Machinist friends.

[lane]

I was just wondering . How many of you live where you have a few good friends that do home shop machining close buy , and get together and discuss projects and borrow tools from each other I have 4 here We get to gether on week ends and build are discus how to build things and machine stuff. Almost like a little club. Lets here from you guy`s.

[jdunmyer]

I have 2 machinist friends, and we normally get together once/week to chit-chat and "shop" at the scrap yard. One of the guys is a collaborator on building model engines, we work together in my shop for months to do a project. Three engines so far.

[sasquatch]

Lane,, Now this post is very interesting,, a good question i,m anxious to read the responses.

No one in my immediate area yet,,,hoping there could be a couple of people at least to yak with, seems some areas are almost devoid of HSM types,,but as i,ve noticed at times,, it appears a number of HSM are somewhat loners, stick to they're own projects.

I find this site is a great source for info, or just simple yakking about a subject,,, at times quite humerous, a good site.

[platypus2020]

I have a couple that are within an hour of me. We usually get together a couple of times a month. They meet at my shop, pillage the local all you can eat Chinese buffet, go to the local Harbor Freight store, then hit all of the industrial suppliers, before they head out of town. Usually the visit also involves the use one of my plasma cutters or tig welder. Almost always a great time is had.


jack

[KEJR]

I'm kind of paranoid about letting people in my shop. It would be cool to have some friends come over and do machining and motorcycle projects with. Its a catch 22 where you want to meet some new people to hang out with in your shop, but you don't want to let people in your shop until you know them.

Any of you guys have ways of dealing with this problem?

KEJR

[wierdscience]

I think I have about 7 maybe 8 folks within a 40 mile radius,at least two post here and I think two more lurk.We don't all talk to each other very often,but we do help each other out.

[darryl]

None at all. I've asked around at all the shops I go to, but nobody so far has taken an interest in machining outside of their job. That surprised me- I would have expected at least one person would have metalworking as a hobby, and possibly working in the field because of that.

I probably didn't go to the right nuthouse.

[macona]

Portland has the Portland Model Engineers club. Mostly a bunch of older guys. Meets once a month and there is also a CNC special interest group that meets on a different day.

[Bill Pace]

I am one of the VERY fortunate 4 that hang around with Lane. We often talk about wishing there were others with similar interests in the area. We are all within about half hour, or less, from each other. Its pretty obvious that Lane is a talented machinist, but even more than that he is a hellava nice guy and apparently really gets a kick out of teaching his skills to the likes of me - and the other 2.

Lane & I have fairly broad range of what we are liable to work on, be it models, old machines (like his shaper)(or new), building new shop machines (like our precision drill press), tooling, etc. If y'all have a buddy/s, what are your interests? Its obvious there are quite a few motorcycle and car enthusiasts here, what else do you guys do when you get together.

More often than not, Lane is giving "classes" on some procedure that one of us is stumped on

[Highpower]

I'm kind of paranoid about letting people in my shop. It would be cool to have some friends come over and do machining and motorcycle projects with. Its a catch 22 where you want to meet some new people to hang out with in your shop, but you don't want to let people in your shop until you know them.

Any of you guys have ways of dealing with this problem?

KEJR

I know a couple of guys that have expressed an interest in learning to do some machining, welding, etc., etc. They have tried to invite themselves into my shop to get some "hands on" time with my machines. The problem is, I KNOW them!

I know that they are cheap bastages that mooch anything they can to avoid spending any of their own money. I know that they would happily spend hours on end "playing" (destroying) my equipment and tooling, all the while knowing they have no intention what so ever to buy anything of their own. "Why should I buy one, when I can just use yours?

I tell them, "Sure!" Just let me know when your machines are delivered to your place, and I'll come over and help you all you want. Strange..... no takers yet.

[jkilroy]

Z E R O!

Lane, let me know when you guys are going to get together and I might run over from Vicksburg. I used to live in Texas, whats a few hours drive between friends!

[Black_Moons]

I'm kind of paranoid about letting people in my shop. It would be cool to have some friends come over and do machining and motorcycle projects with. Its a catch 22 where you want to meet some new people to hang out with in your shop, but you don't want to let people in your shop until you know them.

Any of you guys have ways of dealing with this problem?

KEJR

Yes. The one guy iv met so far localy I would'nt trust as far as I could throw him.

Not only does he have stunning lines like "You can trust me, Im not a thief!"* when I ask him not to come over without calling first after finding him in my yard not once, but TWICE after being out driving around, But iv seen him use wrenchs as crowbars... And that was the height of his mechanical appitude.

* If anyone ever tells you this out of the blue, Ban them from ever comming on your property, On pain of calling the police for trespassing.
Anyone who thinks outta the blue the reason for you NOT wanting them on your property when you are not home is because they might steal stuff, is trying to steal stuff.

That, and I found footprints under my garage window the 2nd time I found him on my property, and found the window stop damaged on a window after the 1st time I found him on my property. Now I have big bars on my shop windows and diffuser plastic covering them -_-

Some people really piss me off!

I learned its much better off just keeping your shop to yourself. Inviting people in only invites thiefs. Telling people about it only invites thiefs, Or them talking about it to some of thier friends, and who knows what kind of friends your friends have.

And besides ego stroking, Really, What good does it do for people to know you have a shop?

[BadDog]

We've got a great "club" locally. Nice smart folks, very helpful and friendly. Unfortunately I never seem to make the meetings. I have developed independent friendships with a few like minded individuals in the area, but I think I would like very much to have had the opportunity to spend time with the "Gang of 4".

Oh as to recent projects, most of mine are in the custom/modified automotive world, specifically 4x4 desert/rock trucks. Most recent was a pair of flange adapters to use 1480 u-joints mated to a transfer case CV Flange and custom drive shafts. Before that, all manner of spacers, adapters, tie-rods and drag-links, and so on...

And of course, I like rebuilding old machines. My current projects (mostly on hold for the summer heat) include a 5hp 8" Porter Cable belt grinder from about 1940, and a Powermatic 20" variable speed drill press. But I don't "restore", I just make them fully functional again. If I took the time to paint and finish as nicely as Lane does, I wouldn't want to use it for fear of damaging all that work.

[lane]

Z E R O!

Lane, let me know when you guys are going to get together and I might run over from Vicksburg. I used to live in Texas, whats a few hours drive between friends!

Any week in you want to if they arent here we will go find them.

[T.Hoffman]

great thread idea....

I WISH I had some machinist friends around me! I do have a experienced machinist co-worker at work who worked for 15yrs or so in a shop, and then moved onto another job. That was 20 yrs ago for him, but I give him total credit (or blame) for helping me get into tinkering with a mill.

He nurtured what he saw in me as quite a desire to form metal. I now realize at age 41 I missed my calling. I went to engineering school for an EE (that I now rarely use), and very much regret not going for a mechanical eng degree and getting into the machining environment.

That said, I pick up what I can from reading books and little tips here and there. But like my friend said, "You are SO lucky to have the internet at your disposal now. Back when I was learning, everything was by book or cool little tips were from word of mouth." Now I chat with him about great ideas or tips I pick up from THIS forum.

So unfortunately I don't have anyone nearby that is a machinist that I can soak up more info from. BUT, I do have this forum!!! And I can't thank everyone here enough for their gracious input. I have learned a lot just from lurking.