Off-Topic This is what I do.

[JeffC]

I don't work in the printing industry, but I am an Industrial Mechanic, or Millwright. These guys call themselves Machinists, the skilled trades are accredited very differently in the United States compared to Canada. I have worked in heavy industrial environments since I was 18 years old. The skill and pride these guys show, and their experience is the same as mine. It is not glamorous work that is hard, dangerous, and dirty, but I have never been out of work, and I make a good living for my family

I would think the sense of accomplishment I get from my job, is like that of a trainer or therapist helping a client change their lives, and fixing their disfunctions. Just like I would troubleshoot, fabricate, repair, and maintain machines. I look at exercise much of he same way, we are much like machines.

 

[Steve Freides]

@Geoff Chafe, thank you for posting that video - I really enjoyed watching it.

I bought an old, non-running Volkswagen Beetle from a neighbor for $100 when I was about 19, and the next thing I knew, the guy where I bought my parts offered me a full-time job as a mechanic. I had just swapped the motor out of one VW and into another in 4 hours, completely by myself, using only two scissors jacks. My life certainly would have been different had I gone in that direction, but I had, I have, and I always will have great respect for skill and pride of people who fix things.

Funny, but I tried my hand at carpentry when I was in college - I worked in the scene shop of the music department, making sets for operas - but I turned out to be awful at woodworking. It seems metal and I got along good, though.

Thanks again. I'm a big fan of the NY Times so that was doubly fun for me to watch.

-S-

 

[Tarzan]

I've spent most of my life doing stuff like that too Geoff. In Australia we call those trades fitter/machinists or fitter mechanics.

I always used to get a lot of work because I was one of the rare few small and strong/stupid enough to do a lot of jobs. Being smaller than a lot of blokes I was often the only person that could fit into some spaces and have the strength to be able to do the job.

It was dirty, dark, dangerous and heavy hard work.

It seems like a past life now, Australia has been almost completely de-industrialised and most of the work has gone.

 

[offwidth]

@Tarzan ... nice to see you back

 

[JeffC]

@Steve Freides You are a musician, I have great respect for your skill, and dedication. I have no rhythm, or musical inclination. My wife and I go to the fantastic Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra a handful of times a year, and it is mesmerizing. I am not a classical music aficionado, but I don't need to be to thoughly enjoy it, and as a bonus, if I am getting dressed up, I am eating somewhere very expensive.

I liken my skills as a tradesman to you as a musician. We study, and train our craft to be the most successful we can be. We buy the best tools and equipment we can afford. We seek out mentorship to gain the knowledge and wisdom they have earned, and we pass our skills onto others. If we do not pass on our knowledge to the next generation it is all for not.

 

[JeffC]

@Tarzan I was in the Queensland area a few years ago working in the natural gas industry. I was there to train and consult. I think most of the work has dried up in the area now. What a fantastic experience though.

 

[Darren Best]

I'm not sure why these guys are calling themselves machinists, they are more millwright than machinist.

I worked in a sawmill for 13 years, spent 8 of those as a saw filer. I very nearly did become a millwright, in fact I spent one night with the guys on graveyard as a test run to see if I would like the job and disliked the boss and ended up becoming a filer instead.

I am one week away from completing my first semester learning to be a machinist. First year I am learning to use manual lathes and knee mills, the math required for the trade and blueprint reading.

Second year is learning to run CNC lathes and mills.

Our modern world would not exist without machinists, millwrights and mechanics. They literally keep the world as we know it running. The skilled trades are experience a crisis in the fact that not enough young people are learning them and the older guys are retiring.

 

[Tarzan]

Yeah I moved into the consultation & training myself Geoff.

I got sick of having to carry 80lb tool bag up and down endless flights of steps. When I was a fitter I was expected to have a tool on me to fix anything anytime. I was also expected to know how any machine worked when I'd never seen it or its blueprints before.

 

[Tarzan]

@Darren Best

I'm not sure about the roles in the US but in Australia you have to be jack of all trades. Spare parts often don't exist for many things, so they have to be machined by the fitter/machinist as needed.

 

[offwidth]

I work with machinists, millwrights, fitters, and similar on a daily basis. I have done so for the past almost 40 years now. In the U.K., Canada, United States, and Mexico. And I see the same thing... It sure isn't what it used to be. It's maybe generalizing a bit (and I know of some exceptions) but a lot of the people today can't hold a candle to those of even only a few years ago. Darren is spot on about the older guys retiring and not being enough younger folks coming into (or being properly trained) in the trades.
We have a heck of a time finding any tradesmen let alone skilled ones. I have the upmost respect for guys like Tarzan and Geoff. And my hat goes off to Darren for venturing into this world.

 

[JeffC]

The trades a have a stigma to people of the instant gratification, and helicopter parenting generation. I am a boarderline Millennial(1981) but I never did really connect with my peers.

