Screwed by school

[Todd]

Hey guys, I got a letter yesterday from the school I was planning to attend this fall. It seems as though they have changed the way the machining program works. Within the last year they developed a manual machinist certificate which would be great since I have a small lathe and want to get a small mill. Now they are getting rid of the credit based system and going to an hours based. On the surface this looks good. Except it now costs more to attend and is not eligible for financial aid. 2K on 2 lathe classes when the certificate course would have been 10 classes and not quite 3K.
Guess its time to read up and make chips, gonna have to teach myself.

 

[RexRod]

Hi Todd,

For that kind of money, you can get your hands on a used milling machine and some tooling. I vote you teach yourself.

I'm not knocking down taking coursework to learn how to do this. But after saying that, in the 30 plus years I've been cranking handles in some pretty nice shops, I have never met a good machinist that went to school to learn how to be one. And, the younglings that I have meet that came out of the Votech programs all quit. Interest is 99% of the way there.

David

 

[rooster57]

Most tech schools dont carry any weight at all with the industry any more. Number one check the reputation of the instructor, If he isnt respected in the local shops your double screwed no job and your out the bucks to attend. Most machine shop Job shops dont want to train nor do they want some one right out of tech school. I would say find a company and show them what your made of , some companys will reimberse you after course completion. Learning on a man mill or lathe is a waste of time if you want to run a 2-5 axis machine. I know i am gona get torched by most of these guys but that sadly is the industry today . Hit the ground running or get out. Its all about how many parts are in the done basket at the end of the day.

 

[Todd]

This wasn't for career advancement. Just looking to get a good base of knowledge for the lathe I bought and the mill i want. Just figured if I could save a few dumb moves it might worth it.

 

[Bill Pedersen]

Hi Todd,
Since you already have a lathe, I agree with RexRod. If you need some guidance, Precision Measurement out of San Antonio, has a 5 DVD instructional set called "Lathe Learnin". It is kind of a homemade video setup, but it has a tremendous amount of information. I have been using a lathe for over 30 years and still learned enough to make it worth the money. The owner of the company is a car guy. He has a booth every year at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show. They also have a similar set for using a Mill.
Bill

 

[rooster57]

Sorry i thought you were tring to get into the machine shop industry. Todd i will check with our application dept and see if they have anything on CD for man mills and lathes. If they do i will make u a copy and let u know.

 

[estesken]

Hi Todd, Sorry to hear about your situation. Im not sure from your post If you want change your occupation to machinist or do it as a hobby. I think a lot of vocational programs are going to be in jeopardy. These type of programs a expensive to operate and maintain. There also has to be a market for students to find work afterwards. These are challenging times and I do not see it getting better soon. If that program doesnt qualify for pell or aid it will not be around long. I do believe with todays access to information, a person can learn almost anything. The best any school can do is facilitate efficient learning process, expose students to different operations, motivate and help a student get their first job. This is when the real learning takes place because lost time and mistakes cost money. No school can be better than the student being trained. Experience is the best training.but its not the most efficient. We are all going to school, Its just some of us went to the school of hard knocks. Interest is important, however I think work ethic is more important. We are about the same age so Im guessing you arent thinking about a career change and just wanting to learn more and increase your abilities.
Screwed by school is strong comment and Im not convinced its merited. I have seen schools do some stupid stuff over the years. Ive had to do some things I didnt like and had to do some things that make any sense to me, but my best guest is the program in question is simply trying to survive. Things and programs change but dont let that stop you. You can learn to do anything. It just a question of time and dedication.

 

[Todd]

Thanks Rooster! I found what Bill was talking about, looks like a good investment.

 

[Todd]

Screwed by school is strong comment and Im not convinced its merited.

I just meant, they took my application fee and then pulled the rug out. Kinda feels like I got screwed.

 

[B.C.]

I'm a tradesman. I believe in apprenticeships, a Journeyman and then on to being a Master of your trade. And by the way a true master never stops learning.
I'm pumped we have never done our own in house machine work we work with a local shop. But with the price of used equipment where it's at I couldn't help but buy a mill and I'm looking for a lathe. We will still send our production work out but I plan on playing with the new stuff till I figure out the basics and like any good stubborn guy if I can't figure it out I will ask someone that knows.
P.S. School vs. experience in a shop. Experience wins every time in an interview with me..

 

[rooster57]

BC the used market is flooded right now. BUT beware some mfg have gone out of buisness and parts will no longer be available. Some are on the rocks and the future doesnt look good.The safest 3 are Mori Seiki , Mazak, Okuma, All korean made machine tools are clones of the previous mentioned 3. This is a product that having an inspection is very important. I know several guys who bought a mill on ebay only to find it needed a 15.000 dollar spindle. Or a 10.000 dollar amp. If you find something call me and i would be glad to offer an independent opinion at no cost.

 

[B.C.]

Rooster, Thanks! I got an old Bridgeport with a Tree head every thing on it is tight and smooth. Only gave $800 for it. No CNC stuff yet. I just wanted something to tinker around with on prototype stuff. I'll stick to the pro's at I.M.S. here in Mountain Home to do our production machine work. "The Barron" owns the place and we are building his 2nd car a Hemi powered A coup + he does great work.
I am looking for a lathe so I'll post for your opinion if I find something. Thanks again for your offer.

 

[jbisme]

Mazak is the Apple of machines. They're okay to run, but like just like Apple isn't a PC, Mazatrol isn't a Fanuc. Give me a Makino with a pro 3 or a pro 5 any day. Seriously, if you have a Makino, give it to me.:lol: