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Don’t touch my tools. Don’t leave your mess. And don’t tell the machine the job is hot.
Morning, machinists.
Andrew Ray asked a simple question in the MACHINIST group:
“I'd like to hear some unwritten rules of the machine trade. We have quite a few at the shop where I work.”
The post reached 59,000 people and drew 1,100 comments.
Some were solid advice. Some were shop-floor superstition. A few probably shouldn’t make it into the employee handbook.
Here are some of the best.
1. Borrowing a tool comes with terms.
If there was one rule that kept coming up, it was this: ask before touching someone else’s tools.
Return them. Clean them. And if you keep needing the same one, buy your own.
Brady Rodgers covered the replacement policy:
“If you damage a borrowed tool, replace it immediately with a better one. Get two....because you still need one.”
Terry Bird put the permission part nicely:
“You probably can borrow it, but if you ever want to borrow it again, ask first.”
And Rick List managed to upset the entire inspection department with one sentence:
“Not every c-clamp is a micrometer but every micrometer is a c-clamp.”
Terry asked whether he’d tested that theory with an inside micrometer.
Rick’s reply?
“Can I borrow yours to try?”
Request denied.
2. The next shift shouldn’t have to clean up after you.
Chips everywhere. Dull inserts. Tools missing. A mystery setup with no explanation.
Nobody likes walking into that.
Frank Schaffhauser’s rule was simple:
“Do your work in a manner that makes the next guys job easier.”
Dennis Borchardt got specific: if you remove a vise, put it back and indicate it in when you’re done.
That sparked another point: a vise that looks square but isn’t can leave a nasty surprise for the next person.
Of course, some shops have a different handoff procedure.
Derek Chudzik:
“Leave it for 2nd shift.”
Connor Laing:
“I raise you, leave it for morning shift😂”
Good to see both shifts working together.
3. Don’t interrupt someone proving out a program.
Earl Pell offered a rule worth remembering:
“Don't walk up and start talking to a guy who is single blocking through a program.”
Wait until they’re done. Come back later. Whatever you need can probably wait a minute.
And when someone says the program is ready?
Shane Buntin:
“Never trust the program when the programmer says ‘it should be good’”
Mitch Antenucci explained why:
“Machines don’t make mistakes. They just perform yours very accurately”
“It should be good” still leaves a lot of room for expensive noises.
4. Somehow, there’s always time to make it again.
Andrew Ray summed up a familiar shop frustration:
“There's never enough time to do the job right, but always time to do it again”
Kent Simon offered the line to remember when someone’s hovering over your shoulder:
“It’s much easier to explain why it’s late than why it got scrapped.”
And John Manfroy challenged one of the most optimistic estimates in manufacturing:
“Nothing takes 10 minutes.”
Especially the job someone describes as, “Just drill a couple holes.”
5. If you mess it up, own it.
There were plenty of jokes about blaming engineering, the programmer, or the other shift.
The better advice was pretty consistent: say something while there’s still a chance to fix it.
Brian Crane urged people to own up straight away instead of spending the day building an excuse.
Philip Faucher had a related rule:
“If you break it, report it, don’t just put it back and sneak away.”
Putting a broken tool back in the drawer doesn’t solve the problem.
It just assigns it to someone else.
6. Experience is supposed to get passed along.
Martin Stupans wrote:
“Pass on all the knowledge that was passed down to you. It's part of the cycle of life.”
That led to a discussion about good mentors—and shops where knowledge gets guarded as job security.
Dale America’s rule deserves a place in every shop:
“If you learn something, teach it to the next guy.”
There’s a responsibility on the receiving end, too.
Alex Franckey:
“If someone is taking the time to help you fix something... PAY ATTENTION”
Bring a notebook. Ask questions. Give the person teaching you a reason to keep doing it.
7. Some rules were learned the hard way.
Don’t leave the chuck key in. Don’t grab chips with bare hands. Don’t try to catch a falling part.
Martin Stupans shared that grabbing stainless chips as an 18-year-old apprentice earned him eight stitches across two fingertips.
He retired after 47 years in the trade with all his fingers and thumbs.
Brian Hunter’s rule is a good one to take home:
“Leave with the same number of fingers you started work with.”
A few more worth keeping
Phil Smith, on tapping:
“Stop spinning the tap just before it breaks.”
Perfect. Just need to get the timing down.
Dan Rae, on rush jobs:
He warned that every machine has a secret priority detector. Let it find out the job is hot, and it’ll go down.
Best to keep the delivery date between you and the scheduler.
Junior Garver, on approaching the veteran:
“Don't make sudden movements or eye contact with the old man on the Bridgeport”
David Tucker, on basic shop decency:
“Make a fresh pot of coffee if you used the last. Ya bum.”
Finally, Cameron Peters spotted a problem with the whole discussion:
“Welp. Look like they are all written down now.”
Fair point.
What’s the unwritten rule at your shop that a new hire usually learns the hard way?
🧰 Now hiring: CNC Machinist | $30–$40/hr
Holly Tool & Die — Holly Springs, Mississippi
Take parts from print through programming, setup, and production on Haas ST30Y, SL10, and HL2 lathes, using Fusion 360.
Looking for an experienced CNC lathe machinist who can work independently. Must have your own tools. Pay depends on experience.
