The president of a company I used to work for told his employees that "There is NO job so important that we can't take the time to do it safely". This has stuck with me and I follow his advise to this day.

"It's for lighting candles." BIC ran an advertising campaign that featured the real life friends Martha Stewart and Snoop Dog playing off the fact that keeping your fingers away from the flame is just as useful for lighting candles as it is for other, heavily implied, Snoop Dog sort of things. I know I certainly would have purchased those lighters in my younger days!

No more to say other than it's good to see you back on a regular basis, mate.

Tom.....its so great to have you back making meatloaf.👍🏻👍🏻

Good stuff Tom! Thanks for the safety reminder. Good to see the shop coming together. ATB, Robin

The safety thing rang pretty true. I mostly run a rolling mill (alongside press brake work, auto punches, turret punches etc) which are mostly fed from steel coils which are anywhere between 3-5 tonne. I thought I was pretty happy with it all until we stared hiring and I had to show newbies, mostly guys who had never worked with metal before how to run the machine. I found I was saying "okay this is how I do it because it is easier/quicker I do not expect you to do it this way at all" a couple times to each of them. You cannot work like this. It is not fair to anyone. So I had to get my shit together and try and run a tighter ship at the cost of a few minutes here and there and a few grumblings from them above. I do not want anyone to get hurt on my watch taking the same risks I would without thinking. I had a 4 tonne of 3mm x 300mm whip around and spring out of its guides today. Glad everyone knew where to stand and nobody was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I normally find myself having to go home and apologise to my wife when I get hurt out of my own stupidity at work - things that are a small risk for me would have a huge knock on effect for her if the worst case were to happen.

We are all human and make mistakes. I am happy that Tom at Hilltop Machine Works got out with minimal injuries, and his dog made it out safely. Hopefully his GoFundMe will help ease some of the pain.

Enjoyed..super seagulling, I remember years ago you sent me a Clist ad with the comment look on the floor in the back of the photo, an item not in the ad, I seagulled it that day!..Thanks 😍for the shout out At the end of the video when everyone has left according to analytics 🤣🤣🤣, I am lucky/proud to have your friendship and mentoring

Thanks Tom, stay safe, healthy and happy.

one thing I like about the wood pallet for the hoses is that you can create whatever channels you need to organize them, and if you need to get in there, you can just lift it up - you could even hinge the walking surface and make it a lid. Need more pace, just add more wood. Seems like a solid solution.

That slip of the tongue at 18:46 was the laugh I needed today😅

Thanks for the safety mention, Tom.

Appreciate the safety message, Tom. Appreciate more how you went about it - it will have made a lot of people think seriously rather than just closing their minds off. I reckon you saved a few fingers out there, at least. Good work in my book.

34 degrees! It is 38 and pouring rain all day here in OH...almost as bad as sunny CA lol....great video Tom!

Great safety message, hope you get some warmer weather soon. I could see your breath fog when you started your program.

Chuck is a good guy . It was thru him and his channel that I found your channel , Gary Brown's "Old Iron Machine Works" channel and all the various other "California Connection" channels . Always something new on Chuck's channel !

That vigilance for the other guy resonated with me. I really started being more careful when my girls got old enough to start using my tools, just because I started thinking how upset they would be if I got hurt, especially doing something stupid, once I was lecturing them on being careful.

Very cool video. Loved the safety viewpoint!

I bought a cabinet table saw for little, from a friend. That circular saw-cut-storage box you made is better than many of my one-offs.

Always great info and philosophy.

Good talk on the safety. I had a shop destroyed 35yrs ago from a neighbor that was sandblasting on a gas tank. Yeah, it was not fun seeing all your equipment melted and burnt to a crisp.

34˚ Fahrenheit is about 1˚ Catholic, for those wondering. Pretty cold.

Thanks for your words of wisdom

Thanks Tom for the video take care of yourself and be Blessed ❤️❤️👍 it.

We have Charmilles wire EDM's at work and had an alarm in the Z axis that we couldn't figure out what was causing it for weeks. Turns out the grease had hardened in one spot on the gear that controls the feed of the Z axis. We do a greasing cycle routinely (approx. every 2-3 months) and some how missed cleaning and regreasing the one spot on the gear for about 10yrs or so. Needless to say, lessons learned the hard way are not soon forgotten! 😉 We're hoping to get a Makino U6 Heat EDM to replace our 2007 submersible EDM sometime this year...finger are crossed!

Seen the lighters sold for lighting smoking pipes so that might also be a valid search term. But they are a good idea. We have a few in the shop too.

Thanks for all the info, Tom. You're a gold mine!

Great philosophy on safety. Perfectly delivered.

I'm always up for a craigslist adventure.

