ROCFORD IL Scraping Class Week 11 at Bourn & Koch

ROCKFORD IL Scraping Class Week 11 at Bourn & Koch

Want everyone to know we have been planning another class at the new machine buider and machine tool rebuilder of their machines on Monday March 12Th to Friday March 16 TH 2018 in Rockford Illinois. Basic and Advanced class students are invited. This will be the 3 rd class held inside their plant. Private message me for more info.
218 Richard King Handscraping Class - Bourn-Koch, Inc.

Also note we will be teaching other classes in 2018: Next month in Houston (Navasota) Texas, This class in IL and I have a full class March 28 - April 30 in Northern CA for Tom Lipton and friends (this class is full); April 25 -30, 2018 in Springfield VT at part of the original Fellows Gear Machine factory; Oakland CA May 9th - 13.
Also I have been talking to BIAX Germany about doing some more classes their in Oct or Nov, 2018.

Pic's L to R
Practical Machinist Member Cash Masters attended 2016 class; Barber Coleman Gear Hob (machines that B&K now owns that line); PM member "Other Brother" shows us his large array of test equipment; B&K Plant and company sign above a brand new Blanchard Grinder they were building as they also own that line now too.

Just a reminder this class in March still has opening as does the Vermont April class and we now are also organizing a May Oakland CA class. PM for info. Thanks

Still need a few more. If your a PM member I will offer discount. Thanks.

The class starts next Monday March 6 and we have a couple of spots open.
5 day or 3 day. Message me if your interested. Rich

The class has been going GREAT! Wow has Bourn & Koch been busy. I have never seen their shop so full. They are building brand new CNC Gear Machines plus rebuilding several of their brand machines and they are now rebuilding and retrofitting outer brands. 2 Huge Mori-Seiki Slant beds and in their rebuild area they also have one f their brand 100" Mattison rotary surface grinder. They are now filling the shoes of several machine rebuilders who in the last few year closed.

A real Bummer Cash called and couldn't make it this time. B&K is already talking about doing another class in 2018. So I may have to plan on doing theirs as it is only a 4 1/2 hour drive from home. Oh and thats all for all the straight-edge orders, DVD and flash drive orders. Keeps me occupied when I a not teaching. Next class is the NO. CA class 1st week in April , Springfield VT last week of April and Oakland CA 3rd weekend of May. Then I hope to take the summer off. Then hopefully we can do a class in KC in October; then 2 weeks in November in Austria, I have decided I will probably teach in India.....I am worried about a few things. More later. Rich

Hopefully Rich or somebody in the class can post some pics.

I have heard B&K is pretty busy as of late. A good thing for the industry!

Back home now after driving back last night. I had to stop a couple of times to nap. Yesterday was an exhausting day with all the Q&A, finishing projects, packing tools, and driving 5 hours. Thursday night we went out to eat at the Alchemy Restaurant near our hotels and had an amazing steak dinner.

B&K has grown and as I said expanded their line of machine rebuilding capabilities but as everyone else in this business are having a hard time finding qualified employee's. They have tested some outside contractors who they say were all talk, lousy action and results (one screwed up royally a Springfield Grinder), that's what they are having me teach their employees to scape. this class we had 2 employees who were assemblers but did not know how to scrape.

Now these guys with the basic skills can work alongside the Journeymen rebuilders /scrapers. I met Al the scraping department head this trip and last trip I met Minor, long time employee's plus they had apprenticed and worked as Journeymen at Mattison Machinery in Rockford before they closed. The B&K building used to be the Rockford Machinery Company and they now own the Rockford Machinery company plus several other USA built machinery Companies that closed.

In this small class we had 4 outsiders and like I said 2 of their guys. Joe Goral who coordinated these classes for B&K asked if I would come back in 2019 to teach another Basic class and possibly one in 2018 that would be a 1 or 2 weeks advanced class where we would have teams of 2 men scrape on one or 2 of the projects they were working n at the moment. He mentioned a Devlieg jig Mill, Mattison or Bullard rotary surface grinders, etc.

As their Journeymen are so swamped they have problems teaching the rookies. Joe mentioned October after they finish the IMTS show in Chicago where they will have a booth. I also plan on attending this year as a spectator.

Here are some pictures of the class and B&K builds.

Bourn & Koch March 2018 Scraping Class

More pic's:

A few more pictures: Thank You Bourn & Koch, my Kids and Practical Machinist Forum for letting me share to the world!

If you hold an advanced class at B&K or MSP area, let me know and I'll join.

Regards,
Stan.

Richard,

Thanks for sharing the photos. That appears to be a busy place, well done.

Ron