Learning to be a machinist

[rcampbell]

Hello all, I'm looking for some good material/tips on how to learn to be a machinist. I am a full time software developer, but like to tinker with metal and woodworking in my spare time. Does anyone know of any good distance education courses in Canada (specifically PEI or maritimes) or perhaps some good reference material etc?

[octopusbeak]

Some people that pay a lot of attention to detail so you can see how it's done:

So, I got a Taig
CNC Cookbook: Projects

If you have even a little hands on experience, "Machine Shop Trade Secrets" is a book that has a lot of good info for being a better machinist.

[jezx]

what machines do you have ?
there are a few hand books on ebay . old school books would be good to .
if you dont know much then it's hard to learn on your own but can be done in about a year for any basic manual machining, just messing around . id say just start doing stuff an ask question when you get stuck .
i may have some books i think if your just looking for manual machining . or ebook for old cnc

[Dualkit]

It is so much quicker to learn from a fellow human. Best bet is to find a fellow machinist within driving distance and trade some labor for some teaching time. I have a guy who I do that with right now ( I am the teacher ) of course he was lucky living in Southern California where shops and people with machining knowledge are a dime a dozen.