Watch your screw trays at the camera show in Pasadena, learned this the hard way
I was at the Pasadena camera swap back in March, doing a quick teardown of a Nikon F2 on my table to show a kid how the mirror box comes apart. I set my little tin of springs and screws down for maybe 30 seconds to answer a question, and when I turned back half the small screws were gone. Someone had been standing right behind me, and I never got a good look at them. Now I keep everything in a sealed magnetic tray that I clip to my belt, no exceptions. Has anyone else had stuff walk off at a swap meet, and how do you keep your small parts safe when you're working in a crowd?
Did it happen right in front of your table while you were helping someone out? That burns me up, because swap meets are supposed to be about folks helping each other learn this stuff, not getting ripped off by some creep working the crowd. Sorry that happened to you, and good call on the sealed tray clipped to your belt, since at busy shows you really can't turn your back on small parts for even a second.