ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0

[bugnut]

Mike, I also appreciate the great pictures and the tutorial. The drawer of chucks, especially the frequent flyer in the tailstock, need some love! Thanks

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks for the kind words guys. Glad to hear the documentary and photos were helpful. I've neglected servicing these myself for too long. Feels good when I have time to accomplish these small tasks that make working in the shop so much more enjoyable.

Great posts about servicing your equipment Mike.
If you haven't checked out Inheritance Machining on YouTube, you really should.

Thanks Anders. Yes, I follow along on many of his videos. Great channel and excellent workmanship.

 

[ntsqd]

Did you make the support rings that you're using to press the outer part off? I debated maybe using a small bearing splitter that I have, but it may not be enough contact surface to do the pressing w/o damage.

 

[Scuderia-F1]

Thanks for the kind words guys. Glad to hear the documentary and photos were helpful. I've neglected servicing these myself for too long. Feels good when I have time to accomplish these small tasks that make working in the shop so much more enjoyable.





Thanks Anders. Yes, I follow along on many of his videos. Great channel and excellent workmanship.

It’s probably just me that recently found out about this channel. It’s a great channel, very very interesting and informative as well as entertaining. Great backstory on how it came about as well.

 

[zmotorsports]

Did you make the support rings that you're using to press the outer part off? I debated maybe using a small bearing splitter that I have, but it may not be enough contact surface to do the pressing w/o damage.

Thom, for the large 18N, I used the radius of the press plates to capture the outer sleeve at four contact points. I wasn't sure if that would be enough so before wasting time machining a press ring I thought I'd put a little pressure on it and see if it moved. It pressed off with relative ease. Then when pressing back on, I had a large aluminum press ring that I made for another project that I keep next to my hydraulic press, along with a bunch of other press adapters, and just had to skim off a few thousandths to get the body to fit inside.

For all of the smaller chucks, my transmission press kit provided more than enough flexibility in finding the correct press ring for all the remaining chucks.

It’s probably just me that recently found out about this channel. It’s a great channel, very very interesting and informative as well as entertaining. Great backstory on how it came about as well.

I agree Anders, I love the story of how he came in possession of the equipment and tools.

 

[zmotorsports]

On a side note, I had text my friend who owned the machine shop in North Carolina on Saturday while I was doing the drill chuck maintenance as several of the drill chucks were ones that he had given me about 10 or so years ago. I got worried when I didn't hear back right away, which is not like him. I reached out to another mutual friend yesterday, whom I had never met in person but had conversed with online when we were discussing and designing the suspension mods to our Monaco coaches back in around 2012-2014 timeframe. He hadn't heard from him in over a year, so I was really getting worried.

Last night he called me and we had a nice 45-minute conversation. It was good to hear his voice. Since the last time we spoke, he has since sold his machine shop and is fully retired but has kind of dropped off social media and forums over the past year or so, which is why I didn't really see any recent activity from him on either of the RV sites that we belong to. During our conversation last night it sounds like we may be more alike than I originally thought. He too had enough of the misinformation and keyboard warriors spreading all kinds of erroneous information on the RV forums and just said enough, people can fend for themselves. I hated to hear that because he is such a wealth of knowledge and has been machining for better than 50 years as well as put himself through school to get his engineering degree after being in the field for many years. Besides that he's just an overall great guy and I'm honored to call him a friend.

Being in his mid-70's now he hasn't been RV'ing as much as he'd like lately, but he told me he'd like to make one more trip out West here in the near future. I hope he does. Last time he was passing by was on his way to Alaska with a small group and he stopped by my last home and shop for a visit, but that was in 2014.

 

[PhantomEB]

Mike, those old friends like that are the priceless ones to me too.

I got one buddy back home, we talk maybe once a month at best, even go 6 months, but when we pick up the phone to say, beer? That always leads to stopping in and it’s like we ain’t missed a day!

