Best machine shop course

A

ARM

Active User
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Hi Guys
Compliments of the Season to one and all.
There is no dearth of qualified experience on this Forum, so we reckon this is the best place to ask that question, which may sound rather puerile !!!
Allow me to elaborate.
We now know for sure that one cannot competently learn Machining just by reading books, as we have diligently tried. However, without being practically shown the ropes, so to say, one would continue making the same errors without realising improvement. Some, if not most of us, were not lucky enough to have been brought up in a workshop. There had to be white-collar workers as well !!
Yes, experience is the best teacher. But we really don't want to continue crashing our Tooling in the process, to gain that experience !!!
Some of us rookies/tyros find it rather embarrassing to ask seemingly simple questions here, as compared to the flood of professional technical enquiries floating around.
To cut the delay in our learning curve, we are keen to spend hard-earned bucks on a MACHINE SHOP COURSE.
Now the million Dollar question............which one is best ???
Ideally, a DVD series pre-recorded Course which we could view at our leisure would be best. We would not like to go the live Internet way as Bandwidth may sometimes be a problem for us.
We have looked at and are partial (for now) to the American Gunsmithing Institute's "Machine Shop Course" on DVD which covers both the Lathe and the Mill by Darrel Holland.
Do U Guys know of any others ???
What would be Your recommendations ???
Your esteemed inputs will be immensely appreciated.
Thanks in anticipation.
aRM
PS : And no, we can't learn without looking over Your shoulder at exactly what and HOW U are doing !!!
 
ARM said:
Hi Guys
Compliments of the Season to one and all.
There is no dearth of qualified experience on this Forum, so we reckon this is the best place to ask that question, which may sound rather puerile !!!
Allow me to elaborate.

We now know for sure that one cannot competently learn Machining just by reading books, as we have diligently tried. However, without being practically shown the ropes, so to say, one would continue making the same errors without realising improvement. Some, if not most of us, were not lucky enough to have been brought up in a workshop.
. . . Yes, experience is the best teacher. But we really don't want to continue crashing our Tooling in the process, to gain that experience !!!

Some of us rookies/tyros find it rather embarrassing to ask seemingly simple questions here, as compared to the flood of professional technical enquiries floating around.
. . . what and HOW U are doing !!!
Click to expand...

We're all different, I think, and that description doesn't quite fit for me. I do better by reading a bit, watching a video or two, and MAKING LOTS OF MISTAKES. I learn by screwing up. There's nothing like the pain of having to start a project over from scratch because of a small mistake at an early stage!

Often enough I try to cut corners and and pay the price, but sometimes in the process I discover a great new way of work. I started taking machining more seriously about nine years ago, and since then I've bought lots of tools I'll probably never learn to use effectively, many I'll never need, and some that have become all but indispensable. I've broken every kind of insert, burned any number of HSS cutters, had stuff come loose in collets, chucks and vises, and generally had a great time doing it. Now, before anybody jumps, I DO try to work with safety as the first and main consideration.

Seems to me with this being the "Hobby" machine forum, it is indeed the perfect place for newbie-type questions.
 
Frank Ford said:
We're all different, I think, and that description doesn't quite fit for me. I do better by reading a bit, watching a video or two, and MAKING LOTS OF MISTAKES. I learn by screwing up. There's nothing like the pain of having to start a project over from scratch because of a small mistake at an early stage!
...

Seems to me with this being the "Hobby" machine forum, it is indeed the perfect place for newbie-type questions.
Click to expand...

:+1:

for me asking questions, looking at youtube videos like tubalcain, and trial and error work best
 
Bill Gruby said:
I have a friend in your predicament. He is using this online course as well as my shop. He is doing well so far.

http://www.machineshopcourse.com/

"Billy G" :thinking:
Click to expand...

We like this Course as well.
Only thing holding us back is we are doubting our Bandwidth capacity to ably cope.
That's the reason we have to pay a little extra and get the DVD's which we can repeatedly go over at our leisure
thanks
aRM
 
Frank Ford said:
We're all different, I think, and that description doesn't quite fit for me. I do better by reading a bit, watching a video or two, and MAKING LOTS OF MISTAKES. I learn by screwing up. There's nothing like the pain of having to start a project over from scratch because of a small mistake at an early stage!

Often enough I try to cut corners and and pay the price, but sometimes in the process I discover a great new way of work. I started taking machining more seriously about nine years ago, and since then I've bought lots of tools I'll probably never learn to use effectively, many I'll never need, and some that have become all but indispensable. I've broken every kind of insert, burned any number of HSS cutters, had stuff come loose in collets, chucks and vises, and generally had a great time doing it. Now, before anybody jumps, I DO try to work with safety as the first and main consideration.

Seems to me with this being the "Hobby" machine forum, it is indeed the perfect place for newbie-type questions.
Click to expand...

Sir FRANK FORD
That makes two of us as we have indeed bought lots of Tooling which we want to eventually learn to use and also paid the price for screwing up !!!
Thanks for the assurances though.
aRM
 
To answer one of your comments, no one was born knowing how to do anything but eat, crap and cry. We have all wrecked tooling, laid out, drilled, tapped, machined a hole .100 off, or some other seemingly dumb thing. I normally call my Dad, Mom, Daughter or one of my Brothers or Sister and say: Aaaagggghhhh, you'll never believe what I just did! Then we visit and it's alright again. We learned just like you are. I'm a Gunmaker by trade, I come here because it's fun, there are great people here, you're interested in things I'm interested in, and I LEARN NEW THINGS.
 
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