New Job

I finally graduated form the machinist program at The National Tooling and machining Association program last Friday. It was a long but quick program in which I had a ton of information dumped on me. So for the last week I have been looking for a job in the field. I just got a call to day that a company in Temecula Ca has offered me a job to start Monday. It will most likely be a machinist helper position to start out to transition into CNC operator on the second shift. So out of the frying pan and in to the fire. We will see if I actually learned any thing in the last seven months.

CNC Code

So I am 4/5 done with machining school and we are learning to write CNC code. Now there are several programs to aid in the writing of CNC programs, but we are learning it raw. It’s almost like programming a computer in DOS. I really like it there is a lot of thinking and math but I could see doing it for a while. I took some video on my phone of some of the programs I wrote in action but the format the video was taken in I can’t post or get to convert properly. Ill try to post the code so you can see what it looks like at some point and maybe a picture of what it made. Right now we are just using pen and paper to learn the basics of programming. So we load the code and put a pen in the CNC and it draws what we wrote. I can wait to get out in the field and hopefully I find companies that will help me advance in to programming full time.

Nut and bolt

This is the nut and bolt project we did in class. We learned about using a parting Head on the mill and creating an interior thread Wichita was trying to the patience. And to make it worse the instructor told us that is very rearly done any more that you mostly use taps.

Tramimg gauge

Here is my latest project, because traming the mill is such pain with the tool they gave us in class. All you have to do is set both dial the same on the same spot and ajust till they read the same. Time saver. Total cost for the gauges $20 and time and materal which the school provided. Now I have to get caught up on the asigned projects.

Rewards for exelence

For reward for a 4.0 and perfect attendace I got a niffty grey hat. So all shall look at me and go "wow there is a fella who is serious about his education."

School update

They just posted the attendance and grades. So far I have an 4.0 perfect attendce.

Mod 1 final project

For our final project of mod 1 we got a slightly more involved set of plans for a set of parallels that we will be able to use in the feild. A parallel fits into a vice to raise your work and keep it level. We used the mill in class and they took severel steps. I really enjoyed making them.

Our first lathe project

Here is our first project on the lathe with aluminum. I got it all down to spec, it took a minute to get down but I think I got the hang of it now.

New start

I started my classes at NTMA today as I am studing to be a machinist. It was a little over welming, but I think it will be a great class. Lots of this math I avoided all throughout high school now I am getting a crash course. It seems like I a so got a good instructor, he seem very straight forward and not very whats the word I want here? What is the word for not making it harder then it needs to be? Basics, fundamental, or maybe simlified. Today was just an oriantation to the class and what we will be learning. I already have my home work done and am ready for tommrow.

My change is going to come!

Things have been a little rocky lately; I lost my job at the end of November. So money has been a little tight. The Cressida that I sold went to the rent instead of my track car like I had planed. But I have been working here and there and I have an interview Monday.

But that’s not the point of this post. As you may or may not know I work as a Lab Assistant, I have been doing this for about 10 years off and on. It is a job that I just kind of fell into; a guy said go take this class and I’ll give you a job. But its not something that I really have a passion for and I am getting to where I want to make some changes. This brings me to the point, as of January 17, 2012 I will be starting my schooling as a Machinist. I will be attending NTMA a not for profit trade school in Ontario California.

I have always enjoyed working with my hands and making things, and due the complete shortage of aftermarket parts for older Toyotas I think this is the change. After my training and gainful (and again I state Gainful) employment I will start working on a line of after market parts for the vintage Toyota fans. Ill keep you posted.