Sure hope to see him out cracking beers at the campfire this year, told my brother, I don’t care what he thinks about this guys wife, yeah she can be a little crass at times but I am inviting this dude out…..I am sure he will be that guy with his 26 footer, sled deck on the dually with one of his quads and probably two of his dirt bikes. He was the guy instrumental in building my bronco back in the day, and deserves to be one of the few I will let out on the trail Behind the wheel.

 

[zmotorsports]

I thought I'd knock off a small task for the coach last night as the part arrived last week.

I received the dash warning light "Water in Fuel" twice last season while driving in torrential rain so I figured it must be a connector or wiring issue in the engine bay at the 3rd and final fuel filter before it enters the injection pump. Once driving out of the rain, the light would go out.

Tools ready as well as some non-insulated connectors and heat shrink.


I am NOT a fan of Dorman and was somewhat frustrated when the package arrived. My local NAPA could get the Dorman one, but when I looked on Rock Auto, they had one that specified OEM, I was a little pissed when this arrived, but I guess I have to wonder just how bad can Dorman f**k up a simple connector.


It looks ok. Pins seam nice and square in the housing and the rubber seals appear to be of decent quality. I guess I'll give it a go.


Heat shrink cut and **** connectors at the ready.


The original wiring loom and connector at the base of the fuel filter.


Plug looks identical. The seals on the back of the OEM connector where the wires enter the plug were hard and brittle. Maybe that is how the water is getting into the connector and giving me a false reading and the connecting path across the two pins.


Wires staggered and cut. Heat-shrink slid on and **** connectors crimped.


Heat-shrink shrunk.




Now this part is controversial, I'm sure it blows up the internet, as I've seen some heated debates, and it appears most of the keyboard warriors just seam to repeat the same mantra yet fail to use common sense or realize that for some things there simply isn't a standard blanket rule and some thought needs to be given by the user. So you just have to use your head and decide for yourselves on how you choose to use. Dielectric Grease is a hot button for some, but this is what I have been doing for many years now and it works for me (probably opening up Pandora's Box here ) Let me preface by saying, "yes, I realize dielectric grease is NOT conductive, it is an insulator." There is a place to use conductive grease, which I also have and use, but the intended uses are different. There, that's out of the way.

That being said, dielectric grease has its place and works well for the designed usage. Most of the usage seems to be on higher voltage circuits (ie. secondary ignition), but it still works well to help seal low voltage connections from the environment as well. Many people are under the belief that if you use dielectric grease you are introducing some form of black magic insulation into the equation. However, what they are failing to realize is that the connections themselves are a mechanical connection and are not making their connection through this grease. The grease (ie. chemical) is merely there to aid in the sealing of the physical connection and aid in preventing fretting/corrosion in the connection.

Now, there are places I do not use dielectric grease and I thought this was a good example to show. I don't like using it in sealed connections such as Weatherpack or Deutsch style connectors. Reason being is that the seals, if not compromised, should already be performing the job of sealing from the environment and secondly because there is not a lot of space in these connectors and if some of that area is taken up with a non-compressible grease it can make it difficult to fully seat the male and female connectors together, possible damaging the delicate pins and either displacing a pin, or preventing a complete mechanical connection. I do apply a very small amount on the seal itself however, as this aids in assembling and disassembling the actual connector without fear of the seal sticking to the inside of the female connector. On Molex style or open connectors, I do use dielectric grease inside the connector on the actual pins with excellent results in harsh environments.



Okay, with that out of the way, I take a small dab of dielectric grease.


And apply around the outside of the seal.



More pictures to follow.....

 

[zmotorsports]

Continuing on with the pigtail replacement.

Here is the seal with a small amount of dielectric grease applied to aid in assembly/disassembly.


Wire loom zip-tied back alongside the routing and connection made at the fuel filter. Job complete.


