- Joined
- Sep 22, 2010
- Messages
- 7,223
Great memories Jack!
For me, it began 40 years ago. My folks owned a factory in Brooklyn, NY. That was in the day before all industry had not yet moved out of NY. Geez, in those days, you could get anything in NY, most of it in Brooklyn itself. Local factories made everything, and you could walk in and buy whatever you needed.
Around the corner from my folks place was a machinist. An old polish guy nicknamed "Tiny". I used to go there with my father when he needed a part machined, and look around the place. When I wasn't helping my father in his shop, I used to go visit Tiny. After several visits, he showed me around the shop, and showed me how a lathe worked. He had a second operation Hardinge lathe with a lever tailstock turret that he had set up to make parts on. I was lucky enough to be allowed to run the lathe once or twice when I visited, and I became fascinated with it. The smell of burning cutting oil was infectious, and I loved to visit Tiny, and did it as often as I could.
When I became college aged, I worked in Tiny's shop for a short while as a machine operator (not a machinist- I had no clue how to do setups). I earned a few extra dollars, and plunked down some money on an Atlas-Clausing 6" lathe. These were the lathes that Sears used to sell, made for them by Atlas in Kalamazoo. I turned out a few parts, but because of my lack of training, did not use it much, and ended up selling it. I also bought a small, cheap bench model drill press, which was made in a country which was known for turning out cheap, mass-produced goods- Taiwan. For $99, which was a lot of money in those days, I got a 16 speed Enco bench model drill press. It had a pulley-driven motor, and room for a bulb in the head to shine a light on the work. It had a radial table, and crank that raised it up and down and it could be moved in a circular direction around the column. That is my drill press to that day. I was about 20 or so when I bought it about 32 years ago. You better believe that working on it brings back fond memories.
Best,
Nelson
For me, it began 40 years ago. My folks owned a factory in Brooklyn, NY. That was in the day before all industry had not yet moved out of NY. Geez, in those days, you could get anything in NY, most of it in Brooklyn itself. Local factories made everything, and you could walk in and buy whatever you needed.
Around the corner from my folks place was a machinist. An old polish guy nicknamed "Tiny". I used to go there with my father when he needed a part machined, and look around the place. When I wasn't helping my father in his shop, I used to go visit Tiny. After several visits, he showed me around the shop, and showed me how a lathe worked. He had a second operation Hardinge lathe with a lever tailstock turret that he had set up to make parts on. I was lucky enough to be allowed to run the lathe once or twice when I visited, and I became fascinated with it. The smell of burning cutting oil was infectious, and I loved to visit Tiny, and did it as often as I could.
When I became college aged, I worked in Tiny's shop for a short while as a machine operator (not a machinist- I had no clue how to do setups). I earned a few extra dollars, and plunked down some money on an Atlas-Clausing 6" lathe. These were the lathes that Sears used to sell, made for them by Atlas in Kalamazoo. I turned out a few parts, but because of my lack of training, did not use it much, and ended up selling it. I also bought a small, cheap bench model drill press, which was made in a country which was known for turning out cheap, mass-produced goods- Taiwan. For $99, which was a lot of money in those days, I got a 16 speed Enco bench model drill press. It had a pulley-driven motor, and room for a bulb in the head to shine a light on the work. It had a radial table, and crank that raised it up and down and it could be moved in a circular direction around the column. That is my drill press to that day. I was about 20 or so when I bought it about 32 years ago. You better believe that working on it brings back fond memories.
Best,
Nelson