Class isn't going so well

[visenfile]

sm, Good stuff above. One problem with class structure is that it is created for a hypothetical student. But age nor background guarantees the material presented in class can be understood by any one student fully, or in the time allocated. I find that persistence will help a lot. Keep going over difficult ideas as explained by different presenters, whether author, in person, or youtube (some very good). These are difficult times for young people looking to make a living wage, but your choice is a good one, I believe. There are thousands of jobs going begging because no one has the skills, and skills are not so easy to obtain.

I once took a machining class at Pierce Jr College, CA. At that time I was good at shop math (decimals, fractions) and had many years under my belt as a "bench machinist:" that's a guy who wants a lathe/mill but has to become good with a hand drill and file! : All was well until we started our project on the lathe. Suddenly, I felt a cold sweat as I was asked to taper and knurl the hand punch project. I had never touched a lathe before. The automatic advance frightened me, and that was the turning point in the class. I felt everyone knew how to operate the machine and I was a misfit. The instructor assumed this knowledge, but I don't recall it being highlighted. So I know how you feel. Another example. I still study the "sine bar, " but have never used one. The concept is one from middle school. Some day I wil have one and use it.

Hang in. It is difficult to master a skill that is perhaps foreign to one's nature, but worthwhile. By the way, since we are neighbors you have interested me in that Clark College class. I thought they only offered NC tool training. If that is so you have not mentioned difficulty with programming, etc. Good luck

 

[12bolts]

I want to be a machinist.

This is not in any way intended to dismiss or offend you, but a machinist is not a skill learned at trade school or even at a single employer, (they will only teach you what they need you to know to repair their ownmachinery). You will not become a machinist in 2 weeks, or 2 months, or even in 2 years. In the first 2 weeks of my apprenticeship I learned what machines could do, how they could speed manual processes, how they could maim or kill you, and what they couldnt do, and what as a machinist I would need to know to do to "finish" a job off by hand.
After we were suitably entertained (as much as 16 YO boys can be, they let us loose, to wreak havoc...... with files and chisels!
I recall it may have been 8-12 weeks before we got to so much as turn a power button to the on position.
I am a machinist, (by definition) but I know that I am also not on a par with some others here.

I'm committed.

Being committed is a start, (a great start) but it will take time to become a machinist.
Some will do it faster than others but they will all take time to become a machinsist.
Dont be disillusioned, stick with it and you will find that it will start to to make sense and snap into place

Cheers Phil

 

[janvanruth]

maybe you simply are not cut out to be a machinist
maybe you could be a top knotch carpenter, landscaper, interior decorator ,painter, nurse, cabdriver or whatever.
but you will never be...
unless YOU DONT QUIT the class
for if you quit this class you will for ever quit when the going gets tough
and whatever occupation you will want there are going te be moments in learning when the going will get tough
finish this class, even if its a total failure
for in doing so you will know the next time you can do it

somebody suggested taping the class
good idea
another one:
take a block and pen and write during classes
write what you dont understand and what you think you do understand
and than ask the teacher not about the things you dont understand, but about whether your understanding of the things you do understand is correct
remember its far more important to know what you know, than to now how much you dont know
as there will allways be a lot more you will not know than you will know

 

[Skyboy]

I am 24 and I have almost no experience with tools.

That's probably 95% of it. The machine shop course I was in was in 1974 was not tailored to a newbie.

One of the first shop projects was cutting a series of lines in a piece of plate with a hacksaw. It was assumed one knew the workings of a hand hacksaw because you cut the material off a piece of stock, did the layout and made the cuts per the provided blueprint. No tutorial on how to hold the saw, tension and guide the blade through the material, etc. You were supposed to know that.

Since my dad had taught me how to use a hacksaw somewhere around age 9, I didn't have any problem. But I noticed some students had obviously never used a hacksaw before. They struggled, became frustrated and turned in substandard projects.

Don't try to compare yourself to others, they may already have a dozen yrs experience working with metal. Work at your own pace, do every task to the best of your ability, and try to improve with each subsequent task. "Good enough" is for McDonald's of Family Dollar Store type jobs.

