Keeping a spares list.

Blades snap and belts wear out at the worst moment: halfway through a job, on a Sunday, when the shop is closed. A short list of what each machine takes, and a small stock of the things you use most, means the job carries on. It also stops you ordering the wrong size in a hurry.

Start with the sizes.

For every machine, write down the exact blade or belt size, as documented by the manufacturer for your model and configuration. Not the size printed on the last belt you bought, which may have been wrong. Look each machine up and save it to My Workshop: the size cards stay on your phone, work offline and keep the size exactly as the manufacturer printed it.

What to keep in stock.

• Bandsaw. One spare of the blade you use most, usually a general-purpose width. If you resaw or cut tight curves often, one spare of that blade too.
• Portable band saw. A spare blade in the pitch you use most; they wear quickly in steel.
• Belt sanders and grinders. A few belts in each grit you actually use, with more of the coarse grits, which wear fastest.
• The small parts. Many machines have wearing parts that are easy to overlook: bandsaw tyres, guide blocks or bearings, a platen pad or graphite sheet on a belt sander. Note their part numbers from the manual’s parts list.

Keep the stock small. Belts age on the shelf, and a cheap blade bought in bulk isn’t a bargain if half of them rust. A few of each, replaced as you use them, is enough for a home workshop.

Keep it up to date.

• Reorder when you open the last spare, not when it breaks.
• Use a shopping list. My Workshop has one: add an item when you take the last spare, and it is there next time you are ordering.
• Note what worked. If a particular blade or belt lasted well, or badly, write it down with the size. On BenchRefill you can also tell others how a documented size fitted, in the workshop reports on the machine page.
• Back it up. My Workshop stores everything on your device. Export a backup now and then, especially before you change phones.

Where to keep the spares.

Next to the machine they belong to: blades coiled and tied on a hook by the bandsaw, belts hung over a wide peg near the sander. Folding and storing a bandsaw blade and storing sanding belts explain how to keep them in good condition.