Would you join a metalworking club if there was one near you?

I most definitely would if there was something here in the Kansas City area. Preferrably southtown ;)
My wife has even suggested that I join a group of some sorts just to get out of the house and socialize lol.
I'm much like you Nelson, I learn by "doing" and not watching.
 
The Suffolk Community Collage in Brentwood has a fantastic new facility now for manufacturing technology.
Chuck full of both manual and CNC equipment. It would be the perfect place if we could get into it.

I just finished the CNC Lathe G-Code class there, and it was a great experience.
I'm trying to get into the CNC Milling version of that class this fall.

I had the chance to meet the head of the program there, and he's a very nice guy.
I just don't know how to approach them about allowing an outside club group into any of there facilities.

As you say, liability would rear it's ugly head with any hands-on machining.
However, they may be open to letting us use a classroom or the library to meet in, I just don't know how/who to ask, and we don't even have an organization yet with any members or real status.

The learning by doing aspect can perhaps grow out of a main club as a Special Interest Group (SIG). Members could form a sub-group with a special focus, a chairman could be elected, a committee could come up with an agenda, and a size-limited event like "beginners lathe instruction" could then be scheduled for those who sign up first.

That could limit the numbers attending the classes and perhaps they'd fit into the SIG members home shops then. The SIG members would step up to the challenge of allowing a small trusted group into their space, and any liability could be limited via homeowners insurance and plain old common sense. A repeat of the of SIG classes might be scheduled if popular, say once a year, for those new to the club.

One can imagine all sorts of SIGs growing out of a main club. Each focusing on one small area of our wide metalworking universe. The first thing we need is an overall organization that can attract a critical mass of interested people. Start with small goals, a monthly meeting, a casual speaker on some related subject and/or a show-n-tell & swap meet. Once that's up and running, then put the arm on people to pitch in and grow the thing.

Once again, I vote for Nelson for President ;-).

PaulS
 
author=Pauls77 link=topic=2759.msg19017#msg19017 date=1310916677
The Suffolk Community Collage in Brentwood has a fantastic new facility now for manufacturing technology.
Chuck full of both manual and CNC equipment. It would be the perfect place if we could get into it.

I just finished the CNC Lathe G-Code class there, and it was a great experience.
I'm trying to get into the CNC Milling version of that class this fall.

I had the chance to meet the head of the program there, and he's a very nice guy.
I just don't know how to approach them about allowing an outside club group into any of there facilities.

As you say, liability would rear it's ugly head with any hands-on machining.
However, they may be open to letting us use a classroom or the library to meet in, I just don't know how/who to ask, and we don't even have an organization yet with any members or real status.

The learning by doing aspect can perhaps grow out of a main club as a Special Interest Group (SIG). Members could form a sub-group with a special focus, a chairman could be elected, a committee could come up with an agenda, and a size-limited event like "beginners lathe instruction" could then be scheduled for those who sign up first.

That could limit the numbers attending the classes and perhaps they'd fit into the SIG members home shops then. The SIG members would step up to the challenge of allowing a small trusted group into their space, and any liability could be limited via homeowners insurance and plain old common sense. A repeat of the of SIG classes might be scheduled if popular, say once a year, for those new to the club.

One can imagine all sorts of SIGs growing out of a main club. Each focusing on one small area of our wide metalworking universe. The first thing we need is an overall organization that can attract a critical mass of interested people. Start with small goals, a monthly meeting, a casual speaker on some related subject and/or a show-n-tell & swap meet. Once that's up and running, then put the arm on people to pitch in and grow the thing.

Once again, I vote for Nelson for President ;-).

PaulS
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up! I didn't know about the program at SCC- if I can get out there.

I noticed this program being offered in September:

"Fundamental Machining Processes (74 hours)

Fall class will run M/W, 5:30pm - 9:00pm starting in September This course teaches the individual the basics of manufacturing math, measurements, blueprint reading, shop floor safety, operation of manual milling and lathe machines and CNC machining. "

Sounds like something I could use. I'm thinking if a few of us take some courses, they may be more amenable to letting us supervise a group out there.


Nelson
 
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Yes, I likely would. Of course it would depend on the distance, club goals etc, but I think that the Houston Home metal shop club is an excellent model for a club. I frequently tune in to their website and look over some of their members projects.

Not many areas will have as good a collection of talent as the Houston club, but as I said, it is an excellent model.

I live in the area northeast of Flint Michigan and would like to hear from any near by clubs, or interested parties ?
Jerry
 
A local club is really a great thing to have. I was one of the founders of the Houston Home Metal Shop Club. John Korman was the real force behind it. He placed a free ad in Home Shop Machinist and several of us responded. John had a Ham radio friend that supplied the bones for our first bylaws. I think there were only about four of us at the first meeting. John worked at scheduling meetings and getting things organized.

We met after lunch on Saturdays at a library in an area of town that was close to the machine tool supplies and surplus places. I started a rudimentary web site and edited the newsletter. It was amazing, in a few months we had 30 people attending the meetings. We became a little heavy on club business instead of machining, so we moved the business part to lunch before the meeting. This was the step that really helped. The entire meeting could be devoted to machining. By far the most popular part of the meeting was show-and-tell. Members would bring in stuff they were working on, or trying to work on. Lots of really old tools were brought in. Things you would never normally see.

