- Joined
- Aug 29, 2011
- Messages
- 39
I first came into contact with a lathe in 1972 , aboard a US Navy destroyer ... then nothing until I got a job in an R&D lab at a rocket motor plant in Utah . I got to make all sorts of weird oddball stuff , under the tutelage of some of the best Ordnance engineers , M.E.'s , and E.E.'s in the western hemisphere . Some of my work is still in orbit ... and a lot of the comsats rely on work we did in that R&D lab to get to geosynch orbits .
After moving to Tennessee , I had no machines available , until that fateful day I walked into the pawn shop looking for a belt sander . There it sat , an old Monkey Wards PowrKraft - and soon after , it was residing in my shed . Since then , it's been joined by an RF45 clone , 110v wire feed welder , tombstone welder , multiple band saws , OA equipment , and all kinds of mechanic's tooling . I've never had any formal training in machining , just OJT and what I've picked up from places like this .
My skills include cabinet making , carpentry , every skill needed to build a house or rebuild a car/motorcycle/lawn mower engine , manual transmissions , and most things mechanical . I've also built a small foundry setup , which has been used to cast parts for my machines - like many of the pieces for my homemade taper attachment . I also make parts for my motorcycles , repair my own cars , and try really hard to keep my wife from building a hunnydoo list . That last item is the hardest ...
After moving to Tennessee , I had no machines available , until that fateful day I walked into the pawn shop looking for a belt sander . There it sat , an old Monkey Wards PowrKraft - and soon after , it was residing in my shed . Since then , it's been joined by an RF45 clone , 110v wire feed welder , tombstone welder , multiple band saws , OA equipment , and all kinds of mechanic's tooling . I've never had any formal training in machining , just OJT and what I've picked up from places like this .
My skills include cabinet making , carpentry , every skill needed to build a house or rebuild a car/motorcycle/lawn mower engine , manual transmissions , and most things mechanical . I've also built a small foundry setup , which has been used to cast parts for my machines - like many of the pieces for my homemade taper attachment . I also make parts for my motorcycles , repair my own cars , and try really hard to keep my wife from building a hunnydoo list . That last item is the hardest ...