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IndustryArena Forum > MetalWorking > MetalWork Discussion > How did you learn the Machinist trade?

View Poll Results: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

Voters
800. You may not vote on this poll
  • On the job training

    189 23.63%
  • From a family member

    45 5.63%
  • Apprenticeship program

    133 16.63%
  • Vocational Tech School

    167 20.88%
  • Self taught

    251 31.38%
  • Military training

    15 1.88%
Page 9 of 10 78910
Results 161 to 180 of 186
  1. #161
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    269
    Got along very well with a retired tool and die maker from Clifton Precision, while working together at a machinery dealer. He gave me a few pointers about sharpening drill bits. Just when I thought I had it down pretty good, he stuffed the one I finally had sharpened, into the grinding wheel, and told me that if I get that one to drill, I can sharpen drill bits. A little info on the lathe, some more on the mill, then the surface grinder, I was hooked. I stop by to visit him every now and then, once took him to a historic gear hobbing shop, for him to see some familiar stuff from years back. Great guy who gave me the push on the two wheeler, which got me off to a great start. The rest was self taught with a bit here (and literally here on CNCzone) and there over the years from friendly, knowledgeable machinists.

    Jim

  2. #162
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    110
    trades a nasty word.

    metalworking techniques

    i just sorta break tools, so ill say im still learning

    ive learnt how to break this one, and how to make this one do something totally unexpected and wow! im glad i wear glasses!

    tomorrow i hope to learn something else new too!

    lol

    i exagerrate.

    got some handy hints off an old guy... sharpening drills, centre height, feeds, taking care... the rest sorta just comes naturally. i cant play tennis though

  3. #163
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    100
    United States Navy

  4. #164
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    0

    Talking

    I was very lucky to walk into a precision shop that specialized in hard materials (sapphire, amalox, ceramics, quartz, etc) when I was about 23 with no experience and have them believe that I honestly wanted to learn everything I could to become a Machinist.

    At the time, I didn't know that I'd eventually become a CNC Machinist specifically, but I knew I loved all things mechanical, working with tools, engineering feats, and work that kept me mentally and physically busy....so it seemed natural to choose that trade.

    The company I first worked for trained me in everything they could find at first (Centerless Grinders, Roll-Laps, Honing Machines, Quality Control, Drill Press, and eventually kept me in the CNC Department permanently because that's where I seemed to have the most natural skill)....

    Since then I have worked hard to become a Machinist and also studied with a journeyman at my next employer (also as a CNC Machinist) and learned a ton of new things from him as well.

    I have now been working as a CNC Machinist in the trade for about 6 years and I still love it. I'm still excited when I get new tools and just started a new job CNC Machining at a new employer!!

    It may not make you wealthy, but it's a great trade that never gets boring!

  5. #165
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Posts
    0
    i started my trade in my uncles machine shop and went to trade school, from thier i apprenticed at americas oldest brewery as a machinist ! i had a south bend lathe , shaper , driill press and a grinder all driven off line shafts with one motor ! and i slowly upgraded things . left thier and curently working as a machinist in a power plant

  6. #166
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    479
    OJT and self taught, though I did do a fair amount in jr high and some high school in metal shop class but was very limited.

  7. #167
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    1795

    Re: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

    very simple...
    I give you 500ea 2 in dia and 2 in long steel parts, and give you a 1.25 dia drill..

    start to drill by driving hand..

    you going to find the proper rpm

    when you finish the 500 your arm breaks or, you learn to sharpening drillbit :-)
    on a lathe the tailstock crank will looking very small :-)

    that was easy

  8. #168
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    28

    Re: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

    Quick update I now do CNC it's a handy tool but still prefer the old ways.

  9. #169
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    174

    Re: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

    Classically trained toolmaker, the whole bit, "your never going to make it", apprenticeship, journeyman, my own bench. Twenty guys running everywhere. That was fun! Income the CNC's. I saw so many guys come and go at this point it was scary. They sent these people to school, like a vacation for them. After many many fails I complained I was not given a chance. They finally said "fine, take the manuals home and read", "ya but when do I go to school?" NO! YOUR NOT! I wrecked it after that, I'm doing this, you cant stop me. The look on their faces when I now have my own office...

    PRICELESS!

    They hated me. I loved it.

