From: none@none.com99   
      
   On 7/10/2025 10:21 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:   
   > "David Billington"  wrote in message news:104oi4e$t596$1@dont-email.me...   
   >   
   > That brings back memories, I started machining on a South Bend lathe   
   > like that in Junior high when I was about 12 in the mid 1970s. Do they   
   > still allow kids to do that these days or are they too worried about   
   > them injuring themselves, I still have all my thumbs and fingers and   
   > none have needed to be reattached.   
   >   
   > ----------------------------   
   >   
   > AFAIK most/all of the school machine shops have been auctioned off and   
   > the space repurposed for 'more relevant' training. I went to some of the   
   > auctions and my lathe is from a trade school. There are still hands-on   
   > courses in auto mechanics, welding and woodworking that I know of or   
   > have attended in adult night classes. We learned how to use big sharp   
   > knives in cooking class, and I surprised my sister last Thanksgiving by   
   > knowing how to mince an onion to her satisfaction.   
   >   
   > The Jr High I attended had only a wood shop where the instructor's   
   > preference was to teach us to maintain and use hand tools to power tool   
   > precision. A friend's father was building a wooden sailboat and mine was   
   > restoring our old house so we had good reason to learn. I use it for on-   
   > site timber framing without electricity other than a solar-charged   
   > drill. A 400 Lb beam won't go to the saw, the saw must come to it,   
   > sometimes on a ladder.   
   >   
   > At a different Senior High the auto shop was the dumping ground for   
   > delinquents and I avoided it, instead I learned vehicle maintenance in   
   > the Army, the motor pool and the crafts shop garage, since I was on call   
   > for repairs to critical digital communications equipment and had to be   
   > able to drop whatever else I was doing.   
   >   
   > None of my fingers have been sewn back on, but I do have three teeth   
   > screwed to the jaw. The jaw bone was originally too thin so the oral   
   > surgeon grafted on ground bone from cadavers, hopefully fresh. It merges   
   > in the way a break repairs itself. They wouldn't grant my request for a   
   > square jaw like Superman. I can now deny responsibility for anything   
   > that comes out of my zombie mouth, or that I write here.   
   >   
      
      
   When my son was in high school there was only welding and auto   
   mechanics.  He setup and maintained their CNC plasma table while he was   
   there, and for a year after he graduated he would go back and help out.   
      
   The local community college sold off all their machine tools and bought   
   more welding equipment many years ago. but a few years ago a buddy of   
   mine got them back into machining, and they have some equipment again   
   including an old industrial size lathe I'd love to own.  The Community   
   college shares some lab space with the university, and they own one of   
   the three HAAS CNC Super Mini mills in the room.  The University owns   
   the other two and a TL1 CNC lathe along with a couple benches full of   
   HAAS CNC simulators.   
      
   When my buddy was setting things up there he felt me out about teaching   
   CNC machining, but it just didn't pay enough.  I probably couldn't teach   
   it cold, but if motivated I can still learn fast enough to keep ahead of   
   the students who can't teach themselves.   
      
   --   
   Bob La Londe   
   CNC Molds N Stuff   
      
   --   
   This email has been checked for viruses by AVG antivirus software.   
   www.avg.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)