Misplaced Dreams

[BrokenTrack]

I almost look at the ability to produce as a curse!

I am a fabricationist/machinist so with a cutting torch, welder, milling machine and lathe, there is almost nothing that I cannot build. That is not the problem though, as it is having the TIME to build everything I could build, that is the hurdle.

The curse comes in because I see something and think, "there is NO WAY that implement is worth what they want for it." So I get bitter about implement prices, because I know I can build something cheaper and better, but then...when will I have the time too?

 

[Frankenkubota]

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....

I remember those resistors. There was some nasty saying about a female that helped you remember, couldn稚 use it today.

A Microsoft engineer? IMHO, Microsoft defines the double edged sword. What they and other tech companies do is amazing. Until it doesn稚 work!

I can稚 tell you the number of times I was in a critical situation, time sensitive, almost panic. I owned my own business, no salary, no sick days, no holidays, no personal time and no guaranteed $! You either perform or you are out

And the frigging computer would lock up, go out in the weeds and up would pop this insulting error message.

Contact your network administrator. I would look at my dog, then in the mirror, wife, no network admin here.

When I was in school, back in the Paleolithic, one of the younger proffs said, one day soft ware people will rule the world.

Now think of those bit wienies sitting in moms basement eating snickers and drinking Dr Pepper.

They truly do rule the world and, it痴 impossible to avoid their world.

These are the days of miracle and wonder.

 

[Frankenkubota]

Fortunate to be around some real craftsmen... several learned the trade in Germany but also Swiss and even Japan and Hong Kong...

Lawrence Livermore often got the best of the best too...

Sadly, it is passing like much these days...

Old saying in the tool and die business, from the 70s

An American tool and die maker can make a steel rod .001 in dia

A German tool and die maker can drill a hole in it.

A Japanese tool and die maker can tap it.

I知 impressed by almost anyone that can do almost anything.

BTW. Congrats on plowing thru!

 

[rScotty]

I would thoroughly enjoy shadowing a decent Machinist / Welder for a couple of months just to see what they do and how. Sadly, no real opportunities to do that locally.

I started by signing up for evening shop classes at the adult education vo-tech school. Sort of like High School courses taught at night. My area didn't have that, so I drove after work to a town that did. Yes, I was the oldest one there. I let them figure out how to teach me. It's what they do.

There is also a local "maker's" group in that town that has a lot of tools and classes in an old industrial building. They don't advertise, but people can sign up and use it all.

I haven't seem many places without some sort of local mechanic. Even where I was raised there were people who made & fixed things.

But things may be different now. When I was in my 20s every shop had its own crew of guys who just sort of hung out there. They learned and run errands. Cleaned stuff, and were generally half handy and half in the way. Now I don't see that.
rScotty

 

[BukitCase]

IT, being a tech I'm fairly sure you've seen the acronym RTFM; sure sounds to me like your friend spends too much time and money BUYING and too little time READING about things you should NOT do -
My Hougen drill is one of their upper end ones, 3" DOC and nearly 4" quill stroke - it cost just over $1700 with a "starter set" of cutters, I now have around $1k in cutters. I have NEVER broken a cutter in over 8 years, some of 'em have a couple hundred holes on 'em and are still sharp (5/8" hole thru 1/4" steel in just under 20 seconds) - no carbide cutters at all, just hss.

Hougen has a couple docs on their website that cover do's and don'ts, I read 'em all BEFORE I started using the drill.

I'll admit I'm kind of finicky, among other things I taught electronics troubleshooting and repair in the military for 4 years, then worked as a video/audio tech for several more. (I left out the other couple pages of my no-longer-needed resume :laughing: } Maybe that's part of my "luck", dunno - I do know people that can break a hammer without really trying... Steve

 

[Doofy]

I took my snowplow A-Frame to the Machine Shop / Welding Shop to have it rebuilt. I popped a cross brace on it and proceeded to bend the everloving snot out of it. This was 1/2" x 3" angle iron and twisted in several directions. Bent to bad to straighten so it will just be cut and rebuilt and reinforced. That is what got me interested in Mag Drills and annular cutters. All my plow mounting holes are egged out and need to be plug-welded and re-drilled. I heard that plug-welding can be hard to drill back out. Someone on TBN mentioned annular cutters and peaked my interest. I am an old homesteader and try to do things myself.

