How have you 'evolved'?

[Gerbilsquasher]

I am interested in this, because it confronts me often.

I still have some stuff that I made 10 or 20 years ago. I look at it and I think, what kind of butcher made this? Burrs, not square, crappy welds, compromise, lack of knowledge, or just bloody amateur-looking.

Then I realise the butcher was ..... me!

There is this joke that goes something like "the older you get, the better you were."

I disagree. I think that the older you get, especially the members of this forum, the majority want to get better at the things they do.

When I was younger I might have got more done- and while I looked busy, I did make a lot of crap. I get less done now, but it is of a much higher quality.

Thoughts?

[BobL]

My initial expectations when I made anything were high and I usually failed to get anywhere near what I was expecting.

I don't know whether its because my expectations are getting more realistic or maybe all that futzing around is finally starting to pay off but lately I feel a bit more comfortable with what I'm making and a couple of things have even exceeded my expectations.

I think a couple of big difference have been deliberately taking the time to plan and set things up before commencing a project. I used to attend heaps of meetings at work and used to fall asleep if I didn't do something so I used to do some other work or planning projects and all that time for planning certainly made things better than worse Now I don't have so many meetings to attend at work but my skill level has improved to the point where I can wing it a bit more than before. I still get it wrong many more times than not. I guess we never stop learning.

[Bryan]

Patience. Focus. Perspective. The usual I guess.

[.RC.]

I have most cxertainly moved up the food chain since I started..... I started as mere apprentice stufferupperer and and now well on my way to become master stufferupperer..

[toolman49]

G'Day Fellas,
In years gone by I was certainly responsible for my share of butt ugly monstrosities, but over time I have become more patient and more willing to junk a part and start again to achieve what I wanted. Also with age came a small amount of financial freedom, which allows better machinery, tooling and measuring gear, but when all else fails a heavy coat of paint performs miracles
Regards.
Martin.

[BobL]

I have most cxertainly moved up the food chain since I started..... I started as mere apprentice stufferupperer and and now well on my way to become master stufferupperer..

One of my first jobs as a 14 year old was as a toy koala bear stuffer. In some ways nothing much has changed. More often than not I feel like the toy koala.

[simonl]

I grew up in an environment where Dad fixed everything and made everything. He had his own tool shed and lots of tools. As a fitter and Turner he would often take stuff to work and do a little bit every day in his lunch time until the project was finished and then bring it home to show us. He was building a yaught at the time and many fixings for it were made in this way. Of course I would help myself to his tools and make my own stuff as a kid, (much to his frustration when he would find his tools left in the rain, if he found them as all!)

After moving out of home I had nothing for quite a while, in fact I was too busy with other stuff to persue any further interest in this area. 15 years ago I was given an arc welder. I self taught myslef some basic welding and bought an angle grinder. For quite a while my metal work revolved around cutting, welding and grinding. It was during this time that I scrounged some materials and welded up my first project, my work bench. The frame was from angle iron from bed frames on the naturestrip. The top was a fire rated door and the surround was made from Oregon skirting board that had been ripped out from the building I worked at when it got renovated. It was built in 1908, the drawers were made from a workmates baltic pine floor boards that he had thrown out.

I was very happy with the finished project (it took me months!) at the time. When I look at it now I see welds that look like a bunch of grapes and other rather rough and ready work. One leg is about 10mm shorter than the rest and requires a wedge of timber. It still sits in my shed and I still use it every day. I stands as a reminder to how much I have learnt, how far I have come and how many more tools I have!

Sorry to bore everyone!

Simon

[4-6-4]

Greetings chaps, Where are you living. When I was an apprentice Tramways Board in Melbourne you couldn,t keep me out of trade school I did press tools, Toolmaking, extra Heat treatment as well as a four year apprenticeship school at Collingwood Tech. After I joined the preservation movement first in trams then the team Tug Wattle and now in steam trains there is not many projects that I would not put my name on. This being the bench mark. Oh I also was a student at the RMIT Patten making and foundry school for 13 years. We kept on failing so we could use their machinery and casting facilities. I did work full time at the RMIT. The starting point to all this was age 14 prior to that I was too busy morning and night doing papers to earn a quid. no pocket money in my house. During the Tool making course I made a 5 inch Sine Bar that was within 2 tenths of a thou in length. So As far a work perhaps I ave been blessed there are heaps of blokes who take pride in their work past and present. I am one of them Yours 4-6-4

[welder]

I cant really say too much as my skills are in the evolution stage but I have always had a fascination with tools when I was 4 four I used to play with a broken angle grinder as a toy. When I was 10 I saw someone welding and decided I wanted to do that so I went to the library read al the books I could and with my dads help built a trailer for my ride on mower 7 years on and I have come a long way but haven't even scratched the surface.

