Pet Peeves in the shop

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Kevin45

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So in a machining environment, what are your largest pet peeves that really **** you off when you see others do it? My two largest ones are leaving the "T" handle in the lathe chuck and walking off, and the other is quitting for the day and leaving the spindle on the mill down below the vise.

I have witnessed both numerous times cause an accident but luckily, no one was hurt.

In thinking, I think my third one is people that get into a machine and not check things out before firing it up. I don't trust anyone that runs a machine before me, so I check everything. Nothing like a lathe chuck coming off at 1800 rpm's and hitting the floor. A few years back, I witnessed one come off of our LeBlond lathe, hit the floor, spin for a few seconds before it took off. It put a nice hole in the drywall at the other side of the room.

Of course, horseplay will be on everyones list, or should be. When I first started out in the Prototype Shop, we had a 3 axis Tree Mill. This one guy that worked there would wait until my run was over, or when we would go to break, he would change the parameters in the mill to stop .010 above the "Z" reference plane. Default was .100. We went to break and he changed the parameter on the mill. The only thing was....I was through running my part. I cleaned up the mill, picked up my tools, and he came over to run the machine. He had forgot that he changed the parameter. He touched off of his block that he was going to cut, punched in his dimensions, and literally screwed a 1" two flute end mill all the way through a 3/4" piece of aluminum. I just looked at him and shook my head.
 
We can well do without pranks that ruin work,cutters,and possibly the machine!! Fortunately,I never had to work with such ring yangs.:)

I have no peeves on my private shop,except that I seldom put things BACK!!!!! Too tired to mess with it.
 
As the head of my shop, (lofty titles indeed) I constantly deal with machinery accessed when I am out of the shop. Grad students and faculty, although screened. have bad habits of using machinery for their vision, and not the manner in which the machinery is designed.

I have walked into the shop to find stock pulled from the racks and not replaced. I have used a piece of equipment on Friday only to walk in the shop Monday morning to find out that the equipment was non functional without even a note to say that there was a problem. I have busted die sections because of others offsetting the bottom die to accomplish their bends, but not resetting parameters. Also cost me 16 stitches.

These incidents are becoming infrequent because of a very tough law and updates in technology. The law is uncompromising, anyone breaking shop rules, (ignorance is no excuse) is banned from using shop equipment. Technology has stepped in with a card swipe system that allows me to monitor who and when users have accessed the shop.

I started my career at CAT. I still vividly recall the safety videos that were part of my training. I have not forgotten any of them.
 
I can't believe this. I just sat down to start a thread titled "Pet Peeves in a home shop" and yours was here. Mine were going to be not enough electrical outlets, storage space, and swarf.
 
Physics students need to learn to use their education!! At the Physics machine shop at William and Mary college,in the student's shop,I saw a lantern type tool holder with an old fashioned Armstrong type holder sticking out of it. It was clamped at the very tail end of the tool holder, sticking out over 4",where it would chatter like crazy turning a cold stick of butter!
 
ranch23 said:
Cell phones. If you're wired, you're fired.
Click to expand...

Where I worked, I was the Senior Toolmaker. I had one guy that was younger, in his mid 30's, that every time you turned your back on him, he was either on the cell phone, or on the Internet. He was a great guy, and a great friend. But he could not make on part without doing it twice.

I hired in to the shop in '81 and worked my way up to being the best toolmaker they had. I'm not bragging, but I was all about the work. The others, you would think that they were home and just dicking around. We would get 10 minute breaks, but people would take 15 minutes. The plant finally changed breaks to 15 minutes long because a lot of the office people smoked and 10 minutes wasn't enough. 15 minutes now meant that they could take 20-25 minutes. 30 minutes for lunch meant 45 for most. Quite a few people had a lot of animosity towards me because I would get praised in front of a crowd for getting a job done and ahead of time. They all could have had the same thing, but they never took work serious.

My buddy I mentioned above was complaining that he needed to find a second job because money was tight. We could come in 5 days a week and work two hours over in the morning and two hours over in the afternoon, plus five or eight on most Saturdays, and five or eight on most Sundays. But he wouldn't work any overtime. I never could figure that out, other than him and work just didn't see eye to eye. And it's not like we made piddly little wages either. He was going to go out and find a job paying MAYBE $8.00 an hour, yet he was making $23.00 screwing around just putting his time in.
 
