Machinist online learning? Is this a crazy idea?

Contact Savarin he is self taught and does some really great work. Ask him how he went about learning.

also watch the Tubal cain series of videos.

And there are some good magazines out there Some from the UK "Model Engineers Workshop". they have a recently published a special "Setting up a Workshop". which is very useful for the beginner.

There are no doubt similar publications from The USA but we don't get them here down under. Good luck and if you have specific questions just ask on this forum. Even us experienced guys ask, no one knows everything.

+1 on Tubal cain He is a retired shop teacher and often has sales on his instructional videos.
Also I would recommend watching all of Keith Finners videos, he apprenticed in a ship yard machine shop and runs a job shop. Keith's videos excel in showing the viewers various setup methods that's makes the job go easer and safer.
The problem with many of youtube vids is the person making the video starts jerking the camera around making it hard to see what is going on while making you sea sick in the process talking endlessly and leaving you confused about what's going on.

I am sure a lot of folks that has looked into making videos became discouraged when they factored in the editing time and cost for good cameras and soft ware.

what about a live presentation/class using skype conference or something similar?
I did a cooking class with two people in West Virginia and one in the Philippines with me in Australia (about 10 years ago now)
It went very well and all three loved it.
There must be better solutions available nowadays.

The names in the above thread have surfaced in many other threads as being solid Machine Tool Instructors.
Are all the "How-To" video links available here at HM vetted?

Daryl
MN

The transfer of knowledge from the old masters has traditionally taken time because there was so much of it that was acquired over the years. Apprenticeships were long by todays standards. Many of the masters themselves had learned by doing. Likewise learning from a master required much more practice than theory. No videos were available back then.

On another scene, in institutions that charged high tuition we had to read books for theory and then try out our understanding of it in a ‘laboratory/shop’ setting. We received guidance from ‘masters’ as to which books to read and what exercises to do. Some masters were better at ‘teaching’ than others. In MANY subjects we had to buy a certain book because it had only one good chapter. Several books were required to get complete and accurate coverage of a subject. Videos were rare.

Jump ahead to today, the internet and to the flood of ‘how-to…..teach yourself’ videos on any and everything. Just as there were many books available but only a few worth reading, there are many videos to choose from today but only a few worth watching. A reliable source of guidance in identifying the good ones quickly would be a big help to our ‘freshmen’ (not gender specific) members.

Daryl’s question about HM vetting videos is inspiring. The idea of our resident ‘masters’ vetting videos and providing a list of recommended links would be a great help to many in ‘sorting the wheat from the chaff’ . They could even offer a commentary of the strengths and weaknesses of each video.

There is not much we can to expose poor or misleading videos. There are too many of them. We can however focus our attention and support on the relatively few good ones. And some of the good ones are excellent!

If we care enough about this situation, ultimately HM could set-up a small team of volunteers that would include experts in technical content and one who is gifted with a pen. It would take time and energy from the team but it would save valuable for many others.

I have one video source to submit to the team if and when HM is structured to process it.

I can honestly say that much of my learning was done from old timers and then figuring how to use that knowledge to do different things. Until I then became the old timer. But even now I am still learning. There are always new ways to do things. I use to laugh and say I was qualified to do almost anything with nothing. Machining is one profession where the learning never stops. If anyone ever thinks they know it all they are only kidding themselves.
It is hard to teach someone everything as every job is a bit different from the last. It is also hard to explain how to do some things with just words. So videos help. I myself do not have the proper equipment or video equipment to do much. I try to explain in text as best I can though. Sometimes it is not easily understood. Because I am using inferior machines I don't feel even a video of what I am doing would be good for a beginner. As a seasoned toolmaker I know what I can do and can't with my equipment. A beginner with the same equipment could hurt himself because he may push it a bit.
All this has to be taken into consideration when posting or watching videos. People need to know what they can or can't do with their machines as well as how to do things.

Nels said:

We've seen some of the great videos on YouTube.com that "TubalCain" has made.

At the same time, we have seen the demise of a few of the "old timers"- a lot of knowledge gone with them.

What about one of you experienced guys generating some videos and selling them online as "online learning"?

Is this a crazy idea?


Nelson

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Not a crazy idea merely impractical, making a detailed how to video requires time effort and equipment to do well. Essentially retirees with disposable income can do this at a loss. Also the market is small, there aren't 50,000,000 hobby machinists out there that one may extract a penny from each per year. There are however 100,000,000 people that adore football.

ABOM79 is a youngish guy and has a lot of great videos on Youtube.

Hopefully he'll be around awhile.

There are a number of "machinists" that I watch on YouTube. I like to watch the professional machinists to see how they get the job done; especially work holding on a horizontal mill.

I started with
Keith Fenner of Turn Wright Machine Works.

From Keith I learned about Tom Lipton who is OxToolCo

From Tom, there is Adam Booth who is already mentioned, Abom79
Not to leave out James Kilroy,

There are other good producers of how to's in the shop. Remember there are more ways to skin a cat, take what you see on-line with a grain of salt.

For threading help, This Old Tony has the best visual aids of why/when to set your compound at 29-1/2° that I've seen.

Nels said:

I read the discussion.
It's too bad the OP doesn't come here where he would get encouragement - what he's trying to do is well-intentioned and needed. I have to drive 60 miles two counties over if I want to take a basic machining class after work. Odds are, after a hard day of work, with 3 kids needing my attentions, I won't be able to do it. I wish I could!

That is why I thought of something online.
AGI does it with their DVDs, but they are expensive, Jose R. and Rudy K have videos.
They do it with clock repair- two guys have their own tape sets.
One guy in clock repair runs online classes using a web cam set up in his workshop. The technology is there, and it is easy nowadays.

Just my ramblings, and .02


Nelson

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Nels, I couldn't find any night classes when I started either. Finally broke down and purchased the AGI course. That and some good reading material, I finally got a good start. The AGI courses are super but pricey. The saving grace is after I was comfortable with what they taught , I sold them here to a member for $50 less than I paid. Worked out great.