After closing up the engine bay, it was time to clean and put tools away. The zip-tie holder is a nice accessory. Much better than having loose zip-ties floating around in the tool cart and I have several sizes within easy reach. Should have done this many years ago.


Last step of the repair is to document it to keep my records current and up to date.




That last picture should tie in with the notebook thread as well as the manuals and documentation thread.

Thanks for looking.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, those old friends like that are the priceless ones to me too.

I got one buddy back home, we talk maybe once a month at best, even go 6 months, but when we pick up the phone to say, beer? That always leads to stopping in and it’s like we ain’t missed a day!

Sure hope to see him out cracking beers at the campfire this year, told my brother, I don’t care what he thinks about this guys wife, yeah she can be a little crass at times but I am inviting this dude out…..I am sure he will be that guy with his 26 footer, sled deck on the dually with one of his quads and probably two of his dirt bikes. He was the guy instrumental in building my bronco back in the day, and deserves to be one of the few I will let out on the trail Behind the wheel.

I completely agree and glad to see you holding those friendships close.

I feel it is not the quantity of friends we surround ourselves with, but the quality. I don't have many, but the few I do have are very good friends and ones that I cherish and respect.

 

[PugetDude]

I completely agree and glad to see you holding those friendships close.

I feel it is not the quantity of friends we surround ourselves with, but the quality. I don't have many, but the few I do have are very good friends and ones that I cherish and respect.

I've heard it explained like this:

A friend will help you move.
A good friend will help you move twice.
A really good friend will help you move a body.

 

[zmotorsports]

I've seen quite a few of these lately on social media and YouTube and thought I'd share some thoughts.

Don't get hit by flying mushrooms. It hurts.

 

[SilverJimmy]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That right there is funny! I don’t think I ever had a customer use one of these ever, but many asked what it was!

When I started to explain what it was and how to use it their eyes would glaze over and then they’d start to fidget and need to get back to work!

 

[zmotorsports]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That right there is funny! I don’t think I ever had a customer use one of these ever, but many asked what it was!

When I started to explain what it was and how to use it their eyes would glaze over and then they’d start to fidget and need to get back to work!

I've seen way too many mushrooms lately on various formats. I'm surprised how many mechanics just think this is normal. I guess I did too as my dad's chisels, punches and drifts all had huge mushrooms as I was growing up. Then one night early on in my career, I had a chunk come flying off and embed into the tip of my nose and hurt like hell.

I see the scar every time I look in the mirror and wish I could go back and change that behavior at least the day before. I am just trying to make sure that doesn't happen to someone else.

 

[PugetDude]

When I lived in Spokane many years ago, we had a flying mushroom come off a cold chisel, hit my friend in the forearm. Must have hit an artery, first spurt the blood shot up about three feet in the air. He almost passed out at the sight of blood.. we ended up driving to the ER instead of finishing our welding project. It had stopped bleeding by the time we got there; they sent him home with a little kid's round bandaid on it. Gave him **** about his little bitty owie for the next ten years.
(In all fairness he did get an awesome bruise out of it a couple of days later.)
Could have been much worse. I grind the ends of my chisels now at the first sign of a mushroom.

 

[larry4406]

When I lived in Spokane many years ago, we had a flying mushroom come off a cold chisel, hit my friend in the forearm. Must have hit an artery, first spurt the blood shot up about three feet in the air. He almost passed out at the sight of blood.. we ended up driving to the ER instead of finishing our welding project. It had stopped bleeding by the time we got there; they sent him home with a little kid's round bandaid on it. Gave him **** about his little bitty owie for the next ten years.
(In all fairness he did get an awesome bruise out of it a couple of days later.)
Could have been much worse. I grind the ends of my chisels now at the first sign of a mushroom.

Thank you for the reminder!

I need to grind some of mine!

