What Is A ==========

[ogberi]

Bill, absolutely no offense taken at all. While I may not be a seat-of-the-pants machinist, I completely understand what you're describing. I see it with software all the time, I see it with hardware all the time, I see it with networking all the time.

Sometimes the answer jumps out and bites you, sometimes you have to drag it kicking and screaming into the light. Sometimes you have to shove the ranting, raving, obvious solution aside and figure out what has made it so angry.

The only thing I disagree with is that Instinct can't be learned. While some people can develop it faster than others, and it comes naturally to some, it can be learned. Takes interest, dedication, a willingness to learn, and a lot of practice. As I've said before, nobody pops out of their mamma's hoo-ha knowing how to do anything but poo, pee, cry, and suckle. Everything else is learned.

So I'm hoisting two fingers of good bourbon to salute all those seat-of-the-pants individuals who make it look easy. All I ask is to share the knowledge.

 

[thayne_1]

18 plus years of fixing tractors combines etc has thought me that most of the time your past will come to play in any repair you make. You also get a feel for when its wright and when its wrong.

 

[Damiansd]

For me the word is 'courage' to make the first cut (read that as mistake)

Sent from my GT-I9197 using Tapatalk

 

[bmanners]

How about "The knack" as described by Dilbert in reference to (seat of the pants) Engineers but good machinists/welders/etc also have "the Knack".

 

[Bill C.]

I think "Seat of the pants machinist" are the inventors and troubleshooters. The first shop I worked in as a machine operator built specialized machinery. There were a few machinists who worked directly with the design engineer. I seem to remember them tweaking and troubleshooting several machines either mechanical or electrical.

Almost everything looks great on paper, its when one turns a design into a finish project tweaking takes place. Some are trusted to make changes to get a project finished without asking for permission.

 

[Billh50]

Many of us older machinists and toolmakers are more than willing to give our knowledge to those who are willing to listen and learn.

 

[uncle harry]

Think of it like this:

You are called to a repair. Is the first person you talk to the supervisor? No it's not, what does he know. How about the set up person? Again no, they only know the repair is out of their job description. You go to the operator, why you ask, because he or she was the last one to see things in motion. You ask them what happened. Now you listen to them. They say there was a plinking sound then a loud bang and the machine stopped dead. You ask where in general the plinking, not the bang came from. They say from the gear end of the machine. You concentrate your efforts there. You see nothing so you go deeper into the machine. You take the first gear off and low and behold a tooth or two is missing from the gear behind it. Some machinists would stop here and change the gear to get the machine running again. OK done deal we have the machine running again. Everyone is happy.

Wrong ---The seat of the pants machinist know something else broke the gear. What was it. Instinct takes over here. Let the machine run or go deeper. He listens, something does not sound correct. He has heard this before. He remembers what it was and instinctively goes there. Found it he says. We fix this and we are good to go.

The broken gear was the end of the problem, not the root of it. Get to the root and the problem now has the correct solution. Instinct is not taught. It's either there or it's not. Brooks you can come work for me anytime.

The title Seat of the Pants Machinist", is earned. Your peers give it to you. They know the difference. Too many give titles to themselves.

"Billy G"

I like to let the machine talk to me. Sort of like a horse whisper listener. It helps a lot if you designed and built the machine as well but that's cheating.

 

[yendor]

Yep - it like when a FUSE blows - do you replace the fuse and walk away or ask why did the fuse blow to begin with?

 

[Tony Wells]

I was gonna say a string of equal signs.

But then, I usually try to see the obvious first.

 

[Fabrickator]

I agree that instinct is a God-Given trait. I also believe that God works in other ways. Like Brooks said, if I have a problem - or a direction I believe that I'll take to resolve a problem ... sometimes I just sleep on it. The answer is sometimes a completely different approach to resolve the problem.

Of course, there are a lot of problems that need an" instant" answer w/o the luxury of sleeping in it. I worked in a production manufacturing environment where we didn't had to get machines up and running ASAP. This is where instinct, intuition and experience really come in handy, especially if we could make a temporary repair until replacement parts come in.