# Cranky machinists



## Uncle Buck (Apr 29, 2013)

Why is it that so many machinists are so bloody cranky? Even hobbyists? No not here. I am just speaking in generalities. I have encountered some real grumpy old farts on other sites. What makes these old guys so cranky though? Do you suppose their shorts are riding up on them or something? :roflmao:


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## David S (Apr 29, 2013)

Interesting question... I have no idea, but at times have wondered the same thing.  I am a member of another forum that is not specific to machinery, but we do use lathes , mills etc in our occupation.  It seems like some of the older guys can be real cranky at times.. BTW  I AM older .  They have years of experience at doing something that works for them, but often if someone suggests an alternate method...look out all hell can break loose.  Perhaps they don't like "new comers" coming up with similar or better ideas, that have taken them years to learn and master?  Let's see what others have to say.


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## bedwards (Apr 29, 2013)

I've noticed that also. Makes one afraid to post, might get your hand bit.  




bedwards


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## OldMachinist (Apr 29, 2013)

I had typed a long rant in answer to your question but it made me sound like a cranky old machinist. So I shortened it to this.

Spend 40 or 50 years working where anything but working to perfection every single day will get you fired and see what kind of attitude you have.


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## stevecmo (Apr 29, 2013)

I don't think machinists necessarily have a monopoly on this.  I think there is a general belief that old men are kind of sweet old gentlemen, like your grandpa.  Truth is, a**holes get old just like the rest of us.


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## 24more (Apr 29, 2013)

Pretty much all the machinists where I work are a bunch of crabs. I hear less whining with a daycare in my house. I did ask a group of them "what gives a machinist the I am god complex, and was being an ass a sign off for an apprenticeship?"  They didn't like it. A week later I (a repairman) am cutting parts because out of 40 of them, none can program a Waterjet.   I've had one have me cut a part for him, then file a grievance against me for doing it. Union told him to keep his mouth shut and it went away.


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## David S (Apr 29, 2013)

But I think the real question is WHY?  I have heard that perhaps some are not happy with their job/ station in life/??  But why do people act this way?


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## macrnr (Apr 29, 2013)

David S said:


> But I think the real question is WHY?  I have heard that perhaps some are not happy with their job/ station in life/??  But why do people act this way?


 Because they can...........


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## tripletap3 (Apr 29, 2013)

stevecmo said:


> I don't think machinists necessarily have a monopoly on this. I think there is a general belief that old men are kind of sweet old gentlemen, like your grandpa. Truth is, a**holes get old just like the rest of us.



Is this along the lines of me telling my kids that that sweet old man in his late 70s is not the same man I grew up with. He was a Marine and ran our house like Parris Island now he hands out ice cream and money. Im sure he was repalced in an alien abduction 25 years ago.


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## Bill Gruby (Apr 29, 2013)

Hey Buck;

 Bet you a six pack the real grumpy ones ain't machinists at all. :thumbzdown:


Billy G"


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## Uncle Buck (Apr 29, 2013)

I am lovin this thread! :roflmao:


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## Almega (Apr 29, 2013)

Over the years, I have known a number of machinists at various companies I worked with.  I would say the vast majority of them were not crabby, but were like the rest of us.  Sometime they have an off day, but mostly they enjoyed their trade, were helpful if asked in a respectful manner, liked to hear compliments occasionally and if you showed an interest in what they were doing, enjoyed telling about it.  As in any profession there are a few bad apples and maybe they drown out the good ones with their attitudes.  I try not to spread the peanut butter on everyone because of a few poor examples.


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## mrbreezeet1 (Apr 29, 2013)

bedwards said:


> I've noticed that also. Makes one afraid to post, might get your hand bit.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



thats why, just post here, no one will holler at you here.


