The SoCal mudslides are bad news; I know they could have been far worse, but still…
Glad there’s some dry weather for at least eight days to get some clean-up done.
Roofing-related stuff certainly got hopping yesterday; I’d expect more of the same the next day or two. (Nothing big thus far, but we’ll see what happens once immediate issues are dealt with.)
Time to consolidate and organize our to-do list; whee!
Good morning, Fatwa. I hope you have a chance to catch up and I hope you and gentle Brenda are feeling better.
I found some machinist pr0n posted on one of the machinist forums I haunt. This is a “tour” of a lathe factory in 1943. I am not familiar with the brand and I think it is no more, not surprising given the very labor intensive methods used, even by that day’s standards. There is no way anyone could sell a lathe made that way today but what a joy it would be for me to own and use a machine made, inspected, and tested to those standards. I thought some Gerbils might find it interesting. It really grabbed me. There are six pages to click through.
CorporateToolK and I are improving; t’anks for your kind words.
I looked through that “machinist pr0n”; even though I don’t really understand what I was looking at except in the most general of terms. But it’s the sort of stuff which reminds me of the stupifyingly enormous accumulation of knowledge and skills which makes our modern civilization possible.
Glad you posted that link.
It’s quite mind-numbing to look back on the last fifty years of progress in the relatively small field of music / recording / audio technology (since I have a smattering of expertise / experience with that stuff). The relatively modest tools I can afford to own (which are quite marvelous) have advanced so fast, it beggars the imagination.
Even of a scifi / technology geek. 😉
(One of the things which pisses me off the most about my own mortality is all of the gee-whiz, cool developments which will -- presumably -- occur after I commence my dirt nap. Tarnation!!)
I do understand. That field seems to be in a sort of golden age. In machining I am afraid the state of the art has moved into computer controls (CNC) and the machines I love are fading away. New manufacturing tech has made it possible to produce good manual machines much cheaper than the old methods but there is simply not the market for the types of machines being made in the factory shown. What makes it even more amazing to me is that this was war time when the demand for all machine tools was unquenchable and even hobby type lathes were pressed into service to free up more industrial machines or because they were the only thing available, yet they are still building to the highest standards. I have worked on some old machines and they are incredible. With proper maintenance they are truly multi-lifetime machines and many old machines are still in service when their original operators are retired.
I hope the advancing tech puts really amazing tools in your hands while you can still enjoy them.
This is a similar project by Monarch from 1938. I did not find it as interesting but did look as I have worked on a big Monarch lathe. A real beast, massive, powerful, and accurate. A lot of these old machines still in service.
Happy Middle of teh Week Day, GN!
The SoCal mudslides are bad news; I know they could have been far worse, but still…
Glad there’s some dry weather for at least eight days to get some clean-up done.
Roofing-related stuff certainly got hopping yesterday; I’d expect more of the same the next day or two. (Nothing big thus far, but we’ll see what happens once immediate issues are dealt with.)
Time to consolidate and organize our to-do list; whee!
BBL.
Good morning, Fatwa. I hope you have a chance to catch up and I hope you and gentle Brenda are feeling better.
I found some machinist pr0n posted on one of the machinist forums I haunt. This is a “tour” of a lathe factory in 1943. I am not familiar with the brand and I think it is no more, not surprising given the very labor intensive methods used, even by that day’s standards. There is no way anyone could sell a lathe made that way today but what a joy it would be for me to own and use a machine made, inspected, and tested to those standards. I thought some Gerbils might find it interesting. It really grabbed me. There are six pages to click through.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/hendeyfactory/index.html
Hendey stopped making machines in 1962 and made parts until the 70s. They are still out there, not surprising given the quality.
Hai, Mac!
CorporateToolK and I are improving; t’anks for your kind words.
I looked through that “machinist pr0n”; even though I don’t really understand what I was looking at except in the most general of terms. But it’s the sort of stuff which reminds me of the stupifyingly enormous accumulation of knowledge and skills which makes our modern civilization possible.
Glad you posted that link.
It’s quite mind-numbing to look back on the last fifty years of progress in the relatively small field of music / recording / audio technology (since I have a smattering of expertise / experience with that stuff). The relatively modest tools I can afford to own (which are quite marvelous) have advanced so fast, it beggars the imagination.
Even of a scifi / technology geek. 😉
(One of the things which pisses me off the most about my own mortality is all of the gee-whiz, cool developments which will -- presumably -- occur after I commence my dirt nap. Tarnation!!)
I do understand. That field seems to be in a sort of golden age. In machining I am afraid the state of the art has moved into computer controls (CNC) and the machines I love are fading away. New manufacturing tech has made it possible to produce good manual machines much cheaper than the old methods but there is simply not the market for the types of machines being made in the factory shown. What makes it even more amazing to me is that this was war time when the demand for all machine tools was unquenchable and even hobby type lathes were pressed into service to free up more industrial machines or because they were the only thing available, yet they are still building to the highest standards. I have worked on some old machines and they are incredible. With proper maintenance they are truly multi-lifetime machines and many old machines are still in service when their original operators are retired.
I hope the advancing tech puts really amazing tools in your hands while you can still enjoy them.
Happy Wednesday, Gerbil Nation!
Good morning, Fatwa, and Mac!
I’ve been wandering around the link Mac sent -- fascinating! Thanks, Mac!
I thought you might find it interesting with the engineering in your background. I just found many of those pictures jaw dropping and very humbling.
This is a similar project by Monarch from 1938. I did not find it as interesting but did look as I have worked on a big Monarch lathe. A real beast, massive, powerful, and accurate. A lot of these old machines still in service.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/monarch-lathe-features/index.html