[RayG]

Evolution...

The big step up for myself, was when my son Josh started to get involved in projects, we argue about how to do just about everything, and so I find that I have to justify a particular approach to a job everytime, the result is better quality, and better approach to details and finishing.

The other big step for me was seeing pictures of BT's projects, and consequently realizing there was a whole other level of finish and attention to detail that I was missing....

Posting a picture of something you've made on the forum, makes you take a little more care I think...

Soon I hope I'll get to pass the master hacker exams...

Regards
Ray

[morrisman]

Well

I am still " evolving " . I class myself as being beyond the total beginner stage, but I am very much still a novice . I had never used a lathe at all until 2 and 1/2 years ago .

The tricky part for me was and still is getting the tool angles correct . Tool geometry makes a big difference as I have found out

At least this forum is there as a backup The best part is , I don't have anybody looking over my shoulder and yelling ," thats the WRONG way " .

Mike

[Ropetangler]

Evolution...

The big step up for myself, was when my son Josh started to get involved in projects, we argue about how to do just about everything, and so I find that I have to justify a particular approach to a job everytime, the result is better quality, and better approach to details and finishing.

The other big step for me was seeing pictures of BT's projects, and consequently realizing there was a whole other level of finish and attention to detail that I was missing....

Posting a picture of something you've made on the forum, makes you take a little more care I think...

Soon I hope I'll get to pass the master hacker exams...

Regards
Ray

Hi Ray and All,
It is not just the attention to detail and the level of finish that BT achieves, (and you are no slouch in this area either Ray), but the quality of the photos of his projects also shines out. Just today I was looking at issue # 193 of MEW, and thinking that if BT had photographed the article on gear hobbing, I might have been able to see what the author was writing about much clearer, - no pun intended.
On another and unrelated note, I hope that you and Josh were able to accept Nick Muellers invitation to the metal casting barbie Ray. We are all looking forward to your full report. They sound like a great bunch.
Rob.

[jhovel]

My evolution has been from "function at any ugly look" to "what whould Bob do" in the past couple of years. There were of course quite a few steps in between....
Since I have no formal (related) trade training, I had to learn most of my skills by asking lots of impertinent questions of people who knew what they were doing - and still do
In the days before the Internet and forums such as this one, I often stopped what I was doing or where I was going if I saw someone doing something I wanted to learn - or use a machine I'd never seen in action before. That got me into trouble lots of times, but more often than not, the people I met like that have been most generouns in showing or teaching me - on occasions even offering to lend me their equipment!

As a side note:
When I was planning to build my first house in 1974, I used to go on nearby building sites to watch and learn (since I had no idea how Australian houses were built and the methods I'd seen growing up in Germany had pretty well no relevance here).
I also often offered to help for a few hours or a day - without pay - in exchange for learning.
Back in the '70s that was possible and often appreciated! Today that would cause the person to call the police - there would be so many laws offered to be broken in broad daylight
Cheers,
Joe

[Combustor]

Thank God for the internet and sites like this! Always had mechanical and technical interests, but not lots of natural aptitude. Got thrown in at the deep end of an earthmoving business in a remote area forty odd years ago, no engineering facility for a thousand miles, so had to acquire some skills very fast. Got together some basic workshop gear and burned a lot of midnight oil sharpening my skills with a lot of trial and error. Fortunately not all cable excavators are high precision devices so I survived until progress brought engineering services to the region. Finally got to retire from the game more recently, and retain much of the old fitting, turning, welding gear and tools I had acquired. Had more recently found and restored a few old engines, and now a tractor, so some new skills are much needed. It's just great that I can share the knowledge and experience that is so readily available on sites such as this and others.Just need to continue expanding my skills while I am not too feeble to apply them. Thanks everyone, Combustor.

Old iron in the Outback, Kimberley, WA.

[Bryan]

Had more recently found and restored a few old engines, and now a tractor,

Cool. Love to see some pics of those projects. (In a different thread.)