Do I belong here?

[Brian.M]

Not sure where I fit in, am I the dreaded "home shop Harry" or amateur? Im not a full time machinist, but as an industrial Mechanic I make alot of parts for machines, as well as modifying production parts. I am relatively new to machining, 4 years or so and completely self taught; SB lathe, Bridgeport and Kent surface grinder.

I've found alot of helpful information here, but when I've posted I've gotten not much help, and some smart ass answers.

Do I not belong here, or have I just had bad luck on here?

 

[CITIZEN F16]

Some guys just think a novice needs to take their lumps, it is like throwing fresh meat to a starving dog. At least you can go on the internet and You tube for help. Those things weren't around when I was learning. There are a lot of bright people here compared to other machinist forums. There is an ignore feature where you won't see a person's reply unless they are quoted. You can use that to get rid of the asinine responses.

 

[CITIZEN F16]

I had a friend who was trained by a nasty old man if there ever was one. My friend was supposed to replace this guy when he retired and just went to working for the company part time out of his home shop. The old guy was a brilliant toolmaker but only had interest in passing on 50% of his skills. Both had their own desk and work areas. Whenever my friend came around and the guy was working on something difficult he would stop and do something simple as to not divulge his whole bag of tricks. My friend actually had places where he would hide and spy on the guy.

That jackass would be about 85 or so now, maybe he is on here.

 

[PeteM]

Far as I can tell you got good answers to the two questions you've asked. Stephen nailed the problem with your collet closer. Even "Digger" - our resident snarling guard dude chasing off newbies and spammers - treated your question on cutting off threads gently.

Do your homework first, then have a bit thicker skin, might be options?

 

[charlie gary]

Some people need to diminish others because...

It's best to ignore them and hope someday they graduate kindergarten. Keep coming in and asking questions. Have you read the forum guidelines to know what types of equipment are verboten? Knowing what's appropriate can help cut down on the trolls.

 

[BugRobotics]

You belong here just as much as anyone else. Just do your research before asking questions, create descriptive titles, follow up on threads for posterity's sake, help when you can and enjoy the vast knowledge here!

Hint: If you are trying to search for something, go to your search engine and enter "what you want to search site:practicalmachinist.com". This will give much better results than the forum search which is anemic at best.

 

[michiganbuck]

The site is for anyone seeking to learn machining stuff, to ask or answer a question about machines/ machining, grinding, and the like.

Just a few simple rules.

QT OP: [but when I've posted I've gotten not much help, and some smart ass answers.]
Do I not belong here, or have I just had bad luck on here?

Mostly keep titles relative to the subject..and really dumb questions will get some quick saseyness.

Like, "Where is the start button on my machine?
So we don't have to ask:
What kind of machine, Did you look at your machine, Did your wife hide it, Do you have a cat or a dog? Why a dog?

 

[Kevin T]

I had a friend who was trained by a nasty old man if there ever was one. My friend was supposed to replace this guy when he retired and just went to working for the company part time out of his home shop. The old guy was a brilliant toolmaker but only had interest in passing on 50% of his skills. Both had their own desk and work areas. Whenever my friend came around and the guy was working on something difficult he would stop and do something simple as to not divulge his whole bag of tricks. My friend actually had places where he would hide and spy on the guy.

That jackass would be about 85 or so now, maybe he is on here.

The guy may have gone through a couple bust cycles for automotive and aerospace. Sometimes it takes extraordinary people skills to crack through the learned self preservation.

 

[Milland]

Do I not belong here, or have I just had bad luck on here?

Don't sweat it. You belong here, it's the rest of us jerks that should take a hike.

 

[rons]

Do I not belong here, or have I just had bad luck on here?

Hey Jimmie, we gonna chop em up at Charlie's place or let em join the family?



The worst ones are they who had a rough time of it on their own. Now they have to take it out on others...

 

[texasgeartrain]

I've found alot of helpful information here, but when I've posted I've gotten not much help, and some smart ass answers.

Do I not belong here, or have I just had bad luck on here?

You belong as much as anyone else, but. . . You have a grand total of 13 posts in about 10 months as a member. . .

Some new or low post count guys can get good responses, depending the topic, or quality of their posts. But like many things, you often get back what you put in. I'd say regular contributors are more apt to get better and more detailed info from other regular contributors. We got some guys that post 13 times a day .

A quick one or two sentence reply takes no time. But researching ourselves, or getting more deeply involved in certain topics takes more time also. We do that for free, because we like it, be it a hobby or not. But investing a lot of time in a guy that posts once a year. . . some won't make the effort.

Read and follow the topics or sections that interest you. Contribute. Post pics, links, whatever. Ask questions in others threads, without derailing the topic. As people see you around more, they'll make more of an effort.

 

[CITIZEN F16]

The guy may have gone through a couple bust cycles for automotive and aerospace. Sometimes it takes extraordinary people skills to crack through the learned self preservation.

I have no idea of the crusty old geezer's background, he was at that company long before my friend was there and not very friendly. He took his breaks at his desk and did not socialize with other workers. My friend gave me a plant tour once and the guy would not even shake my hand. To me that is the ultimate insult unless you are a germophobe.

 

[White Lightning]

I have no idea of the crusty old geezer's background, he was at that company long before my friend was there and not very friendly. He took his breaks at his desk and did not socialize with other workers. My friend gave me a plant tour once and the guy would not even shake my hand. To me that is the ultimate insult unless you are a germophobe.

Its unfortunate but maybe this crusty old geezer has dealt with an unlimited number of guys like your friend over his many years and doesn't feel the need to train yet another who will probably be gone in a year. It was hard for me to understand this thinking when I started but now at times its easy to see his side. Hopfully your friend gains his trust and is willing to learn.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Brian.M]

Thank you everyone for your responses.

