"I learned machining by..."

I was 11 years old when I got my first good wiff of cutting oil. I started at that age sweeping floors in Grand Dads shop. My father worked there part time. I apprenticed at General Motors in Bristol. I ran Grand Dads shop for a while, now my sons run the place That shop was started in 1932 and we still own it.

"Billy G"
 
I plead guilty to having been taught. I spent some time in college learning geology (great help there), some time learning and doing carpentry for a living, then I got into a Tool & Die Makers' apprentice program. I was in the Tool side, not as much as 1% die work. Four years later I was group leader on the afternoon shift in the tool room of one of Kelsey Hayes' plants. After 9 years there I became involved with Ariel Corp. (Google them) I spent a total of 29 years doing that, laughing all the way home 'cause they payed me to have fun. After 13 years of retirement I've gotten back into it, didn't realize how much I'd missed it.
 
I learned machining by…..Doing. I never intended to be a machinist, it just kind of happened. In the early 70s I was working on an experimental project and took some drawings over to a local machine shop to have the parts machined. I was a bit shocked at the price and figured that I could do that. I took metal shop in high school and had a little machining experience there with a lathe and a shaper. The parts also needed some modification so I went to Sears and bought a Craftsman Commercial 12x36 lathe. Shortly there after I found a used Atlas mill and shaper. I never did finish the original project. Never had any problem learning how to make chips, I just kept learning from my mistakes. I guess I just had a feel for it. Never did have any formal training, an apprenticeship, or even a mentor.

At the time I was working as a millwright and the company I was working for needed some parts machined, so I said ‘’I can do that’’. Well they needed quite a bit of work done, so I quit and started machining for them full time in my little shop. I pretty much wore that poor lathe out in a couple of years building Inconel spindles for them. And yes, you can hold +/- 0.0002 on an Atlas lathe, even a worn out one. Time for some bigger equipment, so I traded in the Atlas equipment and bought a new 14x40 lathe and a Bridgeport clone. I didn’t have room for the equipment at home, so I rented a small shop space and hung out a sign.

After I got tired of that I sold out that business and took a couple of years off building fast cars, flying, and SCUBA diving. Then decided it was time to go back to work. Went to work as a maintenance tech for a while until they went on strike, then saw an ad for Tool&Die maker wanted. Yeah, I can do that, never done it before, but that doesn't stop me. I've got a pretty good line of BS to get me in the door. A couple of years later I'm running the shop building high speed stamping dies, I guess they were happy with my work. I stayed there for 7 years, a new record. Then I had to get out on my own again. Bought another lathe and mill. So for the last 45 years I have either owned or had access machine tools at work. My primary focus is machine design and building, I never really considered myself to be a machinist. I just use machine tools as a part of the process.
 
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I learned some machining by watching Myfordboy and Abom79 YouTube videos. Learned some more from reading the forums. Bought some books too. Haven't read them yet.
 
My dad bought a 8N ford tractor for a little of nothing. The flat head had a spun rod bearing.
We had a V6 chevy engine and a pile of scrap angle iron, thus FrankinFord was concieved.
I had no machine tools, milling was done with a grinder, turning done with a 1/2" drill and sandpaper. While doing this I keept thinking there has to be a better way. A dozen years later I see an ad for a 9x20. That was my gateway drug.
I then found the H-M.
A few years layer I made a 3 hr trip to buy a vertical mill. Then a bigger lathe and horizontal mill. Then a shaper, and a band saw was added in.
I have no pryor training, but Iv never been afraid to " go for it!"
A few machinist in this area have gratiously offered advice and help whenever I got stumpped, and I tip my hat to them.

Youtube and the internet has been my backup support.

Sent from somewhere in East Texas Jake Parker
 
Error, error, trial, error, all metalworking operations performed with dull hacksaw and rusty file, then............ Shop class at local comm. college, 3 years using old but well maintained machines tooled to the gills. Then internet came along, changed our world as far as learning and mis-learning stuff
 
I designed parts for machinists to make for 25 yrs and got the bug to learn how to make them myself. That path got me started welding 25 yrs ago and the car hobby got me wrenching and doing paint and body work. I just love the hands on of making something from raw materials. Forums and you tube videos have been a big help getting started in the machining area. I am a rank beginner in machining, I am much more experienced in metal fab and welding, but I can make simple parts that I've designed and only wish I'd gotten the lathe and mill a lot sooner.
 
...by sweating in a tin building machine shop running a CNC lathe with 6 inch diameter boring bars.
 
I got laid off the day before my wedding.

My best friend (and best man's) father was at my wedding. He said he'd put in a good word for me at the cutting die shop where he worked. That must have done it because I had no metal working experience.

I started out by "buzzing out" the dies, i.e. using hand and bench grinders to remove the scale after the dies were tempered. By the time I left a couple of years later I was forging and machining custom cutting chisels that attached to the sides of the dies and making the occasional die. I also took a night class at the local trade school called "Basic Lathe". It cost me $5.00 in the 1970s and we each made a pair of automobile screw jacks. Today that same course costs $250.00. Because machining and manufacturing were really big in Worcester back then some big companies subsidized the trade school quite a bit. Today at least 90% of them are gone.

I went on to have a totally unrelated career and recently retired. I figured that I'd take on some of the household maintenance projects which I had deferred. I had a pretty good set of household tools. I had all the normal hand and power tools plus a drill press and bench grinder. I went looking for a bandsaw on craigslist. I bought one off a guy who offered to throw in a Craftsman wood lathe for free. The kick was that it was totally disassembled in a box. What the hell - I'll try it.

Looked it up and discovered the Old Woodworking Machine web site. Put it together and got it working About the same time I came across an add on craigslist for a South Bend 9C at a reasonable price. I got there and discovered that the seller had totally restored it and done a good job. The data plates and everything. Plenty of tooling to get started too. He had upgraded to a larger South Bend and basically gave me everything that wouldn't fit his new lathe and threw in a box of at least 50 cutting tools. Nice guy - I had already bought the lathe by then.

After that I'm afraid it's the same sad story. An otherwise respectable citizen gets a whiff of cutting oil, next we see him laying in the gutter with his arm around an indexing head...


Charles
 
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