When the tune-ups, repairs, and bike assemblies stack up, I have to have my corner of the bike shop a certain way. That’s not to say “clean”; actually my mechanic’s corner typically looks like a garbage truck horrifically collided with a critical mass ride. I gotta have my favourite tools somewhere on my bench, my iPod hooked up to the stereo, and a cup of ice-chilled Diet Pepsi. And when I need to really motor, I get a can of Rockstar and chase it with the Diet Pepsi. 
Strangely, one of the tools I rely on the most is a spoke that I’ve sharpened on the belt-sander to create a pick. Terribly useful for clearing the plastic liner of freshly cut cable housing and a myriad of other uses that escapes my mind at the moment. All I know is that I use that spoke all the time. Every so often someone else loses it or destroys it, and I have to make a new one. My construction technique is now highly refined. Note the square handle by which it can hang. Also, I leave just a little bit of the spoke thread on where I grind the point, so I can use it as a bore or a file as well.
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