Pakistani machine shop videos... thoughts?

[pontiac428]

Well, you wouldn't have to worry about your daughter in Pakistan, you'd be whistling your way to the bank to cash your dowry by now, and she'd be a man's property for life.

I study people's jobs for a living, looking at what makes them sick or broken. I've looked at everything from explosives handling to naval ship rebuilding. One thing is for sure, our work is cleaner- but it's also a thousand times more costly, and it creeps unsustainably slow. It's fascinating to watch these guys make a meaningful part out of so little, and carry it out so quickly. I don't want to know how young they were when they went completely deaf, or who takes care of them if they lose their eyesight. But the forged axles they're making here out of what looks like railcar running gear (surely colonial salvage) end up looking like serviceable parts in the end. I don't know how they calibrate their eyes, but there are no apparent numbers involved. A chalk line is what, .200" thick?

 

[strantor]

Well, you wouldn't have to worry about your daughter in Pakistan, you'd be whistling your way to the bank to cash your dowry by now, and she'd be a man's property for life.

Excellent perspective. My "first world problems" rant was ironically placed in the least appropriate thread possible.

 

[Jubil]

My initial thought was; these videos have to be faked and still not convinced that parts are not. They do amazing things with rudimentary tools, that’s for sure.
I sometimes think about how things used to be regarding safety. Yes we have come a long way. Here is a link to an article I came across. https://workforce.com/news/playing-it-safe-a-look-at-workplace-safety-during-the-roaring-20s-and-now.
My beloved country became an industrial powerhouse, but not without the sacrifices of workers. We all have heard/read of some very civilized nations that worked children for long hours under deplorable conditions.
I don’t mean to scold or offend anyone just being thankful that we made it this far.
Is this ok? Move or delete if not.

Chuck

 

[Ultradog MN]

...I was able to find success by ignoring the advice of my elders...

I did not watch the video.
Ignoring the advice of our elders cuts both ways.
A lot of parents have been taught a can't do attitude and they pass it on to their kids.
I was a remodeling contractor for 35 years.
Retired two years ago.
So this fall when an old high school classmate asked if I would do a big remodel on a house they bought I told them no. She then asked if I would straw boss the job. Help them find contractors (I still know a few) keep a frequent eye on things and insure the job was done properly.
I agreed to that.
I had never met any of the workers before.
The carpenter was about 30 and self employed. He was good. Even taught this old dog a few tricks.
He had another job in progress and would come evenings and weekends to work on my friends' house. He learned the trade from his dad.
The plumber was 22 and a 2nd year apprentice and already knew his stuff. The master plumber stopped by a couple of times and we talked about this and that. He said the kid was good and all he usually needed to do was inspect the work before the plumbing inspector got there.
Similar scenerio with the electrician.
He was 26 and had just made journeyman and was proud of that. He said they had all the work they wanted - and more.
He looked to get his master's license some day and go out on his own.
The plumber and electrician kids (they were kids to me) didn't go to college. They went to 2 year votechs.
The carpenter and his wife - who also worked -owned their own home. Well, them and the mortgage company...
All of them drove good pickups. Not new but 4 -6 years old.
They were more successful than I was at their ages.
I thought they worked hard and had good attitudes.
And maybe, just maybe they "were able to find success by ignoring the advice of their elders"
who might have tried to imbue them with bad ideas about the hopeless future they faced and the worthlessness of effort and hard work and the unfairness they were up against.
I wish your daughter well.
I hope she learns the value of work as a thing "in and of itself".
And I really hope she doesn't inherit the defeatist attitude I detect in some of the replys to this thread.

 

[strantor]

I did not watch the video.
Ignoring the advice of our elders cuts both ways.

Ha! Ok, touche!

The carpenter was about 30 and self employed. [...]
The plumber was 22 and a 2nd year apprentice and already knew his stuff. [...] the electrician. He was 26 and had just made journeyman and was proud of that. [...]
They went to 2 year votechs.
The carpenter and his wife - who also worked -owned their own home. Well, them and the mortgage company...
All of them drove good pickups. Not new but 4 -6 years old.
They were more successful than I was at their ages.
I thought they worked hard and had good attitudes.