 

[jds]

SM412,

Stick with it, I graduated a machine tool operator course last May 2014. Manual and cnc, at times I was overwhelmed from writing g code and with CAD assignments, running the cnc machines in general. I loved working with the manual machines, I always felt I was behind the class, I worked after hours when ever the instructor would let us (two students in the machine area encase someone got wrapped up, someone was there to hit the E stop) I studied my butt off, read, re-read and re-read it again until I got it. I made a few mistakes, your going to make a few also that is how you learn. I was the oldest guy there, older then my instructor. I worked a 50 hour a week full time job as well. I graduated with honors. You can do it, you cannot quit, two weeks in you have barely got your feet wet.

JD

 

[digiex_chris]

Probably the most common human trait is comparing one's peers bests to their own personal worsts. People usually, when evaluating themselves to themselves, rate themselves lower as a whole than they actually are.

In many ways, starting from scratch instead of having prior experience can be an advantage. You don't have any bad habits to unlearn. You might be one of those people that'll never get caught leaving the chuck key in the chuck. I like to think of the book section as teaching you where in the book you can find your answers when you run into problems in the practical learning.

The fundamentals of any brand new subject tend to be tough to get over. Especially the terminology. Ask us questions, we're glad to help!

One last tip: tubalcain/mrpete222 (mentioned previously) on youtube has several hundred beginner shop and machining tutorials starting from the very very basic and getting more advanced. That might be a way to pad your learning in a way that you might learn better, and because he was a shop class teacher, he describes the termonology in ways that people have never heard it before can understand. While the other youtubers are fantastic, many of mrpete's videos are specifically designed for teaching to the beginner.

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/5185-Index-of-Tubal-Cain-(MrPete222)-videos

 

[visenfile]

I'll second the tubal-cain you tubes. Very good and his dry humor the best when describing the saleslady with the tattoo who sells you a tap.

 

[Billh50]

Never be afraid to ask for help. A good instructor will always help someone he thinks truly wants to learn.

 

[Starlight Tools]

Sm412

What I always stressed to my kids and anybody that I am tutoring, is that they should always not rush what they are doing. When you take on a task for the first time. "I do not care how long it takes you, get it right" is my spiel to these. Likewise for the second time and third and so on.

Those that rush to get the job done, take short cuts and generally end up doing a poor job, those that take their time and concentrate, do a better job, even if they seem to be slower. After you have done that job for a few times, you will notice that your speed has increased, but even better is that you are still doing it right.

Meanwhile those that were rushing, end up having to repeat the job, and come out slower in the long run, and often continue to make the same mistakes over and over.

When I was a young pup, I was working on a Buick removing the water pump, and managed to crack the whole front of the engine. A buddy of mine suggested that I never go into any trade that was mechanical. Now I am a millwright, welder, machinst, electronics technician and computer technician, why, because I slowed down, concentrated on getting it done right the first time, and stuck with the studies, even when I seemed to be having a hard time grasping a concept.

Hang in there, you seem to have the desire to suceed, and have realized what running away has cost you in the past.

Walter

 

[vincent52100]

Don't sweat it. As with everything else in life, the more you do something, the easier it gets. I've said it before, and I'll say it again.

Nobody comes into this world knowing how to do anything but cry, sleep, eat, and poo. And sometimes they even mess that up.

It's a learned skill, and it *will* click in your head. I'm of the firm belief that most anybody can learn anything. It just takes patience, practice, and mistakes.

But if you have two fingers, one eye, and a few brain cells, you can become a machinist. Admittedly, that would complicate things, but it's still possible. And very doable. If you have all your fingers, both eyes, and both halves of a brain, you're waaay ahead of the game. Just remember to wear safety glasses. Loosing an eye would be a definite inconvenience to say the least.

Stick with it, and feel free to ask questions. There are no "stupid" questions. Don't worry about embarrassing yourself. Even the most grizzled, crusty, master machinists on here were once baby-faced, soft-handed newbies who didn't know poo from shinola.

And for the record, I'm not a machinist. Not even an apprentice. I use my machine tools to turn big pieces of metal into lots of little pieces of metal. Sometimes a useful object is the happy side-effect.

I have the one eye (motorcycle) and the fingers. Just not sure about the brain cells.