 

[BukitCase]

I've got this kit
Blair 11 Rotobroach Cutter Kit Hole Saw Kit - Hole Saw Sets - Amazon.com

Also available from Hougen - looks like cutting out plug welds is how they got started. They CLAIM they work in a regular hand drill, and they SORTA do - but even those smaller annular cutters do NOT like side loading, so if you're cleaning out a hole that does NOT have a place for a center punch mark it's better if you can clamp something behind the material so the pilot pin has a home.

I've also gotten away with using larger annulars WITHOUT a pilot in odd situations - one of the reasons I bought the bigger hougen was because it's heavier, and has bigger magnets. My "reasoning" was that it might stay attached better when drilling thinner metals - so far, so good.

Also, whenever possible I use my "MDVT" - the 10" channel the table is made from has added 1/2" steel for a total thickness of 7/8", my drill has a "lift off" with that thickness of around 1000 pounds. Between the vise jaws on one end of the table and the dual vise/X-Y table on the other, SOMETHING usually works... Steve

 

[Doofy]

I've got this kit
Blair 119 Rotobroach Cutter Kit Hole Saw Kit - Hole Saw Sets - Amazon.com

Also available from Hougen - looks like cutting out plug welds is how they got started. They CLAIM they work in a regular hand drill, and they SORTA do - but even those smaller annular cutters do NOT like side loading, so if you're cleaning out a hole that does NOT have a place for a center punch mark it's better if you can clamp something behind the material so the pilot pin has a home.

I've also gotten away with using larger annulars WITHOUT a pilot in odd situations - one of the reasons I bought the bigger hougen was because it's heavier, and has bigger magnets. My "reasoning" was that it might stay attached better when drilling thinner metals - so far, so good.

Also, whenever possible I use my "MDVT" - the 10" channel the table is made from has added 1/2" steel for a total thickness of 7/8", my drill has a "lift off" with that thickness of around 1000 pounds. Between the vise jaws on one end of the table and the dual vise/X-Y table on the other, SOMETHING usually works... Steve

Very interesting set up. Perhaps the Rotobroach cutters would work for me in the drill press. I can get the speed down to 540 rpm I think. I'm only needing to drill out about 3 or 4 plug-welded holes in 1/2" steel. It would be silly to buy a Mag Drill and annular cutters just for that.

 

[BukitCase]

Could work; if you look at the pic in that link, you can see that the smaller cutters will only do about 1/4" deep holes - IIRC, about 1/2" and above can drill to 1/2" deep, possibly deeper. If there's a particular size you might envision using a LOT of, replacement cutters are also available as well as extra mandrells, etc - if you might use one size a LOT, they're usually a fair amount cheaper by the three-pack. As I mentioned earlier, this was the initial expected use of the smaller sizes (drilling out plug welds)

And yeah, if this is your main projected use a mag drill (at anywhere from $3-400 up to a couple THOU$and) and $30 or higher prices per cutter don't make a lotta sense - HTH... Steve

 

[Smokeydog]

I traded for a Milwaukee mag drill sometime ago. More for fabrication being tall and heavy. Adjustable base make precision alignment a breeze. Long quill travel so you can use drill bits. 3 jaw 3/4” drill chuck. Electronic variable speed, forward and reverse makes tapping easy. Sometimes just set on on the welding table with a machinist vise to drill and tap for projects. With correct speed and pressure can twist drill up to 1” holes easy.
Plasma cutter with templates has me spoiled for larger holes.