Mid-Maine Technical Center's Precision Machining Lab

Took some picture of my favorite classroom today!

Ten lathes (Two ooold LeBlondes dont really see any use. Three Nardini's,
some grey ones whose brand escapes me)

Ten Milling Machines (6 WWII era Bridgeports, two Sharps, two Acras)

Kalamazoo horizontal band saw

DoAll Vertical band saw

Three bench grinders

Rockford belt sander

Plasma cutter

Oxy Torch

ThermalArc TIG welder (My favorite thing to use. HF Al welding is fun stuff)

Miller Stick, Hobart Stickmate

ESAB MIG set up


I spend two hours here everyday, sometimes in the class room but usually running parts or messing around with a welder. Feel free to ask any questions!

More pictures, especially the leblondes

Ill snap more tomorrow!

That's pretty cool, I like seeing all those lathes lined up like that. It Makes me think, that's what it must have been like in the " old days"

There's a machine shop in town here that is housed in a big old block building with 15'-20' walls, low lighting, dirty floors, with a American pacemaker, a big 20" model X and some other old manual lathes and mills.

When you walk in one of the first things you see is the big model X and men diligently laboring over the machines and On the other side of the building there are arc flashes on the walls, smoke from the welders and the sound of welders and hammers. I don't know what it is about it but, I love walking in there. It brings me to a time I have no experience with and can only imagine.

The local tech school here also has those same Nardini's. They seem to be a popular choice for the tech schools eh?

Andy221, check your lineage, it may be genetic encoding. My first exposure to a large machine shop at nine years of age was akin to arriving home after a long journey away. The smell, sounds and sights all new yet so familiar it was a wonderfully strange experience.

I learned later my grandfather was a loom mechanic immigrated from Quebec to Fall River Massachusetts and my uncle a machinist.

I'm very happy to see the craft is being taught, we need more!