Same experience and observations here. I know several other successful people in my age group and they're all small business owners or have advanced through the trades. By "successful" I mean: own their own homes (have their own mortgages), drive decent reliable vehicles, and maybe have some "play money" for things like boats or deer leases. But they are the exception, not the rule.

A lot of parents have been taught a can't do attitude and they pass it on to their kids.

And maybe, just maybe they "were able to find success by ignoring the advice of their elders"

who might have tried to imbue them with bad ideas about the hopeless future they faced and the worthlessness of effort and hard work and the unfairness they were up against.
I wish your daughter well.
I hope she learns the value of work as a thing "in and of itself".
And I really hope she doesn't inherit the defeatist attitude I detect in some of the replys to this thread.

I am successful because I am 100% a "can-do" type of person. What did I say to make you think otherwise? I am doing my best to instill that same mentality in my my kids. The other things I said are not what I practice or what I preach, but the reality I see in the world around me. I am trying to groom my daughters to be what they will need to be to succeed in a more challenging environment than I experienced; never would I teach them victim mentality and that trying isn't worth it. But neither will I lie to them. They need to know what they're up against. I don't understand how my refusal to concede "my kids are growing up in the same land of milk and honey that my dad grew up in" and "if they just work hard and spend wisely everything will be fine (and if everything isn't fine it's their fault)" is tantamount to indoctrinating my kids into victimhood.

You have to be exceptional today to meet the standards of yesterday's ordinary. And the way things are headed, you will have to be beyond exceptional tomorrow to meet today's standards of ordinary. A lot of the people you grew up with, the ones who did "fine" but that's it, would probably be sitting in basements right now if they were born in the 80s or 90s.

We are devolving into a situation which is common many other places in the world, where several generations of family live together under the same roof. Right now it's just the fat antisocial 30-something manboy strawman playing Nintendo in mommy's garage who is getting all the attention, but that will change.

I don't need you or anyone else to know or acknowledge what I'm up against or what my kids will be up against, but it sure would be cool. The perpetual judgement on obsolete criteria that we millennials face is really tiresome. Is it really that hard to see that the rules are different for us than they were for you?

 

[7milesup]

Is it really that hard to see that the rules are different for us than they were for you?

This is spot on.

 

[Janderso]

Well, you wouldn't have to worry about your daughter in Pakistan, you'd be whistling your way to the bank to cash your dowry by now, and she'd be a man's property for life.

I study people's jobs for a living, looking at what makes them sick or broken. I've looked at everything from explosives handling to naval ship rebuilding. One thing is for sure, our work is cleaner- but it's also a thousand times more costly, and it creeps unsustainably slow. It's fascinating to watch these guys make a meaningful part out of so little, and carry it out so quickly. I don't want to know how young they were when they went completely deaf, or who takes care of them if they lose their eyesight. But the forged axles they're making here out of what looks like railcar running gear (surely colonial salvage) end up looking like serviceable parts in the end. I don't know how they calibrate their eyes, but there are no apparent numbers involved. A chalk line is what, .200" thick?

Any idea why they all crank down on the poor old three jaw chuck with a two foot extension?
They do that with the lathe tool hold down bolts as well. They are all mushroomed out and bent. = over torqued for no reason that I can see.

 

[Batmanacw]

Any idea why they all crank down on the poor old three jaw chuck with a two foot extension?
They do that with the lathe tool hold down bolts as well. They are all mushroomed out and bent. = over torqued for no reason that I can see.

The bolt threads are stretched and probably pretty hard to turn now.

 

[Ultradog MN]

[[QUOTE="strantor, post: 997420, member: 20337"

you?
[/QUOTE]

Edit: I dislike the stupid software on this board!

 

[strantor]

I'm not sure this was a safe repair and it doesn't look very straight, but the concept i thought was pretty clever.