Is This Scary to You?
This week the MACHINIST group debated a classic: the mill bastard file.
Is it actually dangerous… or is it only dangerous when someone refuses to put a handle on it?
The comments turned into equal parts safety lecture, scar stories, and deburr-tool slander.
Best / funniest comments
“Put a handle on that or put it away…”
“That’s why it’s called a bastard.”
It was a written warning in our shop if you got caught with a file with no handle
“I stir my coffee with this and people just stare at me”
“Deburr. Mine came with a Blue Cross card”
“It’s the 3 phase 20kW hand files that are the most dangerous.”
“Learned the hard way” (why handles exist)
I watched a guy in the machine shop stick one into his stomach. It was bad enough where the guy passed out & the ambulance took him away. He had to have surgery. I have never used a file without a handle since.
“Was filing a part. Jaws hit the file… needed stitches. Never again.”
“Watched a tang go through a guy’s hand once.”
“69 now… still have the scar. Lesson learned.”
The real villain?
Half the group said the file isn’t #1… the deburr tool / rout-a-burr is:
“Rout-a-burr is the most dangerous tool in the shop.”
“Wrist ripper scares me more.”
Your turn: What’s actually the most dangerous tool in your shop — handleless file, deburr tool, or wire wheel?
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Buy this crap!!!
Another MACHINIST classic this week: someone tries a weird shop recommendation from the group… and it actually delivers.
Logan summed it up perfectly:
“I dunno which one of you weirdos suggested this stuff, but damn it works great… Buy this crap.”
He was talking about Boelube — and the comments turned into a full-blown endorsement thread.
Best reactions from the group
“That’s the good stuff.”
“Great stuff. Developed and branded by mechanics at Boeing.”
“Best testimonial yet: ‘Buy this crap.’ They should hire you.”
“Can’t beat Boelube.”
“Legendary.”
“Doubles tap life. Won’t tap aluminum without it.”
“Used it on aircraft lines in the 80s. Still the best.”
“Blue paste is amazing for aluminum. Won’t affect TIG welds.”
“Best cutting lube I’ve ever used.”
What people actually use it for
Drilling & tapping (especially aluminum + stainless)
Hand drilling, bandsaws, broaching
Surface grinding aluminum
Aerospace / defense work where contamination matters
Bonus shop humor
“Are there other flavors? My wife hated the taste of this one.”
“Saved my marriage!”
“Mine is pink!”
“Crisco in a tube?” (debated… aggressively)
Question for you:
What’s your go-to cutting lube — Boelube, Tap Magic, Anchorlube, candle wax, or something your old foreman swore by in 1987?
Machining Memes
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