Far as I can tell you got good answers to the two questions you've asked. Stephen nailed the problem with your collet closer. Even "Digger" - our resident snarling guard dude chasing off newbies and spammers - treated your question on cutting off threads gently.

Do your homework first, then have a bit thicker skin, might be options?

Yes, Stephen and "Digger" were very helpful and provided valuable information. Honestly I had not seen Stephen's post prior to writing here. (It seems I may have taken over an old account? It says I've been a member since 2005 and it says I have no activity in my profile, making it harder to follow my posts. Nonetheless still on me.) I don't mean to say I've not received any good info, just that some have been critical with no constructive effort. Fair point on thick skin though.

You belong as much as anyone else, but. . . You have a grand total of 13 posts in about 10 months as a member. . .

Some new or low post count guys can get good responses, depending the topic, or quality of their posts. But like many things, you often get back what you put in. I'd say regular contributors are more apt to get better and more detailed info from other regular contributors. We got some guys that post 13 times a day .

A quick one or two sentence reply takes no time. But researching ourselves, or getting more deeply involved in certain topics takes more time also. We do that for free, because we like it, be it a hobby or not. But investing a lot of time in a guy that posts once a year. . . some won't make the effort.

Read and follow the topics or sections that interest you. Contribute. Post pics, links, whatever. Ask questions in others threads, without derailing the topic. As people see you around more, they'll make more of an effort.

Thank you, you make a good point, I understand I'm not a regular member. I should and will try to be more a part of the community of great knowledge and expertise here. Being so new and self taught I had felt that I had little to offer in comparison.

 

[Radar987]

You're fine as long as you don't act like a noob by overexplaining things, being a know-it-all, and/or telling us your life story.

 

[Radar987]

Thank you everyone for your responses.

You also don't need to thank everybody individually. It gets old. Just click the LIKE button.

 

[CITIZEN F16]

Its unfortunate but maybe this crusty old geezer has dealt with an unlimited number of guys like your friend over his many years and doesn't feel the need to train yet another who will probably be gone in a year. It was hard for me to understand this thinking when I started but now at times its easy to see his side. Hopfully your friend gains his trust and is willing to learn.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

That was a long time ago, the friend ended up staying there for 25 years or so, they had slowly been out sourcing things to higher end Chinese shops. The last few years he was just modifying outsourced parts that needed it. The facility he was at was like the 10 little Indians, slowly contracting. They did a lot of sales to China and they offered him a job there, he refused. He got the last 50% of his knowledge by trial and error. I think the only thing statewide now is the engineering, haven't talked to the guy in years. He kind of passed on his mentor's attitude, in fact he was probably worse. When the bean counters started cracking down they started keeping an eye on him because he pretty much lived in the shop and he was hourly. Before that he only answered to engineers who would could care less the size of the paychecks he was cashing. He was their cash cow to getting project completion bonuses.

It was finally realized a lot of his time was spent doing mundane tasks a shop helper could do with little training. Loving to work 100+ hour weeks often hitting double time, he rode his helpers hard, trying to get them to quit and definitely not wanting to work OT. He once asked me if it was legal to force him to train people. He figured since I was self employed I would know labor laws. I told him since he was a white male in his 40's in a non union job, they can make him do anything legal within reason and fire him for not combing his hair.

 

[lazz]

If you have a good question in the metal working arena this is one of the best places in the world to get free answers and advice.
Many of the people here are some of the top experts in their field.
The number of grey beards with decades of experience far out number the noobs.

A simple RTFM question will not get answers you will enjoy.

Use google. This forum relies on google.
Likely Google has a link to a thread on this forum that discusses your question. If you dont find your answer with google at the very least you could learn the best way to ask the question and what details are necessary for a useable answer..

The people here are not all rude and crude... But no one wants to do your homework for you.


As for do you belong here... thats an easy question to answer. Will you contribute to the knowledge base or just be another noob that whines for a couple posts and then goes away...

 

[CITIZEN F16]

Hey Jimmie, we gonna chop em up at Charlie's place or let em join the family?

View attachment 343591

The worst ones are they who had a rough time of it on their own. Now they have to take it out on others...

That is pretty common, but I broke that mold, my dad was very abusive. I promised myself I would never treat people like that. Same with the first guy who trained me, some days I was thinking of quitting, before I did something that would get me tossed in the slammer. I managed to keep myself together and strangely 10 years later they hired him at a large place I worked, damn near 60 miles from where I was trained. The comical thing I would have normally been involved as his last stop on the interview process as the department lead, but I had to take two weeks vacation to mend a broken ankle.

They hired him in my absence and he had a week under his belt before I greeted him on the shop floor for the first time. The look of terror in his eyes when I shook his hand and might have squeezed a little too hard was priceless. I did the old "Don't I know you from somewhere?" Then walked away laughing. We kept track of every employee's efficiency. His first week, he put up mid pack stats, not bad for a guy who was new, as usually the first week on a new job a guy can be nervous or need time to acclimate.

Week two, after he knew who his boss was, his productivity and quality took a nose dive. My presence was enough to unravel this guy. I really did not treat him much different than anyone else, and of course made it known I remember him. If I remember correctly he quit well before the 90 day probationary period was up.

Who knows, that jackass could be on here also, I think he would be in his mid 70's now. If he is I have possibly doxxed myself.

 

[plastikdreams]

Everyone belongs here if they are willing to learn...a lot of the older members have stopped willing to learn or teach and would rather piss and moan about things that they don't even have to look at.