We did a few outings, like a trip to a long closed foundry in Brenham,Tx. All the old machines were there, just as they were when it closed down in the thirties. The manager of the local Rutland Tool was very good to us. We had several swap meets in their parking lot, and afterword, the manager of the store held an "auction" where he almost gave away stuff that was broken or customer returns.

The Home Metal Shop is still doing well. They've moved their meeting futher South, and I've moved further North, so I haven't been active in years. It would be fun to put together a little group up here on the North side of Houston. Too bad ol' John isn't around anymore.
 
I would certainly enjoy meeting other hobbiests. my gun dealer is the only machine user I know of and he is wonderful but his gun shop keeps him Very Busy so i don't get to pick his brain often.
if any of you are in south jersey let me know
 
::soapbox::

Clubs in general- I have to feel welcome in order to join and stay with them.

There is a metalworking club on LI, Long Island Metal Workers Society.
I don't feel welcome, so I never went. It's a 30+ mile drive, which takes over an hour with NYC traffic.
I knew one of their members, Ferrous Antiques, (Tim Croan) and he had offered to help me several times.
Then saw something on PM that Paula had written under my name and attributed to me.
(Some moderators can edit posts without you knowing it- and that is what she did. She edited my post and put a bunch of crap in it under my name).
He said I was a disgrace to post that and he never wanted to hear from me again.
He posted some nasty message on the LIMWS email discussion list about me.
After that, well, I figured I would not be welcome.
Also, their leader, Jamie, didn't seem to like me, so I just steered clear of it.
There was a recent meeting, and Error Goff attended, but it seemed kind of elitist to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but I got the feeling it is a closed group.

So I don't go. I have to feel welcome and like I belong- I won't go where I feel unwelcome. So I just pass it by.
If I could be part of a small local group in Queens or LI, I would go. It would have to be a teaching group- I want to learn.
Then maybe I could pass on the knowledge to my kids, and the hobby would continue.

Sorry for rambling tonight- pretty tired from work.


Nelson
 
For sure!!
All the help i can get would not go to waste!!!

I am a member at a club close to me but it is not very beneficial.
A lot of very old guys that just like to get together once a month to catch up and chat.
Not very much info on machining but it is nice to talk and get to know some other people interested in the same things i am.

The other club close by is mainly focused on gas engines.
I have not looked into it yet.

Andrew
 
author=Pauls77 link=topic=2759.msg27534#msg27534 date=1317310522
Hi Nelson,

Sorry you had a bad vibe from LIMWS, but I really doubt you would have been unwelcome.

Given the chance, I for one, would have been pleased to meet you.
If you turned out after that to be some kind of an idiot, well then I'd just have to deal with it. ;)

It was/is not elitist - IMHO. However, it was/is a "One-Man-Band".
This was/is its primary flaw - again, IMHO.

When this was put to a vote, there was a near unanimous (everyone but me and our "lawyer") rejection of introducing any club "formality" to LIMWS.

Yet again, IMHO, this is/was a misunderstanding of basic human nature, much less the science of Organizational Behavior.

People today don't want to take on ANY responsibility in a group. It used to be that people sought out prestigious groups of other like minded people to associate and identify with. Today we are all rugged individuals. Something has changed. Why this is true is a subject for someone way smarter than me.

I know the drive is a killer for you, but if you ever get out this way you're welcome to come by any time.

PaulS
Click to expand...

Paul,

I can understand the lawyer voting for a structure. I'm a lawyer too, and I would want structure UNLESS it was like an informal round robin group where one week we go to your house, next we go to my house, next to John's. That doesn't require a formal structure.

In my view, structure is necessary to perpetuate a larger group, otherwise, as you say, it's a one-man show where Jamie decides when and where you meet, or even IF you meet. While he had the bike shop, I guess the group served its purpose, and then when he became machinist in residence at Webb Maritime Institute, he stepped off and it drifted. Structure keeps things going and prevents that kind of thing from happening by creating a progression of leadership. It allows you to get non-profit status, insurance from someone getting hurt, there are benefits and negatives, like government filings. So, yes, I can see why it's necessary. Of course, if no one wants to step up but one person, this facilitates a one-man operation. But even a one-man operation should have a formal structure, by laws, elections, a board. I belonged to many clubs, and wrote bylaws and served on the board of them, and in my opinion, things are more orderly and perpetual that way. No one man can pull the plug when he feels like it. Things don't collapse when he leaves. So now the group meets at Webb and talks ships and shipbuilding, because that is what he does now, he works at a maritime place. Again, the focus centers around one person's current interests.

I'm pretty shy in person. Jim B. has met me- drove all the way down from North Jersey to help me a couple of times. When Ferrous told me I was dirt based on what he read on PM, I was appalled. I doubt I would want to run into him at the LIMWS meetings and drive all that way to deal with someone who thinks I'm dirt. But that's just me.

Wish I lived closer to you guys out there, maybe when I take the classes at Suffolk Community I will feel more comfortable driving out there, and we can meet up sometime.

Nelson
 
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