  10. #170
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    1777

    Re: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

    I got into it in my twenties, always had a love for anything mechanical and machine parts, I got into RC model boats that I needed hardware for, bought a 6" Atlas, and a converted drill press was my mill and progressed from there. Worked as a mechanic, welder, machinist in a dairy for 20 years, and worked for myself for another 20 years welding and machine shop, retired and now am doing cnc work, self taught cad cam etc., 75 and still going and still love it and it keeps me in the shop, not in front of the TV!
    mike sr

  11. #171
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    119

    Re: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

    Well, saying I learned the machinist trade would be a bit of an overstatement. I have only been doing this ten years, so I have a lot to learn yet! To me, that's the coolest thing about this trade: every day, I can go in to work and learn a new way of doing something. But what learning I've got so far came first from Dunwoody College in Minneapolis. But the bulk of my training came from listening to other more experienced machinists. If nothing else, they taught me some pretty good insults, which always come in handy!
    ____________________________
    My blog: http://www.fletch1.com

  12. #172
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Posts
    5717

    Re: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

    I know this is an old thread, but someone might find this helpful.


    Whether you go to school, serve an apprenticeship, or go it alone really depends on how you learn. If you are a quick study, and have the natural knack for metal working going it alone and hanging out your shingle is the way I did it. I'm lucky in that I ''knew'' how to operate machine tools before I ever touched one, why that is I have no idea, something I was born with. The only hands on experience was one lathe project and one shaper project in high school metal shop in the late 60's.

    Let's go back to 1971......
    My background was electronics and automotive, and I was working on an R&D project. I took a drawing out to the local machine shop and had some parts built, when I got the bill I was a bit shocked, and figured I could do that. So I ordered a new 12x36 Craftsman Commercial lathe, then found a used Atlas shaper and an Atlas Bench mill. Then bought a drill press and bench grinder. So I have the basics, and was able to play with my R&D project. At the time I was employed as a millwright at a local manufacturer, and they needed machine work done sometimes. I billed them at about half the local shop rates. They had one item that was a high wear part, and I made about one of those a week for them. Note that I didn't quit my day job while getting started. That paid enough that after about a year I was able to buy a new Bridgeport clone and a new 14x40 lathe, and allowed me to quit the day job.

    I went out and developed more customer contacts and starting taking in more work. ''Yeah, I can do that''

    The most important thing is to have confidence in yourself, and having a high risk tolerance helps too. I have been known to bid jobs without having any idea how to do it and just make it up as I go along. Nothing like a little pressure to get you motivated, being about half crazy helps too.

    Fast forward to about mid 1974......
    More work means more machines and not enough hours to get it all done. So now I have 3 BP clones, a 3V Cintimatic NC (paper tape, not CNC) bed mill, and a couple more lathes. I also had 5 guys working for me and more problems than I knew what to do with. Lucky for me a guy came along and wanted to buy my shop....That giant sucking sound was me running out the door with his check in my pocket. I took 18 months off, bought an airplane, went SCUBA diving, and built a completely unsafe and insanely fast (200 mph+) '69 Firebird.

    Never take on employees, IMHO. A one man shop is the only way to go. Only take on what you can handle. Take care of your customers, but don't be afraid to turn down a job and don't under bid.

    About 1976.......
    A couple of friends of mine started up an automotive speed shop and they needed someone to setup and run their machine shop, I have no auto machine shop experience but I can build an engine, so yeah I can do that. I also brought in some of my old industrial customers so we did both industrial and automotive. I was there a couple years, then went to work for one of my industrial customers as a millwright again. It was a union shop and they went on strike about a year after I started. Not one to sit around, it was time for another job.

    So about 1979.........
    I found a help wanted ad for Tool & Die maker at a local manufacturer. No tool & die experience, but again a lot of self confidence and a good line of BS gets me in the door. It turns out that stamping and forming tool & die work is not magic, it's basic machine work, sometimes to a high degree of precision. But with a surface grinder it's pretty easy to be very accurate. It also requires the ability to understand how metal reacts when being punched and formed. Being able to engineer on the fly is mandatory. Cavity mold work, on the other hand, is magic IMHO.

    About 2 years into that job, I'm running the shop and have 7 guys working for me. I stayed there for 7 years.

    Then I spent the next 20 years living on airplanes as a field service tech working on wood products machinery all over the world and writing industrial software to automate systems. Somewhere in all of that I bought more machine tools and have been equipping my shop ever since.

    Today I'm supposed to be retired, but my pesky customers won't let me. My primary focus is design/build custom automated machines, with the occasional production job sprinkled in. I still do some tool & die work for a couple of customers. In fact I have a broken part of a forming die sitting on my desk in front of me, I'm trying to figure out how to build a new one. It needs to be in my customer's hands Monday morning.....It'll be there. Because I live in a rural farming area, I also do some farm equipment repair. One of these days if I ever get time I'm gonna get back to that R&D project that started all of this, it still isn't done!