Journeyman Tradespeople make very good money, especially in the oil and gas industry. Young people want it all now, and are not willing to put in the work, and pay their dues. It's hard to find good young people, and when you do they think the grass is greener somewhere else, and they move on. Sooner or later they find out the same things go on everywhere. It makes it difficult to help them because they do not respect it, and you feel like you are wasting your time.

I blame it on Internet porn and violent video games.

 

[offwidth]

Young people want it all now, and are not willing to put in the work, and pay their dues. It's hard to find good young people, and when you do they think the grass is greener somewhere else, and they more on.

Yep!

 

[offwidth]

And... we see that in fitness today also. Everyone wants that magic routine... 'six minute abs'. People don't want to pay their dues and put in their time for this either. (Present company excluded of course)

 

[Darren Best]

I am the oldest guy in the class of 20, half of the students are the same age as my two sons.

But I am having fun learning a new trade.

I agree, few people want to invest the time and sweat to earn anything anymore, it doesn't matter if it's weight loss, strength gains, building muscle or learning something new, everyone wants it all yesterday with minimal effort.

 

[Strong Rick]

We have a heck of a time finding any tradesmen let alone skilled ones. I have the upmost respect for guys like Tarzan and Geoff. And my hat goes off to Darren for venturing into this world.

I fight this every day! and struggle to find young guys to train... they all want to sit behind a computer and type....
when i show hem they can make cool stuff using CAM software or CNC machines they get interested but dont want to spend any time learning.
they feel they should jump right in and start working on jobs that we bill out in the six figures range!
@Geoff Chafe _ i don't work in the printing industry but I manage a machine shop that has 35 "machinest" we build mold componets for the plastic injection mold industry.
Anything made from plastic is made from a mold. We make the molds..... form anything surgical right down the plastic toys.
you name it we can build a mold to produce the part. I understand what it take to do this and we work in .0002 of an inch all day long!
I understand the pride you take in it and you should!

 

[Harald Motz]

interesting topic...

my learned occupation is "industrial mechanic".
I learned in a little company who produce food cutting machines for bread and meat based on V2A. I learned drilling, grinding, welding, milling, lathing, assembling, pneumatics...

I worked two years in installation of entrance doors, room doors, windows, floor, ceiling, more in the carpentry direction,

two years in a steel foundry, where I hammered and pressed tons of red glowing steel (ranging from a pound to almost 2000 pounds) in three shifts. Hot, loud, dirty, quite volcanic...

I pressed steel buffers for the railway industry and as a welder (welding by itself is really cool stuff, as you can wed steel in any compilation, and you know already while welding, if the weld seam is good or not).

I worked for a company, who produce complex plants, that produce plastic windows and doors out of different profiles of plastic bars through cutting and welding the corners together. That is a concert of meticulous mechanics, pneumatics, electronics, control engineering, software.

I worked for a company, which are really big into producing asphalt milling machines, that mills the old asphalt via big turning rollers on which many boxes are welded on, in each of sits a durable chisel, which attacks the asphalt. I welded the big rollers one seam with MAG and the rest in up to seven layers on a UP welding station with up to 700 Ampere. Very monotone.

Since two months I work for a company, which are big into producing toothbrushes (@Strong Rick ) in a machine shop, whole day of marking, measuring, drilling, pneumatics, screwing, milling and unscrewing, tinkering, a lot of variety, time flies by.
Thee company has up to 50 plants of production lines for toothbrushes of all kinds. Very complex, how a "simple toothbrush" is produced. Times, when hog hair was used, are gone.

The computerized technology changed work in the last years. good for the consuming society but maybe not so good for the individual "at work".

In Germany there is a Term "Fachidiot" could be translated with "specialized idiot", but they are paid well for a reason...

The human being is just the most clever animal on earth. What they can do, invent, produce, build is more than astonishing and horrible at the same time.

 

[Strong Rick]

this is just a snap shot of our shop floor. 30,000 sq feet of machine shop.... it is awesome!
@Harald Motz @Geoff Chafe @Darren Best @Tarzan@offwidth

 

[Strong Rick]

this is our Inspection department

 

[Strong Rick]

these are the kinds of parts we make.... most of them make caps for bottles of laundry container tops. but there are some medical parts in there as well.

all of those parts are held +/-.0002 of inch from each other.... talk about stress!
most people don't understand a ruler and simple measurement...
now tell them to take a piece of there hair and cut it length wise 2x's and each strand in .001 of an inch
then take one of the strands and cut it 9 more time length wise and that is .0001 of an inch...
we work in that all day, every day!

 

[elli]

Wow...this is what you do. Interesting to compare what you acgually do and what I was thinking you could do.
I like guessing what someone does for living.