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## Jeff in Pa (Apr 29, 2013)

Uncle Buck said:


> Why is it that so many machinists are so bloody cranky? Even hobbyists? No not here. I am just speaking in generalities. I have encountered some real grumpy old farts on other sites. What makes these old guys so cranky though? Do you suppose their shorts are riding up on them or something? :roflmao:




 I get grumpy sometimes.  You work hard on a part for an entire week and it seems they put the village idiot on the part to do some simple deburring and he scratches the crap out of it.:angry:


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## Bill C. (Apr 29, 2013)

Uncle Buck said:


> Why is it that so many machinists are so bloody cranky? Even hobbyists? No not here. I am just speaking in generalities. I have encountered some real grumpy old farts on other sites. What makes these old guys so cranky though? Do you suppose their shorts are riding up on them or something? :roflmao:




Some of those fokes may have ulcers from working tight tolerences and deadlines. I met some who looked like cranky old men but turned out to very nice. And I worked with a few who appeared hung over. Some of us are just can't function without being cranky. Most of the time the guys and gals were pretty nice to work with.


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## bedwards (Apr 29, 2013)

I'm turning into a cranky old man, maybe its just a natural progression.  =]


bedwards


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## Old Iron (Apr 29, 2013)

Ever see the bumper sticker that saids never **** a old man off cause he'll shoot you.

Paul


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## ScrapMetal (Apr 29, 2013)

Old Iron said:


> Ever see the bumper sticker that saids never **** a old man off cause he'll shoot you.
> 
> Paul



I like that one! :thumbzup:

Now, as a crabby old guy, I think that it may have something to do with "working alone".  Some of us who may not want to rub elbows with "people" all day may be attracted to vocations where one has little interaction with the public.

Just a thought,

-Ron


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## Uncle Buck (Apr 30, 2013)

I am good with cranky old farts, my pop was a cranky old fart by the time he was 30 and certainly for the most part a grumpy guy to work with my whole life. In fact, not many I ever met were any crankier and ill tempered than my pop so I learned from the best and at a very young age. Thus, I have spoken fluent cranky old guy virtually my entire life so getting along with grumpy old men comes second nature to me. Generally, I find some kind of humor in most old grumpy guys. The real secret is not letting them know you find humor in their crankiness.


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## Tony Wells (Apr 30, 2013)

I've worked for them, with them, and over them. But I have yet to let a single one ruffle my feathers. I know for a fact that some are like that for the simple enjoyment they get from getting other people riled up, or keeping people away from them, or possibly making people afraid to approach them. But after a while, every one of them has become a pretty good friend of mine, and we have learned from each other. Sometimes it's more one way than the other, but always, once you gain their respect, you can get past the crusty exterior. 

Perhaps part of it is doing work that not everyone is capable of, and being under appreciated while doing it. Part of it is built in. You give a man a drawing and if he's really a machinist, he'll do his best to make the part as well as he can, while listening to the boss complain about how long it is taking, the QC guys hovering like vultures hoping for a kill. They sometimes seem to get some sadistic pleasure out of finding a dead part, and nailing the poor guy who had been putting lots of work into it for who knows how many hours, or days even. Plus all the abuse he gets from the young guys who think he is just coasting, wasting time, gold-bricking, while they, the "smart" ones, could run circles around him. He does this day in and day out. Sometimes for 6 or even 7 days a week, 10-12 hours a day. And rarely a pat on the back, either literal or symbolic. In some shops, being a machinist is a thankless job. Some men can take all that and maintain a healthy disposition and not turn into a curmudgeon, and some cannot. We are largely part of our environment, but as humans, we are all predisposed to be affected in different ways under different circumstances.

I've been at it a while myself, but I don't consider myself difficult to get along with. The biggest complaint I get from working around people is that I spend too much time explaining things. Too much detail. Even if it it related to the task at hand, it's excessive at times, I admit. I'm working on that. But I figure if you asked, you deserve the whole thing. Everything I know about it.


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## Terrywerm (Apr 30, 2013)

Well, doggone it, I almost woke up grumpy this morning.   

But I decided to let her sleep a while longer.

