Wow where to start hehe.
You know your a machinest when you realise your not 1/10 as smart as you THOUGHT you were after 1 year on the job.
When almost any object combined with some spare time leads you to think about how they made it, and not only that, what the molds, dies, and tools that made it might look like.
When you hear machines and cutters in your sleep, and think of it as a good thing
When you can not only run the machine, but repair it, and could even make almost all of the cutting tools you would need to run it (could not SHOULD
)
When you realise that 97% of the world, their dad never tought them that an open ended wrench is only used when needed, otherwise use a box end or a socket, and when you tell a new kid that, and he asks "why"..you realise that for him it may be far too late, and you could maybe never explain.
When you know "nice" work when you see it, and try to do it on every job, but make the boss some $$ too...so you try to do nice work fast.
When people say to you "everything comes easy for you".....and you realise to some degree that is true, but give yourself credit for giving the job and the trade that extra work needed in each endeavor to make truly excellant parts with the machine and tools you have at hand.
Bill
Bill