Murphy's Laws of Model Engine Building

[Troutsqueezer]

In the short time I've been doing this, these laws have jumped right out at me. You old timers probably know a million of 'em.

1. The likelihood of the tap breaking is directly proportional to the number of holes needing to be tapped. Part 2: The last hole will always be the one that breaks the tap.

2. The odds of a part flying out of your hands while buffing are directly proportional to the length of time it took to make the part.

3. The odds of finding a dropped part are inversely proportional to the size and the time it took to make the part.

4. Any piece of existing metal stock will always be slightly undersized for the job at hand.

5. Your air compressor will break the morning before company arrives.

6. Hand tools will be knocked off the bench at least 6 times during any lathe or milling operation.

Feel free to add your own.

-T

 

[tmuir]

7. You never drop a part that has just been painted with primer in the dirt. This only happens after you have just finished the top coat of paint.

 

[Artie]

8. A dropped part will always roll to the furthest point reachable at the point just past where your knees can bend to.....

 

[tel]

If you need six parts, and make 6 you will lose one.
If you need six parts, and make 7 you will lose two.
If you need six parts, and make 8 you will never lose any of 'em.

 

[Artie]

In the short time I've been doing this, these laws have jumped right out at me. You old timers probably know a million of 'em.

Huh?

 

[Kermit]

Any simple operation which has been easily performed a million times before will become a nightmare of screw-ups if you try to show someone else how "easy" it is to do.

AMHIK... ;D

 

[Metal Butcher]

You walk away frustrated after looking through three dozen drawers, cabinets and boxes, three times!, looking for a tool you haven't used in ages.

On the fourth try you find it in plain sight in the very first place you looked!

Never fails!

-MB