Great gloat, Karl. Thanks for sharing.

Bob Swinney
"Karl Townsend" remove .NOT to reply wrote
in message nk.net...
"The Kid" is a born natural machinist. He began by making parts with a
file hacksaw and drill before kindergarten. Before he was a teen he could
hold tight tolerance on my clapped out Bridgeport. He took the post
secondary option and got a degree as a machinist and graduated high school
at the same time. From 16 on, he worked as a welder and machinist after
school.

He took a job running a CNC mill at a local machine shop. After about 9
months he made a statement that shocked the hell out of me, "Those guys in
the office make more money and don't work as hard". So, he's back to
school for two years to get a CAD/CAM degree. Worked second shift the
whole time making tight tolerance medical parts.

He graduated this spring and took a job as cost estimator for a solid
local company known for their ability to manufacture extremely large
items. If you need a part the size of a rail car, they can make it if you
can hold the weight below 40,000 lbs. It was immediately apparent that
there was a real vacuum for CNC programming, fixture design and setup so
he moved into that job half time.

Over the last couple weeks he's been working with the company president
identifying what equipment they need to bring the parts currently being
farmed out back in house. They made a field trip together and are about to
finalize purchase of two new four axis machines and a very large lathe.

Last night's discussion was on man power. They will be hiring two new
machinists. The president ended the day by saying he needs a smart young
man to head up the new department.

Karl