 

[Jgaz]

Thanks Mike for the dielectric grease lesson.
Shame these days you have to explain yourself to avoid keyboard warriors.
A person with your experience should be able to say “this is what I do, and you should do it this way as well”
Also, I sure agree with your opinion about most Dorman products.
I’m always on team OEM unless there is NO other choice.

Do you have a source for your uninsulated terminal kit?
I’m out of a number of these terminals that I had in my “bench stock” when I was working

 

[Wiz02]

Thanks Mike for the dielectric grease lesson.
Shame these days you have to explain yourself to avoid keyboard warriors.
A person with your experience should be able to say “this is what I do, and you should do it this way as well”
<SNIP >

Explaining the "why" is a critical tool of an effective teacher. A lesson without explanation leaves the students without understanding and it makes the lesson arbitrary despite the credentials of the teacher.

That's why Mike's lessons are impactful, they include how things work and why or why not you should take certain actions.

You can't improve whatever you are doing if you don't understand the fundamentals.

 

[zmotorsports]

When I lived in Spokane many years ago, we had a flying mushroom come off a cold chisel, hit my friend in the forearm. Must have hit an artery, first spurt the blood shot up about three feet in the air. He almost passed out at the sight of blood.. we ended up driving to the ER instead of finishing our welding project. It had stopped bleeding by the time we got there; they sent him home with a little kid's round bandaid on it. Gave him **** about his little bitty owie for the next ten years.
(In all fairness he did get an awesome bruise out of it a couple of days later.)
Could have been much worse. I grind the ends of my chisels now at the first sign of a mushroom.

WOW Scott. That's a hell of a situation he was in. Mine just stuck in the tip of my nose and when I pulled it out I bled like a stuck pig. I learned my lesson many years ago and now at the slightest deformation of either end of a drift, chisel or punch, they get dressed on the belt sander before they ever make it back to the toolbox. I'm the say way with drill bits though, if they get dinged or nicked, they get dressed before being put away. I like to keep my tools "use ready" at all times. That way I can walk to the toolbox grab any tool in it and go right to the task at hand. I don't want to have to deviate from my train of thought to dress a tool after grabbing it from the toolbox. I've tried to instill that behavior in our mechanics at work, but it seldom takes. Many don't even clean or inspect before putting away, they just toss them in the drawer. I cringe at some of the lack of consideration some give the tools that they make their living with. I try to use the analogy that if you take care of your tools, they'll take care of you, but it's like talking to a brick wall sometimes.

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks Mike for the dielectric grease lesson.
Shame these days you have to explain yourself to avoid keyboard warriors.
A person with your experience should be able to say “this is what I do, and you should do it this way as well”
Also, I sure agree with your opinion about most Dorman products.
I’m always on team OEM unless there is NO other choice.

Do you have a source for your uninsulated terminal kit?
I’m out of a number of these terminals that I had in my “bench stock” when I was working

Explaining the "why" is a critical tool of an effective teacher. A lesson without explanation leaves the students without understanding and it makes the lesson arbitrary despite the credentials of the teacher.

That's why Mike's lessons are impactful, they include how things work and why or why not you should take certain actions.

You can't improve whatever you are doing if you don't understand the fundamentals.

Thank you guys, I am flattered. I don't necessarily consider myself a teacher, far from it actually. Just a mechanic who wants to share what he's learned over the years as well as to continue learning every day. Hell, I'm not smart enough to be a teacher, I just do what I do and nothing was learned in a classroom, just school of hard knocks.

 

[RickP]

Hell, I'm not smart enough to be a teacher, I just do what I do and nothing was learned in a classroom, just school of hard knocks.

Mike, I'm sorry I have to disagree with you here -- being humble is fine, but now you're just saying things that aren't true!

 

[LXCam]

Thank you guys, I am flattered. I don't necessarily consider myself a teacher, far from it actually. Just a mechanic who wants to share what he's learned over the years as well as to continue learning every day. Hell, I'm not smart enough to be a teacher, I just do what I do and nothing was learned in a classroom, just school of hard knocks.

