just ranting and jabbering

[itowbig]

well here it goes so let them fall where they may.
i was reading a post a while ago and it really pissed me off but good.

we (at least i do) have this (hobby) as something to kill my free time and tickle my brain (whats left of it)
so any who some of us have mounds of dollars to throw at this hobby and some of us just have to do whatever we can to get
enjoyment out of what we can get by with. we (at least me) dont have the friggen diamond mind to pay for every darn device thats out there. I really dont like people that stand or sit there and just say why dont u go get the right dam tool for the job and quit meesing around trying to find a way to do the job at hand.
if you have that kinda friggen money then very good for u but i dont and i find it very insulting that u just think we can all just run down and buy this expensive tool . last time i looked my blood was red and im sure that everybodys blood is red so that means we are people
and we all have this red blood . i find that in my life time ive ran into many people whom have more than i and they just think there the king of the pile well i got a bit o news for ya when u die ur dead thats it u wont be back.
i do what i can to get by i have a mortage two kids and a wife what money i make at my job i have to get by with. its not much but
me and my family get by. i wish i could have all the nice toys in the world but that is never going to happen and i just have to get by. thats ok with me. im happy where im at it took me a long time to get to where im at im very proud and THANKFUL that i have what i do. first and formost my family will be first this is just a hobby not my job. i can see where it is some peoples job and yeh you can get the best tools for your trade. but u forget this is a hobby for most of us (at least me)
ok im done now u can shoot me with that home made tool or what ever u feel like im ok with that :big:

my name is sid and i do take donations of metals :big: :big: :big:

 

[gbritnell]

Hi Sid, I can't believe the post was on here. Most of the guys are pretty well down to earth. I have run into a few over the years but I just ignore them because the finished product is the name of the game. I personally have the basics of a machine shop, engine lathe, Enco mill, Sears bandsaw etc. and it gets me by quite nicely.
Anyway it's the Holiday season, don't take it so seriously, just do what you can with what you have and enjoy it like the other 97%.
gbritnell

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Hey Sid---Merry Christmas to you too!!! I'm not sure who rattled your chain, but we are all "making do" at some level. The rich guys "make do" at a different level than the "poor folks", but we still "make do". If you post something that looks unsafe or dangerous on this forum, you will be told about it. I know I have been. I don't think anybody is going to set you on fire for not having every special tool available to man.

 

[Cedge]

Sid...
The guy annoyed me too. Revisit the thread and you'll see what I mean.

Steve

 

[bentprop]

I know what you mean,Sid,but don't let it get you down.
Just because some people have more money doesn't necessarily make them any happier than you or me.I too have to look twice before I spend any shop-related money,and at this time of year,there isn't any left for my hobbies.
I pick up scraps wherever I can,and get just as much enjoyment,or maybe even more so,than the guys who can go out and order a thousand bucks worth of metal.
Don't forget that some people who have all the toys have worked long and hard to get them.
So i don't begrudge them their enjoyment of the hobby.
I hope you will feel a bit better now.Regards.Hans.

 

[GrahamC]

Hey Sid,

Seasons Greetings!

I am at a bit of a disadvantage as I don't know what thread to which Steve and yourself are referring.

It really doesn't matter. I hear you and have said the same things many times. You have to prioritize your life and set your standards and never let anyone chid you into compromising those standards.

Do what you can with what you have and take pride in that.

cheers, Graham

 

[Troutsqueezer]

When someone slams the Harbor Freight mill and lathe, that can be irritating. If it wasn't for HF I wouldn't even be in this hobby. Anyway, the stuff works. I'm not going to stop driving my car just because it isn't a BMW... :rant: I've noticed that more on other forums though. I know many of us have the same machines.

 

[Cedge]

I walked through my shop last night while everything was quiet. I lovingly wiped the dust off the freshly restored 1934 Monarch EE and admired the two immaculate Bridgeports, sitting there side by side. As I scanned the room, I took in a panorama that included a shaper, surface grinder, a 20 ton press and a huge bandsaw with auto feed. On the tables were all the smaller tools I've ever wanted, while the tool boxes were loaded with brand new top quality cutters, files, taps, dies and even extractors that really work.

Then I realized my bladder was a bout to burst and I woke up.

I went into my shop this morning and yup.... it was all gone. Replaced by the same chinese iron that was there yesterday and no room at all for the shaper or monster bandsaw. The files actually were there...but the cutters were still mostly resharpened casts off and that #$%@* broken tap extractor still doesn't work.

When it's a hobby you do exactly as almost all of us do. You do it on a tight budget and if that means making your own tools, you put your best efforts into it and go on. We scavenge metal, shop our tool dollars like a miser and we take pride in the fact that we didn't have to buy something we could make.

I'll never have room for the big iron of my dreams, but that's ok. We build marvelous things that others look at in awe, wonder and sometimes confusion. We do it with what we have. That ain't rich or poor... it's just what we do. I think that justifies a bit of pride and the odd "self high five". Never let anyone steal that feeling from you.

Steve

 

[don-tucker]

Surely,this is what makes model engineering fun,making do and mending,trying to adapt what ever you have to do the job,it is for me anyway,I love it ,pouring over this forum and asking questions, takes a while but I certainly get a buzz and a feeling of achievement after completing a project.And I've been at it for 60 years on and off.
Don

 

[joeby]

Part of being a machinist, hobby or career, is being proud of yourself for what you can do. Chances are, no one else will be. The trade itself has been knocked down to one of the least respected careers, it seems. Nobody seems to think that the "doing" part is worthwhile, only the end result, and throwing money at it will get you where you want to be (done) faster.

Makes me glad to see the work that gets posted here, it reminds me that not everyone thinks that way. The thread by Tom T (1886 Benz) is one example. Using your head is part of the fun. The end result, and being able to say "I made this out of someone else's junk" is part of it too.

I learned to make do with what I had, still am. I did end up buying some fairly expensive tools over the years, but nothing that I couldn't justify. A one-use tool is not justifiable to me, and I normally just make one "to get by" and it goes into the pile to be made into something else.

It's also a lot of fun, for me anyway, to be at someones house, garage, place of business, etc., and make something they need with what THEY have on hand.

Boils down to the fact that you can buy tools, skills you cannot.

Kevin

 

[shred]

Yeah, after a while it became pretty obvious that skilled builders don't need all the fancy toys to do good work. In fact I bet some of them do good work because they started with very little and really learned how to use it.

 

[rake60]

My very first running model engine was the McCabe Runner.
The only machine in my basement shop at that time was a drill press.
I documented that first build on my personal web page.
Model Steam Engine #1
I taught myself a lot about making do with what I had and much more
about the skills required for hand fitting.

In the early days of my machining career a foreman gave me a job
that I did not have all of the proper tooling to do. I pointed that
fact out to him. I will never forget his reply:
"We need machinists here not machine operators."
I learned a lot from that one spoken comment as well.

Now let's move back to the discussion of the hobby.

Rick

 

[websterz]

Sid...
The guy annoyed me too. Revisit the thread and you'll see what I mean.

Steve

What thread? Come on...we all want to go poke the troll... :big:

 

[rake60]

NO TROLLING!

Don't make me lock this thread.
Opinions have been heard and taken into consideration.
Please leave it at that and let's move on.

Rick

 

[chuck foster]

i have machines that are old junk and thats ok with me, i know guys that have all the best equipment and still can't make anything better than us poor folks.

chuck

 

[Deanofid]

Don't let it grind your gravel, Sid. You already know the important part;
Men make machines, not the other way 'round.

Dean