You can buy the parts bins at HF for about $125 for a box of two dozen. I make mine to hang the bins by the wider part of the bin by putting some hardwood strips on the sides with the brad nailer. Mine orient the bins with the hinges to the back (wide side facing you) so they take up less depth in my tiny office.

No permanent injuries. At Caterpillar, there is something they call Safety Awareness Walk - SAW. If you see someone doing anything unsafe, walk up to them and talk to the person. And others do the same for you. Sometimes someone else can see things you don’t see. You can also let someone know when you notice they’re being safe. “Be safe today. Be here tomorrow.” There are a couple old safety films on KZfaq: “Shake Hands With Danger”. And “The Color of Danger”.

My wife found one of those lighters at the Dollar And A Quarter Tree. Nice of you to mention Tom from Hill Top. He has a long road ahead to get his health back. Thanks for the video.

On the storage cases I draw the separations transfered from the bottom dividers and then label it with marker. If you change a location or make it bigger or smaller just rub off the marker with WD40 and a towel.

I like the “Long wind resistant lighters”. It’s like having a MAPP torch just a click away to light birthday cake candles.

If you think about what you are doing it is a lot safer than just going through the motions like we tend to do. Shop is looking better organized all the time. Might be cool in there now but won’t be long till it’s the other way. Better get that insulation in.

great safety philosophy.

Thanks for this, Tom! I've seen way too many people get complacent with safety, and I've been guilty of it myself far too many times. It's always helpful to see folks who I look up to, and who have been doing this way longer than I have, talking about that. I actually paused this video to buy two more pairs of safety glasses, for the places I know that I usually "forget" them...

Safety: I've done sketchy things "when I had to" ... but 99% of the time, I always have the thought "Is this how I would teach my 12 yr old grandchild to do this?" ... If the answer is No, I remind myself to re evaluate my procedures. Thanks for sharing 🇨🇦

I 100% agree with your safety philosophy. When I was younger I did a lot of sketchy stuff. Now I worry about my wife and child and need to be there in as good of shape I can for them so I imagine what I would do if it were them. I have stopped what I was doing several times for their sake, and changed it up. I have even bought things to make it safer and put it off until that item arrived.

Good Stuff Tom! Craigslist rocks, I met one of my best friends when I was selling a shaper on CL. I love and use the kit idea. I've spent 38 years in the Army and they are all about kits, they have a category of supplies referred to as SKO, sets, kits, and outfits. I have used this sort of system for years. Use the tackle boxes for your drill bits and your mini pallet tiedown hardware. If you put a little "file folder" tab on the masonite shelves they are easier to grab so you can pull them out when you need to. Your woodchuck skills are more than adequate, just need some wood filler and a little stain and you would be right uptown.

You seem to have so many great ideas. I still refer to your video about lubricants. I also like your term for your safety philosophy. Stay safe and warm.

Thanks for another video packed as always with good stuff, wisdom and common sense. Like many others, I'm a bit averse to the extremes of health and safety, especially considering a life spent in often dangerous occupations before all this modern fuss. Nevertheless, nowadays, now I realise I'm not indestructible, I take a lot more care of myself and others. Looking forward to many more Meatloaves, and maybe even another book or two!

I believe we are not good judges of our own safety because we can't be "watching" while we are "doing".

Thanks for sharing 👍

Get a battery powered heated vest….I have one and they really make the cold tolerable!

Tom, I am 100% behind your safety philosophy and agree that what looks unsafe to the untrained eye isn't as unsafe to the trained eye! Having spent 20 in the Navy, safety gets a bad rap because of the knee jerk reactions of a single incident. We always look and talk about Operational Risk Management (ORM) but then in the interest of time disregard what was briefed until there is an accident and then people loose their minds. Common sense pays a big part in safety. Unfortunately common sense isn't so common any more... Thanks for the video's and damn glad to see you back providing you astounding knowledge!

hes alive! shop looks awesome!

Good one . I have an Italian lathe in my shop as well , can do 80mm pitch , 3/8 of a TPI while in the 8:1 feed . There would be alot of us that work in large workshops get the saftey thing drummed into us constantly , although a pain in the butt i have personally found over the years it has changed alot of the ways that i work . Your new shop is progressing well , a long road i am in the middle of ! Cheers . 👍

That style of lighter is everywhere here in Finland

I use an old Charmglow ventless space heater. It's LP Gas and it does a good job of cutting down the chill in my 40x50 shop in the winter. I keep it on low. i always enjoy your videos and I often copy your projects.

Ive litterally put vegetable oil in my way lube tank for my sharp sv2412 VMC. Was completely out of way lube and there was a delay on my 5 gallon shipment. I had a job that had to get done. It worked fine for the time being, no problems. 😂

talking of safety, it might be an idea to paint the step you made over the hoses, it looks just high enough to trip on. just something to make it stand out. i know id end up on my face at least once with that step 😄

I like that term "sea gull"

I got a kick out of your grease trials and tribulations because I can relate. The 6 speed manual transmission that came in the modern Dodge Ram diesels get a bad wrap for being grenades, well Dodge/Ram recommends ATF+4 for fluid while the manufacture of the trans a little company you might have heard of Mercedes-Benz recommends 50w gear oil.