You’re wrong Mike. Your methods are methodical, informative and properly conveyed not only in written format but verbally as well. You’d be an excellent teacher.

 

[ntsqd]

Anyone can be a teacher, but only a few are good at it. "Do it like this" and then walking away isn't teaching. "Do it like this, and here is why it should be done that way. These are examples of how not to do it and why not to." That is teaching.

Sound familiar?

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, I'm sorry I have to disagree with you here -- being humble is fine, but now you're just saying things that aren't true!

I appreciate that Rick, but let me say it this way. I was never a classroom type of person and therefore I never really learned many of the theoretical reasons for things. Maybe that's why I don't think I'm smart enough to be a teacher. I always learned from the hands on approach and adopted those habits that worked and discarded the ones that didn't. My behaviors and beliefs about something come more from a place of doing and then applying the methodology to the process to figure out the reasoning. Kind of like reverse engineering. I see what works then I can deduce the reasons why or why not. My son on the other hand is both book smart as well as can do the hands on. He's done well learning the theoretical angle and then applied it to real world applications. I wish I were more like that.

That's why I say I don't think I'm smart enough to be a teacher. The classroom "theory of application" is what I lack. I can explain many things after the fact, but not from the theoretical point of view. I was never good at sitting in a classroom to learn something. I went and did ****, usually with a bad outcome, then figured out what went wrong and didn't that again. Much of my learning these days still comes from reading and then doing, then fine tuning or "tweaking" my processes as necessary. Some are pretty solid and don't need tweaking, but like I tell my mechanics at work, if you do a job one time or a hundred times, there is always something to learn from it. When I was pumping grease as just a PM Mechanic during my apprenticeship, I got pretty good at spotting patterns and could adjust PM schedules and/or repair intervals based on these patterns.

 

[Firstram]

I had suggested that to keep the table looking nice that on occasion he breath over it with a DA and about 80-grit which keeps a nice metal finished appearance. @zanyad brought up a question or point I hadn't anticipated. He had mentioned the potential to distort or damage the equipment by using a DA sander and not a stone as is the recommend procedure.

Just catching up on your thread. I’ve been using a DA with 80 or 100 grit on similar machines for years. The best thing about it is the scratches hold more wax and the roughness reduces friction, similar to the scraping on a machine tool!

 

[SilverJimmy]

When you were doing PM’s I’m sure you got really good at “touching stuff” and you started seeing problems developing with that equipment before it happened. I had to do vibration readings on all the equipment in our area at Navajo Generating Station (RIP) and after a few times doing that you started to hear the stuff talk to you. Just putting your bare hand on a bearing housing and how long you could hold it there told you a lot about the equipment.
Its been over 35 years since I stopped working there and I still miss that awesome machine!

 

[ntsqd]

"There are at least 10,000 ways to die in a generating plant."
-- Bryan T.
Told to me on my starting day at Mandalay Power Plant (300MW Steam + 50MW Gas Turbine Peaker). Fantastic machines, glad I don't work there any more.

 

[SilverJimmy]

#1 was if you were STUPID!
I still have all my fingers, can hear very well, not blind, and don’t need any joints replaced. Working there was the funnest job I ever had!
It was a challenge almost every day to get what needed to be done… done!

 

[strokinhorns]

Mike, I understand your humbleness regarding teachers. I feel that teaching in a classroom it great for some subjects and some people. Training an apprentice is teaching also. Some journeymen are not able to pass on their knowledge and others are great at it. Mentoring is a form of teaching as well. All of us that follow you are able to learn from you if we choose. Your passion and care for your craft as well as for others shines through everything you share with us.
Happy Friday

Marty

 

[zmotorsports]

When you were doing PM’s I’m sure you got really good at “touching stuff” and you started seeing problems developing with that equipment before it happened. I had to do vibration readings on all the equipment in our area at Navajo Generating Station (RIP) and after a few times doing that you started to hear the stuff talk to you. Just putting your bare hand on a bearing housing and how long you could hold it there told you a lot about the equipment.
Its been over 35 years since I stopped working there and I still miss that awesome machine!