:whistle:


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## jpfabricator (Apr 30, 2013)

*IM NOT CRANKY!!!!)*


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## Ray C (Apr 30, 2013)

Well Paul, never saw that one but I did hear this:   Never get in a fight with an old man, if you win, you lose and if you lose, you lose.


Ray




Old Iron said:


> Ever see the bumper sticker that saids never **** a old man off cause he'll shoot you.
> 
> Paul


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## Grumpy Gator (Apr 30, 2013)

Who you calling cranky :welding:I'm easy to get along with just do it my way.
I try to work when nobodys arround so I can put whats left of my attention on the whatever it is I am trying to screw up.
The cranky/grumpy part is a defence against "help" from sidewalk superintendents,neighbors and friends who don't have a clue.
That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
**********Just Saying*************Grumpygator********uch:


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## Rbeckett (Apr 30, 2013)

I'm cranky, smell bad, my feet stink and I cuss like a sailor, but I'll probably give you the stinky shirt off my back if ya ever need it, so I must not be all bad...I think it is a product of many years of "Special High Intensity Training"  that makes some of our attitudes so bad.  But look on the bright side, we might be able to get ya out of a bind one day too, ya never know.....
Bob


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## jgedde (Apr 30, 2013)

Rbeckett said:


> I'm cranky, smell bad, my feet stink and I cuss like a sailor, but I'll probably give you the stinky shirt off my back if ya ever need it, so I must not be all bad...I think it is a product of many years of "Special High Intensity Training"  that makes some of our attitudes so bad.  But look on the bright side, we might be able to get ya out of a bind one day too, ya never know.....
> Bob



I'm gonna try that one on my guys tomorrow.  
Hey guys, come here.  I feel a need to give you all some "Special High Intensity Training."  I wonder who will catch on the soonest?  :rofl:


John


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## burnrider (Apr 30, 2013)

It's not just age. Sometimes it's a business attitude.
Seems to be that way in the Steel yards. Almost universal contempt of the customer wasting their time until they can get cash out of them. 
Plastic shops are the exact opposite. Even the boss will come out of the office now and then to help a poor wretch dig their the rem barrels. Small hardware stores now fading away were the most helpful. The big box stores do okay, some of the employees have been around awhile and they are excellent.

Why kick one old machinist when you can swing the boot at a whole industry?


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## Almega (Apr 30, 2013)

Franz© said:


> Oddly, the boy is being looked at for a supervisory slot I'm not eligible for because he has a Diploma.Its a beautiful day in the shop!



Ever hear of the Peter Principle?  Sounds like the young beloved is a perfect candidate.  He will be promoted to the level of his incompetence.  :jester:


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## darkzero (Apr 30, 2013)

Old machinists? I thought it was just all old people are grumpy! :roflmao:

Cause younger people are always wrong & older people are always right cause they have more experience.

J/k of course (sort of)!  Uh oh, sssh, the old guys are listening!


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## Ray C (May 1, 2013)

I hope this thread lasts forever. It puts a lot of smiles on my face.

My Grandparents, Father & Mother... The whole lot of them on both sides of the family either came to the US to escape a miserable life elsewhere or, were "children of the great depression". For justifiable reasons they were all the grumpiest, most cynical (and in the case of my father, quickest to knock you out cold and ask questions later) people you've ever known. I totally grew-up not knowing life was any way other than my environment. Doesn't bother me one bit but I sure seem to bug the heck out of the folks around me (outside of my immediate family that is) when I don't react to their digs or insults. I've used this to my tremendous advantage over the years.

All my formal education was at a top-10 engineering college. If it makes you feel any better, guys like us with this kind of personality are dime-a-dozen. -We see reality as a collection of facts -not fanciful BS. Results count -everything else is BS.

Ahhh, such fond memories of my relatives holding "complaint sessions" on various topics... Oh, I wish they were around. I sure have a lot to tell them about the way things are going here in the last 5 years or so...


Ray


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