Excellent video on all points. Thank you Scott

Who hurt themselves? Never heard anything

Hell YEAH!! More meatloaf!! I miss you and OldTony!!Awesome Sauce and GRAVY! GottherDid!!

Hazard identification and working out who or what they pose risk to is always worthwhile. On my little Abene mill they specified an eye-wateringly expensive oil for the gearboxes- I took that data sheet to my local hydraulic shop and they matched the specs for a much cheaper alternative with equivalent performance. 20L of the “right” oil was more than I paid for the machine.

keep up the good work

After a while cruising sfba Craigslist back in the day, I was no longer surprised at what I'd find. Oh, wait, different section. 😅

Good one Tom. Ordering one of those scales today.. Very good viewpoint on safety...thank you! The Seagull is one of a kind...Lol ATB....

I like your approach to thinking about one's safety in the shop.

I use a butane lighter in the shop. On a second note on the safety aspect, i agree with you Tom. Take a step back and do the proper thing, with that said also own your mistakes, the truly lasting lessons are the ones that bite you in the arse.

I like the bin storage idea Tom. Where I used to work I had similar bins with fixed dividers for screw hardware storage. I had one for each size of commonly used screw size. Very handy and better than the assortments that are out there because they were customized based on our needs. Good talk on safety having worked in student shops you really need to have that philosophy.

Sweet cabinet storage ideas. Thanks for sharing. I was going to try to find something but now I can make exactly what I need. I work off shore and the safety have grown in the workplace to a level I would let loved ones work in. It’s not perfect but safer then diving.

Yes you are right about the safety thing. Whatever it is the attitude is a good approach. Thanks for the advise.

OK you got me convinced to keep all my fingers. I did one time stand on the top of a step ladder, not my best moment and I did do the Humpty Dumpty. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.

👍 enjoyed as always. Thanks for sharing.

ETCHING PRESS SPOTTED

Whoo, always time for meat loaf

Sho is looking good. Love the plastic bin organizer. I have 30 of those just in stack on a shelf. Will be making a few for my shop. Thanks.

Shop organization for small stuff... Oh boy do I sorely need to do this "I know I have it somewhere"! I have seen one of those Clover lathes, at first I was like Meh... then I started to look it over a little closer and thought Hmmm this baby looks pretty capable and wished I could take it for a drive, It sure looked like a good one. I love the bridge over the EDM hoses. Safety... one those things that if you survive your own stupidity, you usually learn not to do it again. However what I want to know is how does that piece of grinding swarf find it's way under the face shield and behind my glasses and require a trip to the Dr to have the piece removed?.

Thanks for the latest portion on Meatloaf! All the best! Chuck

For me it's more important to not get someone else hurt, than to not hurt myself.

Tom, I'm glad you're back and still bummed you didn't make the Kingway class in 2020 down in socal. I dunno why, but I've watched this video in its entirety but youtube keeps autoplaying it, repeatedly. You're driving me crazy, bud. 🤣

Those coveralls look like the old Chicago Stonecutter coveralls that I’ve got hanging in my shop.

Meatloaf makes me love Monday.

On this week’s episode Tom discovers fire 😆 ✌️💖&💡so happy to see the content! GB

safety is very much a moving target that requires multiple different approaches and considerations. i think it is more useful to think of safety as a culture, rather than a specific set of practices. i view safety as a group activity, very much so. and anytime that points of safety gets raised it is important not to be dissmissive. but rather instead use that as an opportunity to practice enjoy good safety culture. it should feel fun, enjoyable and productive and a creative environment to share ideas around better safety. and is very much what the mythbusters model of safety is like. when working alone it's important to keep a quiet inner voice that mirrors that calm and concerned attitude. and of course we have mosty been talking about setup here so far... in terms of operational safety during tasks. then quite a variety of different factors then comes into play. distractions, the current state of mind, how tired you are, impatience or other pressures are examples of internal factors. and many other external ones too all are inputs into what becomes your overall safety. and/or not having others around, and their level of input (positive or negative). during operations themselves should be the only place where emotional fear comes into practice, where it can potentially be used in a controlled and self limited fashion to heighten necessary levels and awareness / concentration onto a critical task that is otherwise unsafe without such care. however outside of using fear as a tool, or as an unexpected sign. then in many other common situations then a culture of fear can be absolutely the enemy of a good safety culture. for example if somebody is emotionally fearful for the aparrent safety of another, and starts shouting or trying to distract during an operation that action in itself can actually be a much higher risk to safety while an operation is underway, that cannot or should not be interrupted. and elsewhere a culture of fear is going to stop people making rational or logically though out decisions around safety. wheras fear of the natural environment may instead be a benefit and help. it's all about getting good at understanding what drives human behaviours... and trying to build and construct a stable, nurturing and valued environment that us humans will find enjoyable and rewarding to practice good safety culture within, such that everybody always can feel they are in a safe area, and have a constructive input into those outcomes. it is very much a group activity that everybody is welcome to participate in. and it is important not to be too unduly dismissive or impatient if anoter person whom you are interacting with is expressing an interest to have a conversation about safety. even brief conversations can be highly constructive. especially when others can bring different set of ideas to the table ok that was an unnecessarily long whinded set of opinions on safety matters. but it's a good outline / overview