Kevin45 said:
I hired in to the shop in '81 and worked my way up to being the best toolmaker they had. I'm not bragging, but I was all about the work. The others, you would think that they were home and just dicking around. We would get 10 minute breaks, but people would take 15 minutes. The plant finally changed breaks to 15 minutes long because a lot of the office people smoked and 10 minutes wasn't enough. 15 minutes now meant that they could take 20-25 minutes. 30 minutes for lunch meant 45 for most. Quite a few people had a lot of animosity towards me because I would get praised in front of a crowd for getting a job done and ahead of time. They all could have had the same thing, but they never took work serious.
Click to expand...

Years ago strong morals and work ethics were the normal for people as they all strived to achieve success. However we have witnessed the downfall of work ethics in this "gimme something for nothing" society nowadays.

I am afraid it is only going to get worse as time progresses and I worry and pray for our children and the generations that will follow. We have already lost so many skills and ancient knowledge to a new "know everything we need to from the internet" mindset. One day in the not to distant future I am afraid, these old skills/knlowedge will be needed more than ever before.

My biggest pet peeve has to be the apathetic nature the majority of the workforce exudes these days! Like they say, "Good Help is Hard to Find"!
 
November X-ray said:
Years ago strong morals and work ethics were the normal for people as they all strived to achieve success. However we have witnessed the downfall of work ethics in this "gimme something for nothing" society nowadays.

I am afraid it is only going to get worse as time progresses and I worry and pray for our children and the generations that will follow. We have already lost so many skills and ancient knowledge to a new "know everything we need to from the internet" mindset. One day in the not to distant future I am afraid, these old skills/knlowedge will be needed more than ever before.

My biggest pet peeve has to be the apathetic nature the majority of the workforce exudes these days! Like they say, "Good Help is Hard to Find"!
Click to expand...

Exactly!!! I couldn't have said it better.

When I started in, my Mentor was an older gentleman that was close to retiring. Not only did he teach me the different aspects of toolmaking, he also taught me to really think things out on my own. I always was one that could figure out problems and always found a challenge, interesting. I was the one that would take a difficult job to build when the others always picked out the simple jobs to work on. When everyone was depending on the computer to give them the answer on a Trig problem, I chose to do it with the Machinist Handbook, a calculator, and a pencil. I was never great at math in school, and never would have I guessed that I had to start using math every minute I spent in the shop. When I couldn't figure something out, it made me work all the harder to find the solution. When others couldn't figure something out, they would just go to someone else for the answer. When someone would come to me for the answer, instead of giving the answer to them, I would work through it with them, so they would know how to do it next time.

Maybe I'm wrong in thinking that way, and at times I often wondered what it would be like if I took the simple road and let people answer my questions instead of taking the hard road and trying to figure it out. After all,, they'll retire the same as me. Maybe not as early, but they'll still get a decent retirement, and they have floated all the way without ever straining to get somewhere. Me...I worked to get where I am. I never found machining to be a struggle and always loved to work with my hands. Others that were in my department, really didn't, or don't give a ****, but still get recognition for something they only half did. They might have done the machining portion, but always went to someone else for the answers. I often wonder how people like that get along in day to day affairs outside of a work environment.

Myself, I love a challenge. I love to figure out how something works. Even though I don't work in a shop now (I'm on Disability) I find myself looking at everything it seems, to see how it's made, could it be made simpler, better, stronger, cheaper. I might not work as hard physically, but I find myself at times wearing myself out mentally. I might make something today, and tomorrow I might look at it and think "I could have done this, and I could have done that, to improve it".

When I walked out of the shop at quitting time, I might have come home to mow the lawn, but my mind would still be at work. When I would go to bed at night, I would lay there thinking about a job if I was having problems with it earlier. Others that I worked with, their minds would shut down after lunch and they wouldn't give work a second thought until the next day. I haven't worked in about a year and a half, but I still think about machining everyday. I may just be my own worse enemy. :dunno::nuts:
 
I had a 19 year old kid show up 3 years ago looking for a job. He was washing dishes at a restaraunt. Hired him, he doesn't belch, fart, lie, cheat or steal. He's here every day on time. I sent him to the Community College for the first Machinist course, then sent him for the Welding course. We pay 100% of it, money well spent for a guy like this. I had some great mentors. Thanks fellows, Im passing it on.
 
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