OT - Basic Skills in Today's World

Maybe they have a basement?

Reply to
Bonehenge
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I have to mildly disagree with the originaly sentiment. I go to garage sales often, and I do see many garages with tools and machinery. Just recently I bought a huge kiln from such a garage (resold for 8x what I paid), or a big shop compressor (which I kept), etc. There are people out there with interesting stuff, although they are a clear minority.

Just today I saw someone selling 1-2-3 blocks, machinist vise etc. (he wanted too much for his stuff, e.g., $35 for a 1 hp motor with bad bearings)

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Reply to
Ignoramus8770

We're in Oklahoma. VERY few basements because of the water table. Definitely none in the neighborhoods I referred to. Respectfully, Ron Moore

Reply to
Ron Moore

True, there are some bastions of creativity out there still. Not many in this area. Mostly I see a benchtop drill press, a plastic table saw and a few hand tools. Maybe an RAS. Nothing wrong with this picture if it's being used. Too many times around here, it's either brand new (and been that way for a while) or hasn't been used for many years. Maybe we just don't take time to use the tools we have available. Too hot, too tired, two jobs, etc. It's true, there out there. Just not that often. In other parts of the country, machinery is much more prevalent. Respectfully, Ron Moore Oklahoma

Reply to
Ron Moore

Where I'm at right now, we do have that type of assembly work and yes, it is quite lucrative but very boring work. Our requirements are not nearly so high for that job for a couple of reasons. As you pointed out, the higher IQ individuals are not willing to do such a job and, of course, the job doesn't require it. Yes, people like that are very important. Unfortunately, getting the higher management to see that is proving difficult. Day before yesterday was the last day for our spring winder. He found an assembly job with another company making a few dollars an hour more. My thought is that there are no unimportant jobs. If a job was unimportant, why would anybody pay you to do it? You can't have a top without a bottom. Without a solid foundation, the top will collapse.

Reply to
CW

don't blame the home builder...blame the home buyer.Builders build what sells.If workshops were a priority for most people most homes would have them.

Reply to
digitalmaster

I believe the most important skill to teach is problem solving and research skills.With these 2 skills a person can learn anything.You cannot instill in a person all the knowledge they will need,No 2 people have the need for all the same knowledge.I guess the best way to put it is like my old drill sergeant said...."adapt and overcome".We must teach our children to "adapt and overcome" problems and challenges.

Reply to
digitalmaster

I have an excellent book I got in trade school called "Mathematics for the trades".It puts every problem in real world terms.For example how many pieces 27 inches long can be cut from a 20 foot length of bar? This book really makes a huge difference in how I understood mathematics.

Reply to
digitalmaster

Wish I still had the one I had in school. It was along the same line but was machine shop specific. Published in the thirties, I believe. The school had it reprinted for them. The best of it's kind I've seen. Technology has changed but math hasn't.

Reply to
CW

Now that was clever. Your son was lucky to have someone to teach him.

Lucky you. My son was always willing to share with me. TMI. Sue

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Reply to
Sue

A miracle! We agree on something. Great.

-- Robert Sturgeon Summum ius summa inuria.

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Reply to
Robert Sturgeon

?

-- Robert Sturgeon Summum ius summa inuria.

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Reply to
Robert Sturgeon

I used to be a supervisor at a shop building custom bakery equipment.We had a little test to see if someone could read a tape measure.Out of 12 high school graduate applicants only 2 could find 1/4 on the tape measure.

Reply to
digitalmaster

Of course, someone will mention that they might have a workshop in the basement, but it makes me think of the house forsale ads that I read on occasion. Almost all of them advertise completely finished basements with a nanny suite or an inlaw apartment. Never have I seen mention of a house with workshop space in the basement.

Should I buy a house one of these days, I'm going to have trouble finding what I want because I'll be looking for a house with an unfinished or partially finished basement, naturally for a workshop.

Reply to
Upscale

I think the reverse is true. Technological advancement gives a society options, redundancies, flexibility and the ability to assess and remediate problems.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff McCann

I know I'm spoiled, but all that is in the shop. My wife tells me "if the cars need repair, take them to the shop where they belong for repairs and get them out of my garage".

I seem to be in a strange neighborhood. The guy across the street and my neighbor both have a stand alone shop. There aren't many others however.

John

Reply to
jw

That's not entirely true. The builder can build the house cheaper with a plain two car garage. How many people actually only store only their cars in their garages?

Reply to
Leon

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

The working people and scientists put all of the marketing people, telephone sanitizers and their ilk on the "B Ark", because "a catastrophy was going to destroy the planet", and launched them all out into space... (and the remaining 2/3 of the population stayed on the planet, because no such disaster was imminent ;)

Retief

Reply to
Retief

And home owner associations that forbid you from even leaving your garage door open for more than 30 minutes.

A house in most new developments is no longer a home..but a place to sleep, and park your fat ass in front of the TV

Gunner

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"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Reply to
Gunner

Im a CNC machine tool repair guy. I front for a couple manufactures, do repair of their machines, do infrastructure repair (air/electical etc etc) and there are two types of "machinist".

  1. Actually involved in setting up and performing operations, able to do design and determine if the machine is optimal etc etc
  2. Button pushers. Somone who loads parts, pushes a button, takes measurements, maybe changes offsets, but basically a human parts loader.

#1 is very very hard to find #2 is very very easy to find, and in Southern California..is nearly 50% female, with many learning to be rated in Catagory #1

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Reply to
Gunner

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