On the subject of safety I no longer split kindling with and axe. I built a splitter similar to yours with a couple minor differences. Turns out a Kia brake rotor fits the bottom of a 5 gal. bucket perfectly, no hole in the bottom needed, however I think I made the cutting edge to close to the top, half goes in and half shoots across the floor. Revision #1 coming soon. My digits thank you.

Tom, I had a bunch of either 18ga or 16ga laser cut with foldable sections that once you fold the sides down, they perfectly hold a similar plastic case that I have used for years. I actually have a couple of sizes of the cases, a medium very close to the ones you are using for small parts and a mini version that has been useful as a more mobile solution. The metal sections work well, and are easy to add onto, as I just tig braze them into stacks. They live on top of bolt bins, or drawer units and have a place to open them up, similar to your sliding shelves. Love any type of organization method, keep it up.

Lucas makes good grease and I also was going to say “some grease” is better than none. If you have any bearings that come in contact with coolant DO NOT USE grease that contains CLAY.

yes Tom a moments lapse and your in trouble , I lost the end of my little finger ( well I still have it because I took it with me to A&E and the stuck it back on ) fan motor with eve belts 50 hp drew the fuses , slacked off the the adjustment bolts but as it was a Bull. motor and they have sleeve bearing , anyway the out put dampers had failed to close completely and I put my hand on the motor pulley the fan rotated due the back draft good by pinky. so as you say its the unforeseen that gets you . spent many years doing live jointing but there the dangers or there and you take care get that shop insulated before you get frostbite in the nether regions H & S report would be interesting 😀

Wise words on safety Tom. It's just not worth taking risks in the workshop, especially if we work alone. It's the effect an accident has on our family as well. Keep well safe Tom. Regards from @nobbysworkshop

Wasn’t that a movie… “Eternal vigilance of the spotless shop”? Agree 100%. My philosophy is to leave things better than I found them, and especially to fix things which are unnecessarily dangerous. Especially bolting down heavy or vibrating equipment, and anything electrical.

Great to have you back Tom! another great batch of meatloaf!

Good to see you back on a regular basis!

* Bic EZ Reach lighter! I would have thought it was for lighting a pipe. * That's the identical scale I have in my shop. It's awesome. BUT - make sure you take the batteries (at least one) out between uses or they die in a month or so. Stay safe - any day above ground is a good day. :)

I'm definitely stealing your safety motto. That's my approach as well when I'm working with folks in a shop environment; now I have something short and sweet to call it.

Another source for storage are obsolete laptop computer storage cabinets. You can get them at school auctions and the cubbies are about the same size as the plastic containers you are using. The tops make a sturdy bench top.

As for your handle interface, could you incorporate both locations into one piece? Having a long leg for your in line handle location would take a lot of the side load off your screws. Similarly with your side handle location. Would help keep everything locked in place and spread the pulling force over more fasteners. Less likely to break.

Nice to see the EDM again. I’ve always wanted one. I’ll live through yours at some point, I hope.

I miss you uncle Tom ☺

I use Plano boxes to organize my "junk" and one trick I've figured out is to put some Dynaflex 230 into a syringe with a dispensing needle and inject that into the slot that holds the dividers.

WRT lighters: look up the Dremel Versa Flame (or similar from other brands). They're bigger than a Bic, refillable, have a long end, and (at least for Dremel) come with some handy accessories. The soldering accessories are worthless for electronics, but the torch overall can be used for small silver soldering jobs.

They’re made for, uhh, lighting candles. Yeah. Candles. It’s legal now, we can just say it’s for smokin dope. 😉

Intaglio press spotted!

Interesting as usual. Thanks. Consider a carrying handle on top of those cases you are building.

A men on the lubrication philosophy for machine tools, most of the wear on older machines is from lack of lubrication therefore any lube is better than no lubrication

Was the safety officer for a refinery contractor and went 16 years without an OSHA reportable injury, but I can tell you thru that entire time the hardest thing to do was convince people to be responsible for their own safety.