Misplaced Dreams

[Frankenkubota]

I recently had an epiphany and that I missed the boat for a very interesting career. The skills and aptitude of a Machinist that is good at his craft is truly amazing. What they can machine out of a chunk of metal is art.

Our one and only local Machine Shop will soon be gone due to the ageing owner and I doubt if there is anyone else in the area that has the knowledge and skills to take over.

I'm to old to learn that trade but I am thinking about purchasing a Magnetic Drill so I can at least use annular cutters to drill holes in some of my heavy steel projects. No way to convert my puny benchtop drill press to use these cutters either. Twist drills are from the stone age compared to what an annular cutter can do. I so enjoy dreaming.

Just met a guy who recently retired. He went to a local community college, learned about gun smithing, now has a small business. He had never worked in a machine shop in his life.

I have worked in many machine shops, metal fab, foundry痴, precision machining and.........tool and die shops.

The tool and due makers were amazing. What impressed me was, the had to see everything inside out. Many of the jobs they did were for punch presses.

When I tried to get into Army flight school, I was diagnosed with dyslexia. I couldn稚 be a tool and die maker if my life depended on it.

 

[fried1765]

Just met a guy who recently retired. He went to a local community college, learned about gun smithing, now has a small business. He had never worked in a machine shop in his life.

I have worked in many machine shops, metal fab, foundryç—´, precision machining and.........tool and die shops.

The tool and due makers were amazing. What impressed me was, the had to see everything inside out. Many of the jobs they did were for punch presses.

When I tried to get into Army flight school, I was diagnosed with dyslexia. I couldn稚 be a tool and die maker if my life depended on it.

Shoulda tried the USAF! :laughing:

 

[Doofy]

Not sure I would have the focus and attention to detail necessary to be a Machinist. My mind tends to wander a lot. Precision is not one of my strong attributes and I hate math. Still, being able to create something from a hunk of metal is so very interesting.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I sold my Haugen Mag drill to a friend. Watched him once break one angular cutter after another. And this guy knows what he's doing. He must have been a machinist in a previous life, because what this guy can do and make at a very young age without formal training is amazing.

Anyway, my point is. The tooling to be able to do anything is very expensive and specific. Having just a mag drill would be useless to me and having thousand of dollars in cutters would make no sense at all. I know where to go, to get a hole drilled,

 

[cdaigle430]

Shoulda tried the USAF! :laughing:

So true,
When I joined the Army I wanted to work with computers but they diagnosed me with color blindness. Served 4 years doing something I didnt want to do. When my enlistment ended , enrolled in college, a Computer electronics school. I was so excited and so happy until we got to building circuits. Thats where I found out why the Army didnt want me for computers and electronics...the dreaded resistor color coding. I had such a hard time especially when your graded 50% circuit design and 50% building the working circuit...would often end up with a 50 in my grading.

When the professor asked me to drop out...I got desperate, my dreams shattering before my very eyes. Then found, by accident that I could use a lighted magnifier and focus on the resistor I could tell the ratings from the color bands...bought a bin and organized my resistors by OHMS for quicker exams. I did pass but with a C plus because I discovered the way to read them too late.

I ended up in the Army National Guards-Field Artillery crew member and later found out the Air Force National Guard was easy to transfer to...my recruiter suggested Computer Electronics career. I wanted to but the Army already labeled me color blind. My AF recruiter said with a grin- there are no documents"stating" that So I transferred to the Air Force and got to work on computers and electronics )))))

Today I am an IT Microsoft Server Engineer....

 

[Doofy]

I sold my Haugen Mag drill to a friend. Watched him once break one angular cutter after another. And this guy knows what he's doing. He must have been a machinist in a previous life, because what this guy can do and make at a very young age without formal training is amazing.

Anyway, my point is. The tooling to be able to do anything is very expensive and specific. Having just a mag drill would be useless to me and having thousand of dollars in cutters would make no sense at all. I know where to go, to get a hole drilled,

I know where to go too. The Shop Rate is $175 per 1/2 hour. Not sure how many holes I could afford?

You are correct about a Mag Drill and an assortment of annular cutters would probably not be a good investment just to putter around with.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I applaud them for charging for their services according to actual cost. FORTUNATELY, there are still little shops that will do quick jobs around here CHEAP! But certainly that works better if you do the engineering, homework and planning. Not show up and expect them to do all that. If I show up at my friends various places, I try and make sure I know exactly what I want them to do, to avoid wasting their precious time on my never ending projects. I don't always get it right, but I try.

 

[Doofy]

I applaud them for charging for their services according to actual cost. FORTUNATELY, there are still little shops that will do quick jobs around here CHEAP! But certainly that works better if you do the engineering, homework and planning. Not show up and expect them to do all that. If I show up at my friends various places, I try and make sure I know exactly what I want them to do, to avoid wasting their precious time on my never ending projects. I don't always get it right, but I try.

I begrudge no man an honest living. With a Machinist / Welder, you are paying for expertise and experience and for all kinds of specialized tools and equipment.

Things I can do myself, I do. Things above my expertise or capabilities, I will find the right person to do the job and pay accordingly. I would say that in almost 70 years, that I pay for front end alignments, tire balancing and good welding where I need the strength beyond my capability.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have a decent enough welder, but anything that matters for strength or looks, I have friends do. And I do their electrical/electronic stuff.

I often entertained notions of owning or owning/operating heavy equipment. But when I have a job to do, that takes just a little too long, I realize how impatient I am and bore easily. A DOZER sounds like it might be fun. Yeah, maybe to play with, here and there. To be on, forty or better hours a week, no friggin way.

 

[Doofy]

All very good and valid points. Although...I could buy a Magnetic Drill cheaper than a new floor mount drill press. 3/8"-1" holes in no thicker than 1" steel wouldn't require very expensive annular drill bits. The Mag drill could even replace my old Craftsman bench top drill press.

The only problem with being a Dreamer is that in a week or two, I will be off on a completely new tangent.