What's new
What's new

OT a little What is a Machinist?

bak2nav

Aluminum
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Location
Orangepark FL.
I did a quick search to see if this topic has been discussed before and did not find anything "so hear go's nuttin"
I know that we all have different descriptions of what a machinist is some of believe that it is someone that can run every machine known to man and produce perfect product. Some believe it is anyone who will do anything with metal.
IMHO I think that a machinist is all of the above however there is a difference between a guy with a drill press and someone else with the biggest baddest CNC Machine built.
I have a little over 25yrs as a maintainance machinist witch means I very rarely have all the gauche tools and machines to work with so I do with what I have. I think a true machinist can take whatever tools and machine's at his disposal and do virtually any job that needs done. I know some very good and competent Machinist that disagree with me and feel if you don’t have all the right tools and machines then don’t do the job till the boss springs for it. It also depends on the type of environment you work in Production vs., job shop vs. maintainance repair. I know for sure no matter what else that I love this career and would trade for nothing else.
Dan.
 
My guess as to what a "real" machinist is would be the guy who went through the apprenticeship and now has his Journeyman's card.

Philosophically? Who knows.
 
for what its worth,, and you get what you pay for so bare that in mind

a machinist is someone that can operate effectively all manner of machine tools, perhaps more proficient at some than others, but can work with anything..and...

if need be, beat a part out between two rocks, and hammer/chisel it to shape, and finish file to fit


i will duck for cover now !!!

bob g
 
I disagree that a machinist is someone with Journeyman certification. I've known a couple that were the laziest POS to walk the shop floor. I mean taking cigarette breaks reading the paper for 20 min. at a time while everyone else is busting their ass. Should have trained a monkey for all those dudes were worth.

G
 
HAHAHAHAHA........
Good answer, GeneralG.
Those must have been "UNION" Journeyman Machinists.
I should know, I work with 2 FORMER union boys. They're the laziest paper-readers in the shop.
 
Really hard to define the true meaning of a machinist. So many different branches in the field. I would say that it is a person that can take a drawing, sketch, or part, choose the correct machine and tools, then set up and make the given part.

I think most of us are all fairly good at our jobs, but throw us in another shop, that does a different type of work, and we would be lost for a while.
 
Yea...this is the new millennium...Journeyman papers, collage papers, and all that BS means nothing to me. I did the voc-tech thing in HS, but I learned 95% of what I know about machine work from the U- of Hard Knocks.

It's what a guy can do with his hands,feet and head, regardless of how he learned to use said body parts. My first machines came from scrap heaps, and turned back into useful pieces because of lack of funds,abundance of sweat equity and a desire to have such equipment.

It's not doing great things with 2 bricks and a crow bar, it's doing what needs to be done with whats available, add in quantity of ingenuity.


I mean taking cigarette breaks reading the paper for 20 min. at a time while everyone else is busting their ass. Should have trained a monkey for all those dudes were worth.
If they helped prevent sweat shops in the '20's and promoted fair pay for fair work, great.
From what I've ever seen, IMO, this description prevails with that class of worker and what the
title has de-volved into.
 
That is a good question .

Machinist is someone who can: repair , make new parts , fix machines, make machines , is a drafter , proof reader , inquisitive ,a mathematician , who usually thinks out side of the box, He takes pride in his work "good enough for who it is for " just doesn't cut it, He understands and analyzes problems , he is a craftsman capable of making the oldest wore out piece of crap make the part , he is patient and thinks his way through a job , he is a teacher ,a
mechanic

He does all of this to the best of their ability.

And he is like me.. with limited tooling ,.. making the machine do interesting things.

He doesn't have to be well schooled or have a degree , he just has to be proficient in several areas of study .
 
Journeyman papers? I don' need no steenking journeyman papers.

I never took a formal machine shop class or High School machine shop class, nor did I serve a formal apprenticeship.

I learned the basics of lathe and mill work from my Dad, starting at about age 11.

And like dkmc, I learned 95% of what I know about machine work from the U- of Hard Knocks.

Gimme a sketch with the necessary dimensions, and I'll make the part for ya.


What do you mean, I can't make these small parts on this big lathe? Hide and watch!
 
I would say he/she should be able to run a lathe including running a thread on ID or OD. Run a mill and a surface grinder, know what an OD grinder is at least, same with an ID grinder. And most importantly read a blueprint and do basic shop math. Use common measuring tools and indicators. Journeyman or non journeyman doest mean a lot in my experience...neither really gives you a handle on if the person can think their way out of a maper bag, or machine their way out either :)

Thats the basics, beyond that it can get very specialised but a person with those basic building blocks can aquire the special stuff needed to do those jobs.

Thats my $.02
 
I would say he/she should be able to run a lathe including running a thread on ID or OD. Run a mill and a surface grinder, know what an OD grinder is at least, same with an ID grinder. And most importantly read a blueprint and do basic shop math. Use common measuring tools and indicators. Journeyman or non journeyman doest mean a lot in my experience...neither really gives you a handle on if the person can think their way out of a paper bag, or machine their way out either :)

Thats the basics, beyond that it can get very specialised but a person with those basic building blocks can aquire the special stuff needed to do those jobs.

Thats my $.02
 
Papers? Try and find a place to even GET papers anymore. Formal apprenticeships are all but a thing of the past, at least around here.

As for what defines a machinist, I think Carl Darnell had it right; someone who can take lines on a paper and make the part using whatever machine is necissary. Actually that might be more of a toolmaker but we're not going to start THAT one again, are we? ;)
 
And then of course there are the CNC machinists, a breed apart, mainly because the manual machinists/toolmakers all think the CNC guys are crazy*

But also because not only do we have to do the usual 'cut so deep at so many rpm's and feed stuff ,but be able to program the machines to do it too.


Boris

*I'm not crazy , the voices in my head tell me so :eek:
 
A machinist is a grumpy bastard that early on in life realized that he loved making things with his hands/machines. Since metal was the most challenging to work with his stubborn nature and sense of pride dictated that he master this. Something inside him would "sing" as he learned some new skill or machine. As he became proficient over the years it became less easy/necessary to talk about what he knew or why he loved it.

In a world that doesn't value that which it doesn't understand he had to make financial sacrifices to pursue the trade he loved. Seeing people that became "expert" in their field in two or three years being put in authority over him because they had an "education" perplexed him. The skills he owned had no quick buy in. Slowly he moved from being perplexed to being disgusted with the shallow reasoning that perpetuated the inequities he labored under. Over time he earned grudging respect from the young and the clueless in the crisp white shirts because when something had to work right the first time it always seemed to end up on his bench. As his skills and introversion reached their pinnacle (late in life)He realized that he was finally a machinist....and a grumpy 'ol bastard to boot....


(sorry guys my blood sugar's off a bit this morning)


PS...For the short version scroll up and see what Hu wrote.
 
my two cents

A millwright is not a tool and die maker

A welder is not a metal fabricator

Having a piece of paper is good but not a substitute for years of experience

and IMHO a true machinist works with lathes, mills etc, not a hammer and vise (like me)
 








 
Back
Top