I’ve gotta say

[gman]

Years back when I worked for my friend and gunsmith on my days off he was teaching me to use a lathe and a mill. I loved it. Now not having access to that equipment in years I admire the guys here taking charge and getting things done by making things they need on lathes/mills. Wish I had more experience in that area. Hats off gentlemen!

 

[35 shooter]

Wish i had those skills and the equipment too. Been thinking of taking night courses at our local high school (vo-tech division).
Never too old to learn.

 

[Ian]

At least you still had a little formal instruction, Gman. You probably learned and can still remember a lot more than you realize. A year ago my sum total experience with a lathe was making a wooden treadle lathe in my Dad's shop when I was a kid so I could turn file handles out of split hardwood. He was mad as a wet hen when he came home and saw I'd bored a hole in one of his workbenches to pass the rope through and lagged a buggy spring to the rafter, but to his credit he left me alone about it and

I could still use some very basic, formal instruction myself, but have been helped on an as-needed basis by a couple of the real pros right here on this site who have been very generous with their time and knowledge. Being mostly self-taught in all things (often that meaning taking the initiative to find someone willing to teach me), I have found Tubalcain, Joe Pie', and Abomb79 on the 'tube to be most helpful. Tubalcain for direct instruction of process, and the others more for general knowledge. Just "being around" these processes being done provides many "A-HA!" moments.

 

[Brad]

I am not a trained mechanic or machinist. I learned by doing and when uncertain by watching the same guys as Ian on YouTube.
Before I bought my lathe I conversed via PM with the two people I trusted most- Keith and Buckshot. I got lots of very good advice and I thank them every time I fire up the lathe.
Luckily I tend to learn quickly when I put my mind to something. I tend to be good at observing what happened and drawing conclusions. Sometimes it takes me a while getting beat over the head but in the end the message gets thru.
The satisfaction of making it myself is immense. I even branched out a bit this summer and did something I would have enter done before- I cleaned and replaced the carb on both my blower and chainsaw. Not a big deal for many of you but a huge leap of faith for me.

 

[KeithB]

Machine tools are made BY people FOR people. With a little help most people can become good machinists. I think back to WWII when the country had to tool up in both machines and labor to become the "arsenal of democracy". People who hadn't seen anything besides a plow and the back end of a horse or mule learned to run lathes, mills, etc. very quickly.

Artists, now that's another story. I feel like I can run any machine tool made. But make something of elegance and beauty, something that evokes an emotional response - that I cannot do. I know people that can, and I respect them and their work very much.

 

[KHornet]

l am less than handy with tools, and recognize the fact.
I am willing to pay for quality tools and molds produced
by people who are handy with tools.

Paul

 

[Pistolero]

I was lucky enough to have a recently separated US Army machinist as a good
friend and mentor when I was 15 through about 21 or so when he moved away.

He had an amazing assortment of very cool guns, reloaded and had a small bench lathe.
We fixed stuff and made stuff. I remember needing a very thin pulley to convert an
F-86 aux air compressor (surplus, cheap) into a SCUBA compressor. We needed a hunk of
aluminum, so we melted down some old ice cube trays on my father's hand crank coal
forge and poured it into a #10 can. Then put the disk into the lathe and made a pulley.
Filled a bunch of SCUBA tanks with that rig.

Bill

 

[JSH]

35 shooter, Tubalcain has some winter classes on flash drive. I have found nothing here local as far as somthing like votech.
I emailed Lyle and am going to get one of them he suggested. It is on flash drive. Maybe that will hammer things into my head. I like hard copies but this will be almost as good.
1983-84 was a long time ago! That was the last year I worked in a machine shop.
I figure to watch along with going up to my tool and die friends shop at the same time.
Jeff