Shop Time w/T.W. Friends

I was gonna git me one of them lectric vehicles but I can't find an extension cord long enough to git me to my huntin spots.

 

Hope you getchew one of dem Illinois giants soon

 

Thanks!!! It wont happen but I gotta try!!

 

Why you gotta poach deer from IL?

 

All the deer from Missouri taste like Copenhagen and Bud Lite...

 

Good evening friends. Six nights of 12.5 hours and now off for one
One helper finally showed up this morning and pretty sure one of the other 2 his badge is ready. The one guy Danny has been coming to help with our shutdowns for about 15 years, he's a great help and been with me on several routine and even oddball jobs over the years. I left him to be on days with the new guy because he's from O'Neil Nebraska and preference to day shift and his wife will come visit on his day off. This way the new guy can team with him and get experience.
I was told last night that the valve team isn't bringing in any machinist this outage and I had expected them to provide a couple one for each shift
This should be a interesting outage to say the least.
Left a easy job turnover for Danny this morning to fabricate 3 pins ~ 29" long 1.250" diameter turned on one end to 1" with 1"-8 threads and 7° taper on the other. These are for one of the two small turbines that drive feed pumps. Coming apart and going together the pins guide the parts so they banging around and damage internals. They must have lost 3 because they usually require 4
Hope everyone has been doing well.
Not sure what I'll do tonight; have a new wheel bearing and the other u-joint on daughter's Jeep axle, but so far I'm not feeling it
Maybe after a shower and cup of coffee

 

Might be about time to buy a lottery ticket!

The camera is running and viewable from campus. It looks like the Apollo moon landing right now but that should be remedied tomorrow morning.

 

I think schooling or no schooling, majority of knowledge is gained in the shop hands on anyways.
I bet the decision for your coworker was difficult for him to make but like you mentioned totally understood.
I started in a large production shop 30 years ago where there wasn't much concern for helping individuals advance and learn...just load the part and push the button, check dimensions. Then I went to night shift and learned set-up and first part run. Then moved on to a smaller shop and learned more got a little into programming. Then went to a larger factory that had apprentice machinist and got some schooling but primarily what was gained in that was the mathematical portion; trig/applied trig, geometry. That factory was all manual machines for repair of production equipment. Then the factory closed the doors and I went to work for millwright local and got hired on as machinist for power plant.
Back on the subject of my first job, they had two guys...geniuses who figured out programming and fixtures for jobs. So I understand the loss of that guy leaving but wish the best for him in his new endeavors.

 

Fixed it for you. I'm thinking you'll be working...

 

Not with his tenure and accrued time off...

 

"Working" in a tree.


Had two does slip past me at about 18 yds last night. They came out of some really thick stuff, no time for a shot, they were on a mission.

 

Thanks Tacotoe. The opportunities that will come from this will be awesome for sure. Just like the rest of my employment here, I'll take on whatever they throw at me and figure it out. I do have very good problem solving skills and I believe that has been part of the reason I've progressed so quickly here.. so I think that's why they are wanting to move me into that roll. I started here just 4 years ago with minimal machining knowledge.. mostly operator level stuff, but a knack for computer stuff and a passion for CAD/Design. I busted my butt and started at the bottom here, but quickly showed all the guys I wasn't playin around and wanted to learn and showed that initiative. They saw that.. and started giving me opportunities. Now I have my own cell with a 5 Axis and 3 Axis and do my own programming, setup, and run both of them. Left pretty much alone as they trust I will do the job, and do it correct with attention to detail. Pretty sweet gig honestly.. Hardly even have to answer to anyone. This new roll will put me into a higher tier for sure, more interactions, but more responsibilities and possibly less "fun". lol Regardless.. I'm looking forward to it and to add to my skillset.

The other guys around the shop have even started asking me "you ready to move up into the office and be the chief?" lol

 

"The other guys around the shop have even started asking me "you ready to move up into the office and be the chief?""

The fact that your co-workers say that to you after only 4 years shows that not only do they have confidence in you but that you have earned their respect.

 

I have a short on my YouTube channel of it driving by but I didn’t end up getting a ride. I’d like to some time!

 

Thanks RustyGreen, I really appreciate that. Especially being younger than some of the guys there. To be honest.. I still find myself asking "how did I get here", "can I really hang if I ended up going to another shop", etc.. as this shop has really been my only true shop experience, especially on the Programming/Engineering side of things. Luckily we're a job shop so I've gotten a ton of different experience over the years. My coworker who's leaving said the same thing to me today.. that with my skillet, I shouldnt be worried and that I should be confident. I'm just not.. probably because I just haven't been elsewhere or have anything to compare it/myself to. I just feel like an imposter sometimes.. or maybe I just ended up in the perfect situation with good people and need to be more confident in my abilities.

 

Keep up the nice work Josh, you can't fake attention to detail and you've got it.

 

"I should be confident. I'm just not.. probably because I just haven't been elsewhere or have anything to compare it/myself to."
^^^
Ask yourself: Are you getting good quality parts out the door, on time and on budget?"
If the answer is yes, you can take that anywhere.

"I just feel like an imposter sometimes.."
^^^
When young and gaining skills and experience it is common to feel that way, just about every one of us who "came up the hard way" can relate. You aren't alone.

The fact that you have impressed and earned the respect of your co-workers speaks volumes of both your abilities and your character.

It is important to never forget where you came from, always remember, give credit to and respect those senior guys who taught you. Those fellows saw something in you that made teaching you worth their time.

Never hesitate to go back out on the floor and ask for a word of advise from your mentors if you need to. It will show them that even though you have moved up you still value and respect them and their abilities.

 

I wish there were more people like you in the workforce! Especially to help mentor the younger workers coming in.

 

Thank you.

Jobs were scarce when I was starting out in industry, nobody wanted to help a new guy because they were viewed as a threat. It made for a crappy work environment.

When I got in a position of leadership I made it my goal to teach everything I knew to anybody who wanted to learn it, the ones who genuinely wanted to learn were both fun and satisfying.

One of my signature lines when teaching:
"I had to pay full retail for all of my lessons - pay attention and you don't have to."