You may be thinking, “What does that mean?” or if you know what it means, “What does that have to do with woodworking?” Well, I’ll tell you.

For those who don’t understand the old axiom, it refers to the value of maintenance. If you see a seam about to open up on a garment, taking the time to put in a stitch (or two) now will save you from having to do much more to repair it after the seam comes loose.

The same thought can be profitably applied to most anything, even woodworking. Instead of stitches, we may be looking at rust, or debris, or loose nuts and bolts. When you notice that something needs attention, don’t just say to yourself, “Oh, it will be fine.” Fix it. If a bolt is loose, tighten it up before it falls out and gets lost. If you see a little rust forming, shoot it with some WD40, or penetrating oil and buff it out with some fine steel wool – before something freezes up or pits beyond repair.

Perhaps you notice something amiss while you’re in the middle of a task that you really can’t lay aside for a moment. At least make a note of what needs fixing. I keep a note pad with me all the time for jotting things down or figuring things out. Then when you are done with the oh-so-pressing task, go back and take care of the maintenance chore.

Even just keeping things clean will help to extend the useful life of your tools. I know several woodworkers who say they are just too busy to clean up, so they walk around in mounds of wood chips and saw dust all the time. This is a bad idea. Not only is it a hazard to your walking, a fire hazard and a nuisance if you drop some small part into it, but refusing to clean your tools will cause them to wear out faster.

Just ask any tool warranty repairman what the first thing to go through his mind is when he opens the door of a machine tool and wood dust cascades out of it. I can tell you what he is thinking because I asked one that very question once. He’s thinking, “This guy does not maintain anything. If the tool is broken, it’s probably because of neglect and we will not be covering this repair under his warranty.”

It may not always work out that way, but that’s what they’re thinking when they walk into a shop that is piled high with debris.

So, I say; make the stitch, tighten the bolt, stop the rust, remove the debris while it’s a small thing and you won’t have to deal with so many large failures.