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

You guys are tromping on several of our founding principles. Knock it off. It's arguments like this, which are based mostly on personal opinion or feelings that alienate people and cause many problems on forums. It won't be tolerated here.
 
I went through a machining certification program at a local technical college... under the instruction of an 'old school' machinist/ instructor... I learned how to run all of the manual machines...

I have worked as a machinist for @25 years... at one time, I applied at a company that had different 'skill levels' (machinist 1, machinist 2, machinist 3, and senior machinist)... when you apply, they give you a 2 hour written exam and your score determines what level you hire in at...

I scored well enough to hire in as a senior machinist... and found out that most everyone in the shop shuns guys that do that. Nobody would talk to me, help me, tell me where the break room was, etc... I worked there 10 weeks and moved on to a better job...

I have had to chase threads on a lathe once in the last 20 years... and that was at home on a rifle barrel tenon... but I'm confident that I could do it if I had to, but I would be slow at it the first time.

I haven't touched a surface grinder since I got out of school... I simply have not been tasked with having to operate one... I think I would have to face a learning curve to relearn that.

Nowadays, I spend most of my time programming and operating CNC vertical lathes.

If I'm not considered a machinist because of that, well, so be it... I take a lot of pride in the work that I do, anyway...

-Bear
 
I find it very hard to believe a machinist can t cut a thread. A staple of the trade. Machining is machining. If you push buttons and don t have the logic behind the start button I would consider you an operator. A cnc programmer needs the machining knowledge just as a manual machinist. They are applied in different ways but it is still metal removal. For the life of me my opinion is no way are you a machinist if you cant cut a thread but that s just me and I am just about fifty with a screw machine and general machinist background.
 
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I have worked as a machinist for @25 years...

I have had to chase threads on a lathe once in the last 20 years... and that was at home on a rifle barrel tenon... but I'm confident that I could do it if I had to, but I would be slow at it the first time.

I haven't touched a surface grinder since I got out of school... I simply have not been tasked with having to operate one... I think I would have to face a learning curve to relearn that."
END QUOTE

Exactly... I once worked in a shop where threading simply was never needed... I would bet the machinists there would have to "brush up" at least before threading anything of value.
 
One of the problems with a lack of knowledge is that a modern shop has no need to teach somebody to do something unless they need that task done. With a mobile work force and no long term loyalty between employers and employees they only teach enough to do the jobs that need to be done today. If they teach at all.

I can cut a thread atleast 3 different ways in my shop, but in my opinion that isn't what makes me (or doesn't make me) a machinist. Its the ability to see a problem, and convert a piece of stock into a solution.

3 ways. Taps and dies of course. Turning. CNC interpolated thread milling. (I consider rigid tapping the same as tapping.)

I can also cast/injection mold and form threads, but I would not consider those the norm. Those are really supplemental areas of knowledge. Not a routine part of machining. Making the molds and cores to do that may be machining.
 
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one of my apprenticeship projects was a threading project It consisted of a 3/4"-10 rh. double lead lf. 1"-8 a 3 lead lh. 1 1/4" -12 and a 4 lead lh acme with nuts to fit then the teacher added a 3/4" pipe thread to some extra stock on the end. taught me all about threading I made my apprentices do the same thing. where I worked we cut threads all the time for valve stems and nuts. also cut am 8 lead square thread on a steam turbine shaft for a labryth steam seal. what I learned as an apprentice was very helpful in later jobs. and yes I ran into machinists that could not cut threads and was asked to teach them how. I gladly helped them bill
 
I have been doing machine work since 1992

I have never cut a thread other than with a tap and die

But unlike most here, I am not an Industrial machinist, I have not developed the skill set to take a chunk of raw stock and make a part.

I come from the Automotive Machine work side, I just have to rework what the factory did

Yes I was an ASE Cert Master Machinist at one point.

BTW Thanks for having me here!
 
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