"Eric R Snow" wrote in message
...
Robin,
I'm not hung up about my title. It just seemed to me that the OP was
denigrating machinists as if what he did made him better.

I have found this mentality to be common in industry, although I haven't
been to very many shops.

The kicker is that while a toolmaker can typically do what a machinist can,
albeit not as quickly, a machinist can seldom do what a toolmaker can.

For example, I can setup, program (manually or using CAM) and run CNC
machines and make good parts. I can't do it really quickly but ultimately I
can get a good part. I believe none of the machinists at work have any clue
about die assembly or tryout - if they did, they'd be toolmakers. Indeed
calling a toolmaker a machinist is typically considered an insult.

Now my perspective is in the eyes of die work. Jigs and fixtures sound
ultimately more "numbers" based as opposed to experience and intuition, but
I could be completely wrong as I have built very few, and only very simple
jigs and fixtures. Nothing like inspection fixtures, high-production
fixtures, or tooling for automated assembly.

YMMV.

Regards,

Robin