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    Default Green, but very interested.

    Hi all. I'm Seth. I didn't know where else to post this. This is a newbie needing advice post. If this is in the wrong section I apologize, please move it if so.

    So I washed right out of a welding program. I'm very visual and frankly, couldn't see what I was doing. Controlling a weld when all I can see is black and the light of the arc just wasn't my business. My welds were utter garbage. I cut my losses. It was kinda boring anyway. I could do it as an occasional hobby, but making a career out of it just seems monotonous.

    I greatly enjoyed the blueprint reading course that I took, and it had me interested in the mechanical aspect. My father is a Mechanical Engineer. I've job shadowed him a few times and took a keen interest in the things he was working on. His work also has a small machine shop with both manual and CNC machines. It was cool to see all of that in action. I'm at a point in my life where I'm exploring my options.

    So I took a Machining class and man, was I ever lost. The language was foreign to me. It was like teaching a feral toddler calculus. I fell behind. My teacher was a pretty hands off, let them figure it out on their own type guy. Didn't seem all that interested in teaching very green students like me the art of Machining. The other students seemed to intuitively know what to do, what tools to use, how to operate the machines, etc. I just had no experience. I needed to be taught from the ground up. Someone literally had to explain to me that a "threaded fastener" was a screw. Like, who the heck calls it a "threaded fastener?"

    Anyway, I was just wondering, would it be at all possible to teach a very very green, green as the Olympic Nation Forest, student like me Machining? I've looked into this pretty extensively, and it's something that I want to know how to do.

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    Community Moderator Jim Dawson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Green, but very interested.

    The term ''threaded fastener'' would include every round thing with a helical groove around it used to fasten two or more parts together. Not really a very useful or descriptive term in the practical world. In my 55+ years of being around this stuff I have never actually heard the term used.

    Here is a good place to start, the U.S. Army Machining course. Gives the basics, terminology, and lots of pictures. These manuals were written about 60 or so years ago, but all of the information is still valid today.

    US Army courses | Open Source Machine



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    Default Re: Green, but very interested.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Dawson View Post
    The term ''threaded fastener'' would include every round thing with a helical groove around it used to fasten two or more parts together. Not really a very useful or descriptive term in the practical world. In my 55+ years of being around this stuff I have never actually heard the term used.

    Here is a good place to start, the U.S. Army Machining course. Gives the basics, terminology, and lots of pictures. These manuals were written about 60 or so years ago, but all of the information is still valid today.

    US Army courses | Open Source Machine
    Thank you so much! Reading it now!



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    Default Re: Green, but very interested.

    So far it's an excellent read. Very simple terms.



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    Default Re: Green, but very interested.

    Hi, I deeply sympathise with your experience.....I'm familiar with your problem and take time to explain deeply to someone who cannot see the light as I see it when they need help.

    A lot depends on your future ambitions and job type likes.........being interested in working with metals is a rewarding experience, but it won't put the bread on your table if you approach it with a hobby mind attitude.

    It take a broad basic skill level learning curve approach, but if you stick to it you will eventually learn the do's and don'ts that keep all your fingers on each hand etc and not on the floor from inadvertent arguments with fast moving machinery.......don't give up your daytime job while you're learning etc.

    You really do need to get into a training program, despite your off putting experience previously, and if the instructor is somewhat slack in your needs, do it again.....the second time around is like going in with your mind already geared to the job......some of us are slower to pick up the fundamentals......I spent 5 years doing an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner back in the 50's (last century)......but I had a drive for metal work that has never been quenched.

    BTW.....just reading up on the aspects of metal work is going to confuse you more than anything....you need to get hands on experience and develop muscle memory to eventually handle machinery like the pros...... the longest journey starts with the first step.....it won't happen today, and it won't happen tomorrow, BUT IT WILL HAPPEN....trust me, I've been down that path many times.
    Ian.



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    Default Re: Green, but very interested.

    Quote Originally Posted by handlewanker View Post
    Hi, I deeply sympathise with your experience.....I'm familiar with your problem and take time to explain deeply to someone who cannot see the light as I see it when they need help.

    A lot depends on your future ambitions and job type likes.........being interested in working with metals is a rewarding experience, but it won't put the bread on your table if you approach it with a hobby mind attitude.

    It take a broad basic skill level learning curve approach, but if you stick to it you will eventually learn the do's and don'ts that keep all your fingers on each hand etc and not on the floor from inadvertent arguments with fast moving machinery.......don't give up your daytime job while you're learning etc.

    You really do need to get into a training program, despite your off putting experience previously, and if the instructor is somewhat slack in your needs, do it again.....the second time around is like going in with your mind already geared to the job......some of us are slower to pick up the fundamentals......I spent 5 years doing an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner back in the 50's (last century)......but I had a drive for metal work that has never been quenched.

    BTW.....just reading up on the aspects of metal work is going to confuse you more than anything....you need to get hands on experience and develop muscle memory to eventually handle machinery like the pros...... the longest journey starts with the first step.....it won't happen today, and it won't happen tomorrow, BUT IT WILL HAPPEN....trust me, I've been down that path many times.
    Ian.
    Thank you! Yea I went and talked to the instructor. He talked me into giving it another go. Definitely excited.



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    Community Moderator Jim Dawson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Green, but very interested.

    Congratulations and best of luck to you.



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    Default Re: Green, but very interested.

    Hi....then when you have a bit more knowledge you can rub shoulders with the crew and know what they're on about......you might find it's a lot of jargon at first but it gets better.

    A lot depends on your circumstances, if you want to make it a career move, like wife, mortgage, car payments, kids at school, food on the table etc.......all take a regular income and that means starting at the bottom at an early age before those aspects become a part of your life.

    Getting into machining for a living will take at least 10 years before you can get the wage level to make ends meet.....on that there is no argument, so don't be fooled by those that are already in the game and going forward......it's an exponential curve....the more you know the better you'll get......best of luck.
    Ian.



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    Default Re: Green, but very interested.

    Yes. I started as a machine operator, just changing out parts. Machinist around you will start helping and teaching you stuff. If they like you that is. That was 15 years ago and I really like helping you guys in the shop. Its paying it forward for the old guys that was so helpful to me. Just dont start punching buttons before you are ready. Crashing a machine will get you fired before you get going.



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    Default Re: Green, but very interested.

    LOL....seen many guys like that and had to work alongside guys who wanted to pick my brains without first going the course and getting the qualifications........and they wanted the same pay rates as me while they bodged the work up.

    I can't tolerate starter outers in my previous line of work unless they are in a definite training program and are doing the learning curve properly.

    You can learn to become proficient in a narrow spectrum that only time can improve on, but as time is money, most employers are running on empty with people like that as their production personnel.

    I blame the employers who, with great expectations, employ people with a wing and a prayer because the trade generally has watered down the requirements due to needing to get the job out of the door.

    If I had to go back into the CNC related work force again.......age not being taken into account.......the learning curve just to get to any form of proficiency would indeed be a long one, and the thought of starting as a bar feeder or parts loader would not be an option for future career prospects........the proper training program would have to be at word go and the wages that reflected that level of expertise would also have to be tolerated as all apprentices had to when learning the ropes.
    Ian.



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    Default Re: Green, but very interested.

    You could try a technical shool, im not sure where you live in the states but i started my machining career in BOCES tech center in New York and it gave me a great jump start into the world of machining.



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Green, but very interested.

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