a socket when I was picking up trash along our road frontage last year, but I don't remember what size it was. I will have to look for an e washer. 😁
« Last Edit: February 10, 2020, 07:45:56 AM by Aunt Petunia »

Dancin'Dog

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #9 on: February 10, 2020, 08:32:11 AM »
I once found a car title behind my fridge, that the husband had accused me of throwing away.

My current house is at the other end of the wormhole. I find all kinds of weird things in the cupboards that weren't there before. I even found a hammer when I crawled under the deck to repair a pipe. We always end up with extra parts when we do any kind of DIY. I don't know how many carloads of things I have donated.

I did find a socket when I was picking up trash along our road frontage last year, but I don't remember what size it was. I will have to look for an e washer. 😁




I lost some cash, but not sure how much it was.  If you PM me your address I'll send a SASE so you can return it to me when it appears.  Feel free to keep 1/2 of it for your troubles.  Thanks, 


;)

Dogastrophe

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #10 on: February 10, 2020, 09:34:36 AM »
Many years ago I had a little Buck multi tool (~2" long, 1/2" wide).  I was using it to cut open boxes after moving into a new apartment.  I set it down and it disappeared - I checked in the chair and sofa cushions but came up empty.  My wife and I thought that maybe it got scooped up with packing material and was inadvertently sent to recycling.  Two years later we moved into our house.  I sat down to take a break and looked down at the floor and there it was, back from its trip to the alternate universe.

Best we can figure is it went between cushions of a chair and landed on the chair frame.  Somehow it made it through the move without falling out.  A week or two prior I finally accepted defeat and threw out the small case that came with it ....

Rural

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #11 on: February 10, 2020, 10:21:31 AM »
If the project was intended to be a surprise for your wife, then giving up and asking her to come help you look for the washer gives it a roughly 80% chance of re-materializing in the middle of the bathroom floor.

Uturn

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #12 on: February 10, 2020, 12:14:40 PM »
I was restoring an 1890's Disston D8, because mmmm, Disston D8.  (wipes drool)
Anyhow, after soaking the hardware in vinegar, I placed a screen in the drain so I would not lose anything, and rinsed off the vinegar.  I dropped one of the nuts.  I heard it hit the counter and bounce to the floor.  I could not find that thing anywhere.  I even pulled the dishwasher out to look behind and under that.  Saw nuts from 1890 are not something you can pop down to your local hardware store and pick up.  So yes, it happens.

I did find an antique tool restorer this weekend that has a box of prewar saw nuts. 

Aegishjalmur

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #13 on: February 10, 2020, 01:08:21 PM »
I managed to lose a 5 lb sledge with a bright yellow 18 inch long handle in my backyard..... which is maybe 2000 sq ft max..... all I can think of is it got buried under the weed cloth and mulch (Our yard was hard packed sun baked clay, when we first got the house we used the sledge and a piece of rebar to chip holes for the plants).

Morning Glory

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #14 on: February 10, 2020, 01:38:55 PM »
I find pieces of old rusty tools every time I dig in the garden. My best find was three horse shoes. I also was planting a tree once and found the stump of an old tree about six inches deep, in the exact same spot.

Car Jack

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #15 on: February 11, 2020, 08:55:42 AM »
That part is in the same dimension as my 18 mm combo 12 point wrenches, countless 10 mm wrenches and probably a dozen sets of vice grips.

Dogastrophe

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #16 on: February 11, 2020, 09:36:18 AM »
That part is in the same dimension as my 18 mm combo 12 point wrenches, countless 10 mm wrenches and probably a dozen sets of vice grips.

I have a surplus of 10mm wrenches and sockets.  I've only bought one wrench set and one socket set in my lifetime yet somehow own 4 10mm wrenches and 3 10mm sockets in addition to the ones that come in my kits.  I did find a part set of metric wrenches on side of road once - they were scattered over a 100' section so suspect they bounced out of a truck

Sibley

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #17 on: February 11, 2020, 09:50:00 AM »
I have 3 hammers, 4 screw drivers, 3 measuring tapes... and at any given time am missing at least one. Currently down to 2 of each. They periodically turn up in odd places.

Papa bear

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #18 on: February 11, 2020, 09:56:51 AM »
Moen will typically send you replacement parts for free if you call them.

But yes, annoying.  It makes my hoarding tendencies come out. I must keep any and all extra parts for things in case something magically disappears. I recently started to purge. 


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Dibbels81

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Re: Has anyone ever had a tool/part disappear into an alternate universe?
« Reply #19 on: February 13, 2020, 01:45:19 PM »
Thanks everyone for the advice and amusing anecdotes. I'm pleased to report that with the replacement part in hand, I successfully installed the new faucet. Easy cheesy. As for the missing part, I'm confident that this will go down as this generation's Amelia Earhart. With the replacement part, I confirmed that it couldn't have slipped behind the narrow space between the wood and the wall. It's not a tiny part, it's about 1 1/2 inch long and wide. I expected it to drop out of some unknown orifice in my body the past couple days, or fall out of my freezer, but nothing. I really do think it fell into the next dimension.

As for the wife, I sent her a text to expect to "Moen" with pleasure when she gets home from work due to an early Valentine's Day gift. I hope I didn't blow the secret but I'm a sucker for clever puns.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!