[Adobe Machine]

Old as dirt..really..enjoyed all of it, still looking foward to a lot more..good, thrifty wife, that has put up with a lot , boat racing(BAH, BFF, BAF), skydiving (my last accident), air planes and lots of hot rods ( my '34 Blown 3 window is pictured in my thread,Manual to CNC lathe)and not the least a 35 year business that required lots and lots of hours,with no complaints..er any way, not too many.. 7 grown children, all succesful ( at least they don't borrow from us )and liking what they do..couple of bumps in the road that all turned out ok, lots of good friends who say hello more than once a year, and lots of good, cold Budwiser..keep it fun I say, work when you work, and play when you play..

Adobe (old as dirt)

[HAASboi]

im 23

[HAASboi]

im 23 first time to operate CNC

[RICHARD ZASTROW]

Adobe's old but not as old as me. I'll have to get him to switch to Pilsner Urquell and he'll be fine. Just keep your bedpan handy.

[jogilliam]

56

[hot knobs]

I am 72 a self taught mechanist, want to get my first cnc lathe, spent 40 years in the dirt moving business, have had 9 w2s in one year, some days I feel mutch older, still want to learn to use a cnc.

[Mark L. MN]

My birth certificate places me at 45 this year. At least I mentally have kept most of my youth. Not all, but most :P And have gone through to many career changes, and hope that this will be my last.

[Geof]

someware between 40 and " past it"!

I was scanning through and found this.

Please define "Past It", I need to know how far I have to go to get there.

[joecnc1234]

all I have to say is I'm 38, I've been a programmer for 12 years, started machining when I was 20, started my own shop 2 years ago. For these younger people to say they should be making the same money as the people they are doing the same job as, I say quote a job, engineer it, cut the stock, program it, set it up, run it, deburr it, part mark it, bag and tag it, ship it, collect the check. Then tell me how much your worth. their is a reason they call it experience. Learn it, live it, love it. It's not easy but if you get it!!! seriously get it there is a good career in front of you. And If you do want to learn it or already get it and you want to live in sunny tucson arizona give me an email

[Mark L. MN]

Perhaps he's refering to the last time he remembers what ever he did last!

[Anodizer]

Old enough that I need to do a brain flush to make room for more ideas!
28 years in electronics and still learning.

[vierimaa]

18 years, and living eating and sleeping in the same room as my machine.

[Madclicker]

I am 72 a self taught mechanist, want to get my first cnc lathe, spent 40 years in the dirt moving business, have had 9 w2s in one year, some days I feel mutch older, still want to learn to use a cnc.

I've never seen anyone with 9 w2s in one year, except myself. I got mine as a youngster chasing high paying construction jobs around. Was a pretty good hot-welder back then (late 70's early 80's). Sure a lot of fun dragging a travel trailer around from one job to another. Got to see country most never do.

[Madclicker]

Very true. I'm trying the exercise method of staving off the ravages of age. I keep telling myself the more I do it the easier it is supposed to get... but it doesn't. I also tell myself that the more I do it the better I'm supposed to feel... but I can't really tell about that one. The one that scares me is I also tell myself that if I don't do it now I may not be able to in another 20 years. That's the one that really keeps me motivated.

I fully believe in the "use it or lose it" approach. I've seen a lot of people retire and die shortly thereafter. I've seen many that never really retire and seem to go on forever. My 72 yo mom still mows her own yard.....not a riding mower!

[Timtucker]

24 years old.. i started machining 2 years ago and i still love to go to work every single day.. my only regret is not starting this sooner.. someone needs to educate kids that its ok to be a machinist, not enough of them get the message!!

[Rcky123]

46 here

[Kipper]

I'm in the majority :shrug: mid 40's Surprised I've made it this far

[metalmagic]

I voted 60+ not many of us left I guess but hey My dad is a Machinist for more years than I have known worked at CPR 1933 ended proffesion at Canadian Explorations (Emerald Mine Salmo B.C.) 1968 is still active in my shop at you will never guess 99 years old will be 100 on June 3 2007 . I sure hope I do not go that far.
Rae Fletcher metalmagic

[Klox]

16 yrs old with a couple of decades experience......

[SORCHEROR]

hello all,im 44 years young living in rochester new york,once was the biggest manufacturing city in the states,no its shrunk,ive been in the machining business for 26 + years now,have had many shops in the past and started a new one again 2 1/2 years ago,i used to build molds full time but now a production cnc shop,to many molds go off shore,i still build some from time to time,mostly prototypes though,have built some routers,bench top mill,and converted an x2 minimill,my main cnc in the shop is a new haas TM-1 with tool changer,theres still some life left in this trade,just find a nitch
steve