If you ever think you're a moron...

[Janderso]

It goes without saying, you are not alone in this.

Boy Howdy!

 

[middle.road]

(15) coats? wet sanded between coats? Polished to perfection? 3000 grit?
Might there be pictures?
It didn't happen without pictures.
I for one would like to see it.

Revisiting my own thread, I was fitting a new stock to an old Rossi 92, and I struggled to get the fasteners to bite on the other side when I was putting it all back together. I decided to make new fasteners 1/8" longer. So I fire up my lathe, set to work making this little slotted screw with the right contour and taper to seat into the gun, and the right threads. I did beautiful work, if I do say so myself. It was just beautiful.

Then I got out my never before used, brand new slitting saw, and I fired up my fancy schmancy new DEE ARE OH. Yeah baby, now that I have DRO I can put the slot in this thing precisely in the center, like a boss!

Yeah. Stupid arithmetic error. I cut the slot positive instead of negative whatever the measurement was. Off-center. Work spoiled. Yeah buddy, I are a machinery super stud alright.

Hey, on the bright side, I was so frustrated and annoyed that I was able to put more English on the original screws, and I got the gun back together. The new stock is awesome. I always wanted to see what I could do in the way of finishing a gun stock, and I did a good job. I did about 15 coats of Birchwood-Casey Tru-Oil, wet sanded at grits between 300 and 3000 as I progressed, then I rounded it out by hitting it with 0000 steel wool and Johnson's paste wax. It's beautiful, but honestly, it really wasn't worth all the trouble I put into it.

 

[NCjeeper]

No matter how difficult my night had been, watching that inbound traffic always made me feel better.

Same here when I worked night shift.

 

[kb58]

In my younger days, I, an electrical engineer, was allowed to use the machine shop after-hours for my own project. I learned that using a "stomp" shear may have gotten its name because of what happens when you stomp down on it with one foot—forgetting to move your other foot out of the way. That hurt.

I learned what happens when cutting aluminum stock on a cold saw, setting the material too far out such that the blade lifts it...

Then there was the time that I used the metal-bending brake to make a box. Bent one side, then to make the opposite side, had to slide it in from the back and did the second bend. And there it was, now trapped in the brake, for all to see, and it had to be disassembled to get it out. That was nice of them, they could have just cut the panel instead.

In hindsight, I think they let me in there for their own amusement. All joking aside, I fondly remember those guys, now long departed, for everything they taught me. I felt a great sense of, what, brotherhood in there, that they knew that they were passing on the trade to another generation, even though I wasn't going to be a machinist, those lessons did stick. I can still see their faces even now.

 

[Papa Charlie]

In my younger days, I, an electrical engineer, was allowed to use the machine shop after-hours for my own project. I learned that using a "stomp" shear may have gotten its name because of what happens when you stomp down on it with one foot—forgetting to move your other foot out of the way. That hurt.

I learned what happens when cutting aluminum stock on a cold saw, setting the material too far out such that the blade lifts it...

Then there was the time that I used the metal-bending brake to make a box. Bent one side, then to make the opposite side, had to slide it in from the back and did the second bend. And there it was, now trapped in the brake, for all to see, and it had to be disassembled to get it out. That was nice of them, they could have just cut the panel instead.

In hindsight, I think they let me in there for their own amusement. All joking aside, I fondly remember those guys, now long departed, for everything they taught me. I felt a great sense of, what, brotherhood in there, that they knew that they were passing on the trade to another generation, even though I wasn't going to be a machinist, those lessons did stick. I can still see their faces even now.

I have experienced that type of brotherhood before in shops. Sadly, people often move on and it is rare to have that perfect team stay together for any long period of time. But I miss it none the same.

Oh, and as for some of your moments in the shop, we all make those kind of mistakes at one time or another. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. For the shops I worked in, we rarely had the perfect machine for those special applications. So we made equipment do things they were not designed, nor ever intended to do, work. That and having the same issue working from home, I have learned to do things without the proper tool or to make the tool to get it done. Working in Field Service on large industrial equipment, you find that creativity is essential to everyday life.

I bet you learned some lessons from you experiences in the shop that you applied to many other aspects of your life.