[bmurph]

Such a useful and important tool, but I didn't even know it exsisted a few years ago.

[dertsap]

a major portion of the population has no clue about machining .
i've had so many times that people have asked me what i do for a living , when ive told them i am a machinist then probably 90% of them started talking about their car , then 50% of them looked confused when i told them that i don't work on vehicles but i do make the parts that go on vehicles or what have you

or I get the " i made a screw driver in high school " , so at least they get it a bit


,

[DouglasR]

Most people think "mechanic" when I tell them what I do. A few actually understand what it is I do, but have no idea how I do it or with what. As far as the equipment goes, the only people that ever had a clue were a few engineers I've met throughout the years.

One of them actually knew about CNC and eve had a clue about general machine practice. But he was an exception.

[Kipper]

There's plenty that think a router made from Al extrusions is a milling machine.......Even less know what a Machinist is........sounds a little like Masochist eh?

[blighty]

when ive told them i am a machinist then probably 90% of them started talking about their car

that's funny...........

i have a background in toolmaking, so i normally get "oh you make hummers, spanners and stuff"

[bobsch]

Even less know what a Machinist is........sounds a little like Masochist eh?

There's a difference?

[mcphill]

A milling machine is what turns wheat in to flour, right?

[MILLMARK]

I told a girl that I made parts for airplanes, and she asked why they didn't just go buy them.

[Kipper]

There's a difference?

Why sure there is....more ssss's in masochist!

[scobob]

It's the process of milling using machinery thus eliminating the tedious process of milling by hand.

[br1]

I told a girl that I made parts for airplanes, and she asked why they didn't just go buy them.

Now that was funny, I almost put milk through my nose when I read that.

[MrWild]

I told a girl that I made parts for airplanes, and she asked why they didn't just go buy them.

LMAO I don't have a tag line, never saw a reason for one, but this is doozy.

[ImanCarrot]

A milling machine is what turns wheat in to flour, right?

rofl, I might steal that one!

One day, I told a colegue "no need to sub-contract that, I'll knock it out on the mill". He said "what's a mill"- just knew it as "that thing next to the lathe" and he's been here over 20 years, still I suppose at least he knew what a lathe is.

I've given up telling people I'm an Optical Egineer: guaranteed they'll say "oh you make spectacles?" and Chartered Engineer gets "Oh, you build roads?" lol

[Geof]

I told a girl that I made parts for airplanes, and she asked why they didn't just go buy them.

I got questions like this when I displayed our products at trade shows; "do you make these parts???"

Sometimes my reply was; 'No they are made by gnomes in the Black Forest'.

[duce00]

I have tried to explain it as being like a drill press with a moving x-y base and blah-de-blah-blah...99% of the time this quickly degrades into a conversation about something they can wrap they're heads around so they don't feel stupid (for men its sports, women its shopping).

Most people stop asking questions about what I do when they find they cant understand it. This doesn't make me feel smart at all...it makes me deeply irritated at the general lack of curiosity and initiative out there.

sniff sniff...what would I do with out you guys!!

[fatal-exception]

Having a nice online photo album that you can refer them too after you've confused them about what a machinist actually does sometimes helps.

I just finished building a mini dune buggy, that photo gallery puts it into perspective for most people. Some still ask where I bought the anodized parts...

[segal.arye]

I told a girl that I made parts for airplanes, and she asked why they didn't just go buy them.

Nice one!

[duce00]

I told a girl that I made parts for airplanes, and she asked why they didn't just go buy them.

I think I knew that girl too!

(Its a better response than assuming the world is filled with girls like that right?)

[Ashley Cobb]

I've given up trying to explain to my wife what I do for 8+ hours a day in the shed "making all that noise?

[Arcticfox46]

To me - it's just a fact of life.

BUT - a CNC machining center - might not be - or it might be considered a "milling machine. I generally call it a machining center - capable of many things besides jut milling.

An old Cinncinati O8 or B&S over arm miller might considered by some to be the only true milling machine

Just about anybody would consider a knee mill - (Bridgeport) a milling machine,

I guess it all depends on how much of a purest you might be.