How common is it for a machinist (by trade) to not know how to thread on a lathe?

strantor

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I was at a customer's location the other day and got stuck waiting on a part to arrive. So to kill time, I went over and struck up a conversation with their junior machinist. This company is not a machine shop, but they do make a lot of their own parts, so they have their own machine shop inside, staffed with 2 machinists. They have a Hurco CNC, a Mazak CNC, a Moriseki 16" manual lathe, a Leblond 16" lathe, and a Lagun FT mill. The junior guy says he didn't go to school for machining, but he's been studying under the older guy for about a year and a half. I mentioned that I have a lathe at home and that I was practicing threading. He started asking me how to do it! He said he wants to learn how, but the older guy doesn't know how to do it either, so can't teach him. The older guy (who was not available for comment) has supposedly been a machinist for 15 years or more, but works exclusively with the CNCs and never touches the manual machines. There used to be another machinist who knew how to use the manual machines, but these days they are pretty much just for show. Is that weird? I just assumed that all trade machinists learned how to thread on a lathe right after they graduated from sweeping the shop.
 
Not sure if there's any way to quantify how common it is but you would certainly think anyone calling themselves a machinist by trade would be able to single point thread on a manual lathe. I am a lowly engineer that taught myself how to thread in my home shop by recalling what little I retained from HS machine shop - remember that?? - and from books describing the procedure. It's becoming a worn out saw but true machinists that just "get it" and have a passion for the job are getting harder and harder to find. Im sure many of the people here on this board fit that description even if they are not machinists by trade.
 
Possibly like how an older generation took driving a stick for granted, and though auto's were for the lady of the house (assuming he let her out - ha ha ha).

Automated procedures I guess are becoming the norm.

I can sort of thread... with about 20 practice runs... before I kill the real part. :D
 
I am a lowly engineer that taught myself how to thread in my home shop

The impression that I get (if the Title of the forum is any indication) is that you and I, most users here on the forum fit that description. So we come from a collective perspective that is generally not the perspective of a trade machinist. I think that most of us would assume, like you and I do, that every machinist knows how to thread on a manual lathe. But I'm questioning that. I'm wondering if a young guy were to go apply for a machinist job today, would he even see a manual lathe? Most of us hobbyists own manual lathes because that's what we can afford. But a big company with money to blow, might not see the value in buying several manual machines and pay several people to operate them with a less than perfect rate of success. They may consider it better to buy one or 2 CNCs and pay one guy to run them. So if our newbie went to work there, it may be conceivable that he might enjoy a full length career without ever seeing a manual machine like we do. I want perspective of a trade machinist; is this conceivable? Or do most shops still have manual machines, and do they start their newbies out on them?
 
I spent many years as a working foreman in a job shop and one of things I always tested for when hiring a new person was if they could cut a thread on a manual lathe. Many people apply for machinist jobs that have no idea how to do it. Alot would say they know how but when you put them in front of machine and say show me they would fail.
 
As you just found out. There is a difference between a machinist and a machine operator.
 
If the machinist went thru an apprenticeship it is impossible not to know how to thread both left and right hand.

"Billy G"
 
We have 7 Haas Cnc Machines at our shop and 8 Manual mills,2 Cnc Lathes, 2 Maual Lathes.
I think one of the guys from cnc can operate a manual mill!
 
Wow, hard to believe... That's like a doctor not knowing how to suture. But, I guess to be fair, you could ask the question: How many manual machinists know how to cut threads on a CNC machine?

Ray
 
Guys, especially you who have worked as machinists, can someone really call themselves a "machinist" if they know nothing but how to program a CNC machine? I'd call that a machine programmer or operator but not a machinist.

-Ron
 
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