Sterling, THAT is exactly what I try to instill in the crew I work with now. Be actively engaged in the process and the equipment will talk to you. If you just go through the motions, you're not learning anything, and you surely won't excel at it.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, I understand your humbleness regarding teachers. I feel that teaching in a classroom it great for some subjects and some people. Training an apprentice is teaching also. Some journeymen are not able to pass on their knowledge and others are great at it. Mentoring is a form of teaching as well. All of us that follow you are able to learn from you if we choose. Your passion and care for your craft as well as for others shines through everything you share with us.
Happy Friday

Marty

Thank you Marty. I very much appreciate that. I learn just as much from you guys on this forum that I hope I am able to share.

 

[Wiz02]

I appreciate that Rick, but let me say it this way. I was never a classroom type of person and therefore I never really learned many of the theoretical reasons for things. Maybe that's why I don't think I'm smart enough to be a teacher. I always learned from the hands on approach and adopted those habits that worked and discarded the ones that didn't. My behaviors and beliefs about something come more from a place of doing and then applying the methodology to the process to figure out the reasoning. Kind of like reverse engineering. I see what works then I can deduce the reasons why or why not. My son on the other hand is both book smart as well as can do the hands on. He's done well learning the theoretical angle and then applied it to real world applications. I wish I were more like that.

That's why I say I don't think I'm smart enough to be a teacher. The classroom "theory of application" is what I lack. I can explain many things after the fact, but not from the theoretical point of view. I was never good at sitting in a classroom to learn something. I went and did ****, usually with a bad outcome, then figured out what went wrong and didn't that again. Much of my learning these days still comes from reading and then doing, then fine tuning or "tweaking" my processes as necessary. Some are pretty solid and don't need tweaking, but like I tell my mechanics at work, if you do a job one time or a hundred times, there is always something to learn from it. When I was pumping grease as just a PM Mechanic during my apprenticeship, I got pretty good at spotting patterns and could adjust PM schedules and/or repair intervals based on these patterns.

Mike,

Years ago, I worked with 2 guys in an engineering department. One was a PHD in physics and addressed every issue by deriving an equation from first principles. Think starting with force = mass x acceleration to figure out why my dc motor drive circuits were failing in the field after passing our QA testing.

The other guy was all about detailed observation for doing root cause analysis of pattern failures.

I learned a huge amount from both guys and considered both of them excellent teachers. One approach was theoretical and the other practical. My goal was to determine the situation and apply a blend of both approaches.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike,

Years ago, I worked with 2 guys in an engineering department. One was a PHD in physics and addressed every issue by deriving an equation from first principles. Think starting with force = mass x acceleration to figure out why my dc motor drive circuits were failing in the field after passing our QA testing.

The other guy was all about detailed observation for doing root cause analysis of pattern failures.

I learned a huge amount from both guys and considered both of them excellent teachers. One approach was theoretical and the other practical. My goal was to determine the situation and apply a blend of both approaches.

That sounds like a wise approach. Both have their merits.

 

[Bob Heine]

Mike, you might be right about not being a teacher. Supposedly Aristotle said: "Those who know, do; those who understand, teach."

You are an Instructor. The subtle difference is "a 'teacher' typically refers to someone who imparts knowledge in a traditional classroom setting, often with younger students, while an 'instructor' can focus on teaching a specific skill or subject in a wider range of settings, including adult education or vocational training, sometimes with a more hands-on approach."

Thank you for being one of our Master Instructors. Some other Master Instructors, in no particular order, come to mind: @don long, @ODIS, @IGO2XS, @4 FN 27, @TimeWarpF100, @BB767, @E.rodz @MP&C, @Vieux, @slodat, @jar944, @jblnut, @oldironfarmer, @Jack Olsen, @sakurama and so many more. I don't picture any of them as a 'teacher' but they sure are 'Master Instructors.'

