How many of you are MACHINISTS for a living?

I am. Nearly 30 years at a Big Ten University. The first 14 years at a shop that serviced "everyone" and since then In the Chemistry Dept.
Randy
 
Spent 2 years at a centerless grinding job shop then 14 years in the grinding trade. ID, OD NC Step grinding and programming. All types including form and mold.
Some conventional lathe and milling. So no I'm not a machinist persay, but they go hand in hand. Left the trade to go to injection molding because my trade died in Upstate NY.
Molding was a great move. Now trying to put together a home shop and learn what I missed out on.

Mark
 
I will add myself to the list, having been at it for the last 40 odd years. Recently purchased a small lathe for the shed at home, and playing with the Stirling engines in spare time
 
I'm practicing to go full-time -kinda. My father was an old-school T&D maker and retired in 1980. One uncle (who lived with us) was a metallurgist and another was a general machinist. I grew up with a 16x54 Leblond lathe and Cincinnati mill in the garage and spent my years from 6 years old through teens in the garage. When I took high school machine shop, I finished all 4 projects (a hammer, a screwdriver, a tap handle and welded lock box) in the first week and the teacher let me do other things and help others the rest of the time. He wouldn't let me sign-up for the next courses because he said there was nothing I could learn there. I wasn't a trouble maker and that's not why he wouldn't let me join. Instead, I took auto mechanics but my father wanted me to be an engineer. I liked math and earned a degree in physics and later on, electrical engineering and computer science all while working and raising 3 boys.

About 25 years ago, I worked part-time at a friend's gun shop that had a full shop. Learned some pistol/rifle repair there from a good gunsmith. After that, I started rebuilding antique vertical diesel engines and generator sets. That got out of control and at one time, had about 5-6 tons of old iron -prefectly rebuilt. Sold it all off and started to build a garage machine shop. It now occupies the entire 2.5 car garage and is pretty well equipped, heated and well lit. I do work for a local marina and a local lawn tractor repair place. Mostly repairs and recreations and some new fabrication. I do cool projects of my own and taught myself 3D CAD. It really helps think things through.

Anyhow, given the state of economy, I probably won't retire in the traditional way -not sure I want to actually. The garage shop is something I hope to do 10 years from now when I'm supposed to retire... I'm in the process of setting-up an LLC for the shop.

Ray
 
Ray C said:
I'm practicing to go full-time -kinda. My father was an old-school T&D maker and retired in 1980. One uncle (who lived with us) was a metallurgist and another was a general machinist. I grew up with a 16x54 Leblond lathe and Cincinnati mill in the garage and spent my years from 6 years old through teens in the garage. When I took high school machine shop, I finished all 4 projects (a hammer, a screwdriver, a tap handle and welded lock box) in the first week and the teacher let me do other things and help others the rest of the time. He wouldn't let me sign-up for the next courses because he said there was nothing I could learn there. I wasn't a trouble maker and that's not why he wouldn't let me join. Instead, I took auto mechanics but my father wanted me to be an engineer. I liked math and earned a degree in physics and later on, electrical engineering and computer science all while working and raising 3 boys.

About 25 years ago, I worked part-time at a friend's gun shop that had a full shop. Learned some pistol/rifle repair there from a good gunsmith. After that, I started rebuilding antique vertical diesel engines and generator sets. That got out of control and at one time, had about 5-6 tons of old iron -prefectly rebuilt. Sold it all off and started to build a garage machine shop. It now occupies the entire 2.5 car garage and is pretty well equipped, heated and well lit. I do work for a local marina and a local lawn tractor repair place. Mostly repairs and recreations and some new fabrication. I do cool projects of my own and taught myself 3D CAD. It really helps think things through.

Anyhow, given the state of economy, I probably won't retire in the traditional way -not sure I want to actually. The garage shop is something I hope to do 10 years from now when I'm supposed to retire... I'm in the process of setting-up an LLC for the shop.

Ray
Click to expand...
Ray, someone with your trayectory should also look into CAM, then start thinking in a good cnc if you wish to start a company, find some medium production runs that will provide the cash flow for the business expenses and use then the spare time with the lovely conventional machines. There are free seminaries from bobcad and other medium branded sftwr cos. Regards.
 
Guilty.

40 years from apprentice on manual to NC then CNC. Now sit at a computer and have no access to the machinery so have a lathe and drill/mill in the garage.

Machined everything from plastics to Titanium.

Trevor
 
Oh man, don't say stuff like that... Shhhh, you'll wake the sleeping monster.

That said... Right now, I'm anchored to my home and must live nearby due to family obligations (aging parents) and I must work out of my garage shop. I don't hate the idea of CNC/CAM -not at all... I just want an affordable package that has most of bugs worked out and doesn't take-up a lot of floorspace. I haven't found any such pacakge...


Ray


Syaminab said:
Ray, someone with your trayectory should also look into CAM, then start thinking in a good cnc if you wish to start a company, find some medium production runs that will provide the cash flow for the business expenses and use then the spare time with the lovely conventional machines. There are free seminaries from bobcad and other medium branded sftwr cos. Regards.
Click to expand...
 
31+ as a Tool & Die Maker and also Tool Designer. All with the same company but a boatload of different names. Started with Grimes and ended with Honeywell.
 
I graduated the machine school 3 years ago. Started working during school time, in a machine shop on a 3 axis cnc milling center.
When it comes to milling, I can run a manual machine when needed, write machine code manually when needed(because cnc operators should understand the code),
use cad and cam like they are my extra fingers.
I can also write programs for cnc lathes and run a manual lathe.
So far I have not learned about 4 or more axis milling or turning with more than 2 axis. But hey I'm only 3 years into this lifestyle.
I've got a long way to go.

Day to day job is running 8 CNC Vertical Machining Centers, writing programs for them and setting them up. (Fanuc system machines)
Manual turning is a hobby.
 
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