"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