    One thing to remember in machine work: As long as shop safety is observed, anything goes, there is no right way to get the job done as long as it gets done and the end result is satisfactory. You have to be able to hang on to the work, reach it with the tool bit, and be able to measure the result. That's really all there is to it

  13. #173
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    240

    Re: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

    I could not find a better description of someone with a lot of guts, a man who can and will do everything and anything but nothing right. Some credit is due.

  14. #174
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    46

    Re: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

    I do find it interesting and helpful. I still have my 1936 10" craftsman lathe and still use it all the time. I first got it back in 1970 ,used it in making custom billiard cues. Good story !

  15. #175
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Posts
    16
    Out of high school. sweeping floors in a Bearing factory when I was 18. I advanced through the company and was trained to a marketable skill level before they closed due to import competition. Continued to work for a number of small Manufacturers until getting an informal apprenticeship as a Toolmaker for a Company making hardware for power lines. They were purchased by a large corporation which moved them to Mexico. I then took a job for a company where I am now, managing a CNC Shop, and doing CNC Programming.

  16. #176
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    432

    Re: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

    It is Interesting you never know where you will end up all good fun .

  17. #177

    Re: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

    I learnt the machinist trade from my dad who worked for a top metal cutting and engraving company in Russia.

    He had his metal cutting machine in the garage on which he did some projects.

    As I followed closely, my Dad started giving me small tasks. Since then I've grown to be a PRO in the game running my own Metal Marking and Engraving company - https://www.heatsign.com/

    Thanks Dad!

    That's my story.

  18. #178
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    1863

    Re: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

    I started working in a machine shop in about 1959 or 60 as a punishment for getting bad grades on my report card.

    My dad was a partner in a tool and die shop and I was made to work there as the janitor. I think I will as about 15 when I started.

    After a while, it got to be “hey kid, drill these holes”.

    The more I did the more I liked it.

    My dad had visions of me becoming a doctor or a dentist, but I had a really tuff time reading.

    I learned about 30 years later that I’m dyslexic and reading really is difficult for me, but the hands on stuff came really easy.

    After high school I started grade school to learn how to be a tool and die maker. My dad wouldn’t teach me decause I had a tuff time reading. I was too stupid to be a tool and die maker.

    Well, one day before class in trade school I was looking through a magazine and I saw a picture of a Bridgeport mill and it looked strange. The next day I went back to class, found that magazine, looked up that picture and discovered why that Bridgeport looked so strange. It didn’t have any handl s on it.

    Turned out to be one of the very early NC Bridgeports. After spending about a week reading the article I decided that was the future and the direction I wanted to go.

    Well, to make a long story short I got into CNC machining in about 1981 after a failed marriage and I never looked back.

    I’m almost 74 years old now and I still love it as much as I did when I was 20.

    To this day, I still have a CNC milling machine in my garage and like “popspipes” I race RC model boats and I can’t buy the running gear I like so I make it.

  19. #179
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    304

    Re: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

    I'm not a machinist- I'm a hobbyist. By trade I am an engineer with dual degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering. My dad was a tool and die maker - he learned the trade at various machine shops, and a stint in the Navy during the war. He came out and worked in the naval shipyard in California as a machinist for a while, before returning to Pittsburgh to work as a machinist/tool and die maker and to eventually start his own shop, employing many of our relatives. Unfortunately for me - the machine shop didn't survive - but I had spent all of my youth in the machine shop - walking on the beds of the lathes, .. turning the cranks of the milling machines... unfortunately dad died when I was 9 and I never had the opportunity to learn the trade from him. When I went to high school - I took metal shop. During my senior year at the university - I took on fixing a retrofitted Bridgeport, and dreaming of one day owning one. I took a few classes in Machine Shop at the local community college.. Years later I had picked up a SuperMax YCM-30, and gutted the electronics, installed viper divers, a BOB, and mach 3.. and have been creating CNC machines (3 lathe retrofits, a from scratch cnc router build, 4 lathe retrofits (and counting) and machining things out of wood, plastic, and metal. I create most of my 2D work in AutoCAD, 3D work in CATIA, I love cad, and going from "art" to "part"...

    Hey Eric/WidgetMaster - your machining skills are fantastic - how did you learn the trade? (Forgive me if you posted this already, but I must have missed it then).
    www.CNC-Joe.com
    CNC Is Not Just My Passion.. It's My Addiction !!!!

  20. #180
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    10

    Re: How did you learn the Machinist trade?

    I started machining in high school, one of those rare schools that still had machine shop as a class. A couple of years after high school I got a job at a major plastics manufacturing plant just outside of Dallas. And got into the tool and die shop, went thru the apprenticeship program and eventually became a machinist in the shop. And have now been a tool/die machinist for the past 30 years.
    Dangerous Guitar neck plates
    http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=12426.0

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