Have no idea what I'm doing, but want to learn!

MarkM said:
You said that you wanted to learn or how to communicate with machinist. Decimal points are not requird but you can t go into a shop and say hey buddy can you make these parts for me. I kinda want this. If the spindle isn t turning there not making money and you come across as a time waster. You can draw a half inch hole how you want 1/2" .5, 5.005", 5.0005" The 5.0005"cost more. Your part is simple but i still don t know what you want exactly want. What if I make that radius for a two inch pipe and your pipe is three inches and doesn t conform for a good weld? Machinist love loose tolerances but hate talking about it for an hr. and then they don t want to pay for that hr. Grab a napkin even draw a rectangle with some lines. How long is it how wide, where are the holes and what size. Show radius and what pipe you want to mate to. Draw whatever you can from this.
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Forgive me for stating the obvious, but I even posted pictures. How can you say you don't know what I want, when I said exactly what I was trying to do? 3.5" long, 1" wide, .375" thick, two half-inch holes, a bunch of grooves down one side, and a hollowed-out place on the other side. How hard can that be? Before I get to the point where I've taken money in hand to some shop somewhere, I'll be able to say with reasonable precise certainty exactly what the outside diameter of my pipe is, what the wall thickness is, and everything else. I'm just trying to understand the processes and the terminology so I can learn something about how this gets done.

I'm probably never going to become a machinist. Not because I think I can't, or because I don't think I'll like it, but because I want a degree in history when I go to college. Making things is just fun for me. Now, I understand that for lots of people here, it's money, and that's okay. If you think I'm wasting your time, I'll not bother you any more.
 
Twirpunky said:
Take a machine shop class at a Vo-Tech center or just about any two year college. While learning the language, you will also learn a valuable skill. The instructor will most likely allow you to make just the part you need if you are caught up on the regular assignments.

D
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I actually thought about doing that, but my dad won't let me. He thinks I have to stay focused on getting ready for college. I sort of agree, because I've wanted to be a researcher since I was a little kid. You know, one of those guys who looks up stuff for all the programs on the science channel and the discovery channel?
 
You say you want info on producing a workable drawing.........Google "engineering drawing" for all you need to know.
You say you want a couple of these parts made inexpensively.
It is unlikely a busy job shop would be interested in a one off project unless you make it WELL worth their time.
There are a fair number of ways to skin your cat, none of them cheap by using an established shop.
Perhaps a hobbiest could be enlisted to help gratis or at a "hobby rate".
Or perhaps you could rethink your project so it would be more D I Y friendly............Bob
 
Scootered said:
I actually thought about doing that, but my dad won't let me. He thinks I have to stay focused on getting ready for college. I sort of agree, because I've wanted to be a researcher since I was a little kid. You know, one of those guys who looks up stuff for all the programs on the science channel and the discovery channel?
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Most all college classes at Two year schools will count as credits applied to a 4 year degree, even a history major. There are usually several non-related credits required for any 4 year degree. They call these Elective Credits. Prepare yourself for college by getting some of your Elective credits out of the way while learning something of interest to you and get the part made just they way you want it.
 
bhigdog said:
You say you want info on producing a workable drawing.........Google "engineering drawing" for all you need to know.
You say you want a couple of these parts made inexpensively.
It is unlikely a busy job shop would be interested in a one off project unless you make it WELL worth their time.
There are a fair number of ways to skin your cat, none of them cheap by using an established shop.
Perhaps a hobbiest could be enlisted to help gratis or at a "hobby rate".
Or perhaps you could rethink your project so it would be more D I Y friendly............Bob
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Wow, some of those drawings I've seen are hugely complicated! This is way outside what I originally thought it would be. Now I know why everyone keeps saying "wait until you're older, you'll understand"...

I was sort of (naively) thinking I could just walk into some shop where a bunch of guys were just standing around, and talk them into doing it on the cheap. Boy am I dumb sometimes.

If there were a way for me to do it more "DIY friendly" I would, but it's going to be used for something fairly important, and it has to be metal. Rats.

Let me play around in Paint Shop Pro and see what I can come up with based on the lessons I've already learned here.
 
Regarding your drill bit... It does not make a 0.5" hole. It makes a hole that is close to the right size. All drill bits do. You don't have the tools to measure it, but it's still there. Perhaps you don't care about the difference, but a machinist does. There are no perfect parts or features. The very best machinist or even CNC machines will have some error. It might be extremely small, but it's there. Thus, we have tolerances.
 
Consider learning Fusion360. It's free and can generate dimensioned drawings a machinist can use.
 

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Here is a great place to start. It has free download drawing software. You can develop your part and submit it for other people to bid on to make it for you. The software makes sure you have included the required specifications to your part. You want to do research, start here. Down load and start learning.

D
 
Scootered said:
If there were a way for me to do it more "DIY friendly" I would, but it's going to be used for something fairly important, and it has to be metal. Rats.
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Modern machine tools are a relatively recent "invention" and yet there survive thousands of examples of intricate and elegant mechanisms fashioned hundreds of years before their arrival. I'm guessing a colonial metal smith could produce functional examples of your project in little more than an afternoon. Yes, in metal...........Bob
 
Hi Scootered! I had a nice siamese cat named Scooter so I thought I should at least say hi.
We don't put people down here that's why this site was created. Helpful info only. Ask away.
Mark
ps I was trying to guess what it is you are making- did you not mention it or did I miss it? I'm thinking a clamp of some kind
 
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