You Know you are a home shop machinist When

[Tin Falcon]

You know you are a Home Shop Machinist when? I thought I would start this thread and see where it goes. The responses can be self observations, humor, or aspirations. Every hobby, occupation and pass time has it rites of passage what are they for the HSM?
Well here is a start.
You know you are a HSM when.
Your Christmas present to your wife was made on your lathe and she loves it.
The work island in your kitchen is a work bench from Home Depot and the wife picked it out.
Your family finds metal shavings in the rug of the living room.
You find the plastic bushing on the shower door worn out. So you made new ones without even checking the hardware store for replacements.
Your coffee table book is an Enco Catalog
Your toddler’s booster seat is an old MSC catalog.
You would rather spend time in the shop instead of watching TV unless How it is Made or Modern Marvels is showing.
Family vacations consist of attending the Cabin Fever Expo & Iron Fever Expo Model engineering shows. (.GEARS, NAMES, ,NEMES, Etc can be substituted.)
You think it is normal to spend a half hour and buy a $5.00 tool to make a part or tool you can buy for two bucks.
You have to move layout tools, drawing tools and model engine sketches off the dining room table at meal time to make room to eat.
the dust critters you pull out of corners are wearing chain mail armor.
... the photos you carry are of model engines or other projects you made.
.. the family finds swarf in their socks.
... the kids Christmas presents are machinists tools or tool box.
the sales person at the hardware store ask you what the purchase is for. When you tell them they still do not understand.
Well enough from me your turn!!
Regards
Tin

 

[rake60]

......
Your accustomed to washing your hands BEFORE you pee.
Your wife finds a chip in her bra.
When your the first person the neighbors show what they just broke. :roll:
When you catch yourself fondling the part you just finished. For an HOUR!

 

[olcowhand]

..........when you won't leave the machines to go pee!.....till it hurts!

 

[wareagle]

...when your Christmas list includes raw stock.
...when you find yourself trying to improve the design of (insert item here).
...when you are excited that there is "some assembly required".
...when you have just spent two hours and have nothing to show for it other than a pile of chips.
...when someone refers to the bible, and you immediately think of the Machinery's Handbook.
...when you spend three weeks and several hundred dollars to make a tool that could have been bought for $50 at the local hardware store.

 

[Cedge]

Your wife complains that the cat always smells of cutting oil... and you've never noticed.

You've used "steel blue" layout out fluid to color the kids' easter eggs.

You still mumble, but now it's in 4 decimal places.

You have to sort your pocket change outside, to keep the chips out of SWMBO's carpet.

Your wife takes you to her manicurist..... as an act of revenge on the nail technician.

Everyone in the family checks your shirt for splinters before giving hugs.

Three words... blue polka dots.

 

[Tin Falcon]

....when you take your teen to summer camp and plan side trips to your favorite metal/tool supplier along the way.
Tin

 

[rake60]

When you know you'll be traveling past a Grizzly Showroom and forget to
put the back seats back in the mini van after cleaning it up for thr trip.

 

[shred]

...When you go on a business trip to Seattle and have to check your carry-on luggage on the return because it has 45 lbs of Boeing Surplus aluminum blocks in it.

 

[BMyers]

When a fun Saturday event is going to HGR's sidewalk sale

 

[Tin Falcon]

B: What is HGR
tin

 

[BMyers]

"What is HGR ?"
http://www.hgrindustrialsurplus.com/

 

[Tin Falcon]

Largest Used Industrial Surplus Showroom in the Galaxy!
that explains it!!

 

[Tin Falcon]

... every time you make something you take a photo of it and post to your favorite HSM forum
Tin

 

[Tin Falcon]

OK Guys I know this is an ancient thread from days gone by but think it is a classic and deserves to be seen by the more recent members here. Hope you enjoy it and maybe add to it.
Tin

 

[zeeprogrammer]

Mom! Mom! I'm a machinist!
Look! Look! It says so right here!

I'm so happy...
Oh...I gotta go...I'm so excited.

 

[kvom]

When you surf the tools section of Craigslist at least once a day.

 

[Metal Butcher]

The first thing you do in the morning is grab a cup of coffee and go visit the shop! :big:

-MB

 

[websterz]

...the Salvation Army no longer accepts your donations because all the screws have been taken out.
...you eyeball the kids clothes and have them mentally sorted into rag boxes before they outgrow them.
...you have more than 5000 of any given size SHCS.
...the neighborhood Spring Cleanup is a treasurehunt for free materials.
...your buddy the trash collector has ever left anything interesting for you that he found on his route. (Happens to me all the time!)
...you can look into a box of taps and know all of them without reading the shank.
...you don't have to look up the tap and clearance drill sizes for those same taps.
...your wife finds carbide inserts in the washing machine.
...your kids have their own safety glasses and don't need to be reminded.

 

[John S]

...you visit an old cathedral and realise the internal buttresses were made for line shafting.

JS.

 

[mu38&Bg#]

When you surf the tools section of Craigslist at least once a day.

I thought i was the only one doing that. I have a bookmark with my search criteria that I click every time I click the HMEM bookmark.