Advice for a New Machinist Student..

Just remember, you will make mistakes but that is a huge part of learning. It also helps to know that no matter boneheaded a mistake you make there is absolutely zero chance that you will be the first to make it. In fact it will have been made hundreds and thousands of time and by someone who has far more experience than you.
 
One more piece of advice that applies to all work, not just machining. You are the only person that can control the quality of your work. You will be remember for the quality of what you do FAR longer than anyone will remember how quickly you did something.
 
If you are serious about becoming a machinist and it is going to be the profession that you choose buy QUALITY tools. Buy once cry once. You will pay more for the quality tool but you will have it for your entire career. My grandfather was a tool and die maker born in 1899. I am using some of the tools he bought for his trade. Quality will last.
Also, you will have people in your class that are not really interested in being there. DO NOT let them distract you from being the best machinist you can be. Companies come to schools looking for their apprentices. They take the people that are at the top of the class. Be one of those people.

Good luck on your journey
Roger L
 
As someone who hasn't worked as a machinist (dad wouldn't let me take the class in HS, insisted on chemistry instead), I will give you a slightly different piece of advice.

Go forward with this training, it will serve you well. However don't stop there, with the background you'll be getting an engineering degree isn't far off. Learn how to make the parts, then learn how to design them. Everything in our workforce is becoming more automated and your long term job security will most likely rest on increasing your knowledge and obtaining degrees, certificates, and always showing your employer that you are ready to take on the next challenge.

Good luck and keep your eyes open....

John
 
And, from the other end of the scale around here, in many ways I'm very jealous of your opportunity: I came to this very late, at 67, after 45 years of management/executive work and now upping my game with a very particular side business for which I needed to fabricate small parts. So I'm not only still a rank newbie, less than a year in with a vintage lathe, but without the career of building the logic of thinking around machining problems that comes with time and practice. I'll confirm what the others have said, hang it out here and soak up the knowledge.
Tim
 
There's also an active metalworking group in the area. Look for Seattle Metalheads at groups.io. There's lots of extremely helpful people on that list.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
 
Thank you all for the awesome advice, and be ready cause believe me if I'm not at school to ask the teacher this will be the very first place I'm going to come to ask questions.

Thanks again..
 
I would imagine that most courses you would enter now days would probably head you down the CNC road. But, please don't overlook learning how to run manual machines. In parallel with taking your classes, you can learn a tremendous amount by reading text books and studying on your own.

Here's a very good all around machine shop book that I have and I think would be excellent for someone like you starting out. Hey, it's only $4.35 and that includes shipping! https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Bo...+tool+practices&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title1 I use Abebooks all the time and it's a great site.

CNC setup work is great and there are jobs out there, but manual machining is becoming somewhat of a lost art IMO but a very useful skill to have! So, why not learn both?

Good luck in your future,
Ted
 
I was fortunate enough to get into an apprenticeship when I started in the trade in the 60s. Retired in 2009 after 45 years in the trade. Most of the time I job shopped at companies in the aircraft industry (Boeing). All we had back in the day were manually operated machines. Fortunately I never had to run CNCs for any length of time.

One of my sons followed me into the trade in the 90s. Everything he ran and learned on when he started out were CNC machines. We were able to work together in various shops over a 20 year period. When he ran into problems his boss would let me help him with machining problems. It help that I had worked with and for this boss for over 10 years and we respected each others abilities. He was able glean a lot of knowledge just by watching me and ASKING QUESTIONS. He has gotten off the CNCs now and is building tooling as I was and doing second operations to finish parts after CNC missed stuff or messed things up. As Technical Ted said don't neglect learning to run manual machines. Also look around the shop and watch for the guys that look like they have their act together and learn from by watching the way they go about setting up and running their machine.

macd55
 
JMarion said:
I start fall quarter (Sep.25) at my local community college (Everett Community College, Everett,WA), I'm going for my ATA in Advanced Manufacturing Tech and Precision Machining. The Location of were the classes are held is an awesome state of the art precision machining/welding/mechatronics/composites facility called AMTEC, Im extremely excited but also nervous, is there any advice or tips or anything anyone could pass my way that would possibly help me along my path to becoming a Machinist.
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However much you may hate mathematics, stick with geometry. It is the machinist's friend and won't let you down. Watch some Joe Pieczynski on YouTube.
 
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