 

[Jgaz]

When you were doing PM’s I’m sure you got really good at “touching stuff” and you started seeing problems developing with that equipment before it happened. I had to do vibration readings on all the equipment in our area at Navajo Generating Station (RIP) and after a few times doing that you started to hear the stuff talk to you. Just putting your bare hand on a bearing housing and how long you could hold it there told you a lot about the equipment.
It’s been over 35 years since I stopped working there and I still miss that awesome machine!

Exactly!
My last seven years I worked in a lab that ran road simulation tests using a 3 axis, servo hydraulic, test rigs.
i used to tell (preach to) some of our guys “when you walk through a running test cell, what do you see, hear, or smell that might have changed.“ “The rig or the vehicle may be trying to tell you something.”
Some never got it

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, you might be right about not being a teacher. Supposedly Aristotle said: "Those who know, do; those who understand, teach."

You are an Instructor. The subtle difference is "a "teacher" typically refers to someone who imparts knowledge in a traditional classroom setting, often with younger students, while an "instructor" can focus on teaching a specific skill or subject in a wider range of settings, including adult education or vocational training, sometimes with a more hands-on approach.

Thank you for being our Master Instructor.

Thank you Bob. That's a perspective I hadn't really considered before.

Exactly!
My last seven years I worked in a lab that ran road simulation tests using a 3 axis, servo hydraulic, test rigs.
i used to tell (preach to) some of our guys “when you walk through a running test cell, what do you see, hear, or smell that might have changed.“ “The rig or the vehicle may be trying to tell you something.”
Some never got it

I used to explain to my clients that they know their vehicles better than I do. When something doesn't feel, sound or smell right, it is trying to tell you something. I tried to explain to my clients that we were "partners" in their vehicle's maintenance program. Not just drop it off and pick it up when done. I had many very good clients that took this to heart and were very good at explaining symptoms and what they were experiencing. Then again, I actually fired a few clients that wanted me to assume all responsibility and were not truly vested in the maintenance of their vehicles or toys.

 

[rharman]

< snip > I try to use the analogy that if you take care of your tools, they'll take care of you, but it's like talking to a brick wall sometimes. < /snip >

I'm now 69 years old but I can still hear my dad telling me that when I was, probably, 10 or so. Maybe younger.

Never forgot it - or so many other lessons I learned from him.

 

[PhantomEB]

I've seen quite a few of these lately on social media and YouTube and thought I'd share some thoughts.

Don't get hit by flying mushrooms. It hurts.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That right there is funny! I don’t think I ever had a customer use one of these ever, but many asked what it was!

When I started to explain what it was and how to use it their eyes would glaze over and then they’d start to fidget and need to get back to work!

I've seen way too many mushrooms lately on various formats. I'm surprised how many mechanics just think this is normal. I guess I did too as my dad's chisels, punches and drifts all had huge mushrooms as I was growing up. Then one night early on in my career, I had a chunk come flying off and embed into the tip of my nose and hurt like hell.

I see the scar every time I look in the mirror and wish I could go back and change that behavior at least the day before. I am just trying to make sure that doesn't happen to someone else.

I get told grinding the mushroom off chisels and punches is a waste of company time. I reply maybe so.…maybe not but at least my chisels and punches in my tool box look freakin PROFESSIONAL! Discussion over!

 

[ntsqd]

You might ask them if employee trips to the ER during work hours are important or not.

 

[T444e]

It sounds like they have a great safety culture. My response would have been I'm responsible for my own safety and this is a safety issue.
I'm not perfect but I try to minimize the chances of getting hurt both at work and home.

I dress my chisels and punches, but nowhere near as nice as Mike. I usually use an angle grinder as it is typically more convenient.