The axioms here were collected in sci.engr and address what an engineer must keep in mind to be effective in a shop environment, or to relate effectively with fabrication personnel. There may be other, real experts in the rec.crafts.* groups, but these axioms were collected with an eye toward what the engineer is familiar with already.

There are three areas to consider in developing good shop methods: your powers of observation, your ability to cultivate relationships with the shop personnel, and your work routines. As you work on each area, you must have in the back of your mind not only the quality of the work to be done but also the safety of everyone around you.

Powers of Observation

• Understand what it is you are doing before you begin.
• Foresee potential hazards. Think about what will happen if something goes wrong.
• Be alert. "Always alert, never hurt."
• Check the dimensions. Do they make sense? "Measure twice, cut once."
• Check the material specs, welding locations, etc. etc.
• Check the math. Does it make sense?
• Verify the math with visual inspection.
• Are you using the right machine? "The right tool for the right job."
• Make sure the machine doesn't rock.
• Don't plan on using it -- don't even touch it -- if you don't know how.

Relationships with Shop Personnel

• It's better to learn from the mistakes of others than from your own.
• Experienced machinists know better, faster jigs.
• Experienced machinists know unnecessary design features when they see them. "Half the tolerance, double the cost."
• Shop staff is generally ready and willing to pass on knowledge.
• Shop staff is generally interested in concisely presented engineering information, but may mistrust engineers because of negative experiences. (Those experiences are usually the result of engineers who fail to pay attention to the axioms given here.)
• Machinists will review and comment on your design if you ask them first, listen to them next, and consider what they say after. They have experience; they can save MONEY.

Work Routines

• Always accumulate favors with the machinists. Buy them coffee, donuts and lunch whenever possible.
• Don't gripe about the machinists. You may need their favor.
• Don't ask the machinists to take care of other peoples' tools.

Kazanjy suggests a "Zeroth Law" for work routines: Leave It Better Than You Found It. The idea is that if each shop worker contributes even the smallest effort to improving conditions in the shop, the net effect is one of reverse entropy -- the shop is improved as though through capital investment, with only small burdens placed on any individual. (This policy also makes up well for occasional tornadoes that pass through the shop.)

• Develop your own system.
• Take it slow.
• Have a notebook, pencil, and calculator handy.
• Don't get hair/fabrics/jewelry near active power tools.
• If you can make it, you can make it again.
• Walk away from it if you're frustrated, tired, or distracted.
• Use push-sticks liberally with bandsaws and table saws.
• Keep yourself out of the plane of a rotating blade.
• Let the grinder coast to a stop for a finer finish.
• Turn it off and unplug it before maintenance.
• Put it back when you're done.
• Don't leave the key in the chuck.

Kazanjy goes a step further: an IF YOU/THEN list of behaviours: