The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. All jobs are a balance of time, cost, performance, and risk. Balancing those is the job description of an engineer. Thanks for the video Keith.
Hi Keith I am a clockmaker and you are absolutely right about tolerance in making parts for a restoration jobs sometimes it needs to be a rattling good fit and room for oil. Love the channel keep up the good work 😊
Just for the sake of completeness, when using a new holder in this situation i would have spun the ground bar and used a dial gauge at the bottom to check for run out, but that is just me being paranoid about modern kit which is often from the east even with a reputable name etched on it. 😉
Thank you for addressing my comment in your previous video. I agree with your tolerance discussion-I was just noting that a big face mill really reveals even small tramming errors.
If you do ever adjust the other part of the universal head, I would consider using a machinist jack from the bed to the casting to provide support for the adjustment. It would also work a bit like the worm gears in other milling machines.
Agreed! It could be under the furthest out part. Put in the jack just touching, then measure the height to the bed, then loosen screws-if it drops ("nods") at all just use the screw jack to bring it back to the original height.
I was thinking the same thing, put it under the rod and turn it up or down. Also thought about loosing everything with the face mill installed and letting it sit flat on the table... then tighten everything down. Wonder how close thatd be...
I was thinking about you needing to tram in 5he head with those bronze blocks you squared up. But as you said in this video. It was set good enough for the task on hand. Absolutely enjoy your content. Your shop is a far of dream of mine to have. Loads of thanks, from New Zealand. Always learning from you
a big ole factory near me made shoe making machinery, actually they were the world's largest maker of such. At one time they made 85% of all shoe making or repairing machinery in the USA, the United Shoe Machinery Corp. A popular saying among the workers when it came to precision was, "It's good enough for shoes". Always look forward to your posts Keith!
There are an amazing number of people who have never done anything, never tried doing anything, and never will try anything, who nonetheless somehow know exactly what everyone else should do.
PERFECTION IS DEFINED BY THE INTENT OF THE CREATOR -END OF ARGUMENT. Keith, you just gave one of the very best lectures I have ever heard in 72 years on the definition of perfection. Bravo for you Sir. God himself called Job, a mortal man just like us, perfect. Art from Ohio
Your comments on the subject of "good-a-nuff" were spot on. As a retired machine shop supervisor this was a endless problem on both sides of the spectrum. We once had a job of building the "wishbone" for a three point hitch on a tractor implement. I knew I was in trouble when 7 Hrs. into a 2-1/2 Hrs. job I saw the machinist with a set of (very expensive) 36" dial calipers measuring a welding/fabrication job only needing a framing square and tape measure. Didn't make any money on that one! But it was dead nuts on. You have to use some judgment on what degree of accuracy is needed. Good job Keith! Keep it up buddy.
I remember thinking “what the hell, why didn’t he tram the head” on that job recently, and I saw a few comments on that point. Thanks for the explanation on “good enough.” It’s now obvious that you were entirely correct on that application. I’ve learned enough to be dangerous watching TH-cam machining content, but obviously the more I learn, the more I realize how much more there is to learn.
20:30 That hits home because as a computer programmer we also go into that rabbit hole, we sometimes spend so much time trying to make something perfect that it's not worth it. As you say sometimes it's just good enough.
Actually, it's always "just good enough" even if your best measuring tool shows it's dead on the numbers, because your best measuring tool was made to a tolerance, too. The machinist's skill and judgement comes into play in knowing the point at which chasing even more precision is pointless. I love to see the tools that Keith has accumulated over time - the Leaning Cylinder is a gem, and must have demanded some fantastic manufacturing.
Wouldn’t a point contact like that risk putting a dimple into the table? Plus the bearing could slip out. Why not just use a shim of wood? There should be enough friction to even do the adjustment by moving the table.
@@jamanjeval Actually, the guy I watched had a brass 'washer' on the table to prevent any marking from hardened ball. Point contact from ball makes lining up much easier for some reason but I don't remember why as I've never had to tram that type of mill
Keith, at 20:00 you speak about "good enough". I 100% agree with you. You match the effort to the required tolerances. Why would I hold a 0.0001 tolerance on a part that has a +/- 0.003 tolerance? time is money, and the extra effort and time it takes to get to that level of precision doesn't put $$$ in the bank. Braggin' rights don't put food on the table. Nice video!
Keith what you could do to fix the problem with the head wanting to swing as you explained it to drill a center in one end of the bar, then use a ball bearing under it and support it with the table. and raise and lower the table to tram it that direction. Thanks
Your absolutely right. I was making a part at work, the machinist was busy repairing something important with the chief mechanic. I thought the part was for that operation and was trying to hit all the marks of the dimensions. I later found out the part was for the welder and just needed to be in the close to the dimensions and welded onto something else and the machinist would finish machining it after. I could have roughly made the part into roughing stage and right shape and it would have worked better and easier. The machinist said if you don’t know ask. Thanks for sharing.
Interesting tramming technique, Keith. Seems very effective and fast. Going from precision tool and diemaker to outside machinist in shipbuilding called for a major mindset change. To be effective in any machining job you have to understand the real requirements for accuracy and not go beyond that.
We built five tankers 272.69 m (894' 7.8") in length. Normally, the shipyard marks the centerline of the shipways or drydock before the start of assembly. In a large drydock, they may be building more than one ship at a time each with a different length and beam (width). Setting the centerline is critical. On one ship they set a bulkhead in place before establishing and marking the build centerline. The shipyard then determined the centerline of the ship from one side of the bulkhead looking forward and the other side looking aft. It was not until the official length, beam, and depth measurements were taken before the ship was launched that anyone realized the centerline was bent. The bow was 0.15 m (6") off-center. The error was not detected during construction. But, the cumulative error was measurable before the launch.
@@sbrunner69 Shipyards have machine shops which are responsible for machining parts such as propeller shafts rudder stocks, and rudder pintles. The shops will also turn the rough inside and outside diameters of bearings for the rudder and sterntube. Some shipyards manufacture watertight doors, while others produce their own propellers. The machinist in the shops are considered to be "inside" machinists. There is a second group of machinists that work on the ships, or away from the shops, they are referred to as "outside" machinists. The work they do ranges from aligning engines, gears and shafting. They bore the sterntube, rudder, rudder castings, and pintles to size for bearing installation. Outside machinists align machinery, shim and bolt it in place. They bore and fit tapered bolts used to hold shafts together. They are also responsible for fitting and installing hydraulically tensioned bolts. In general if the work is machinery related, and is done in the outdoors or on the ship it is done by the "outside" machinists.
Great comments on precision and what's required day-to-day. There's good, and there's good enough. Especially important in a production environment where time is money. I'm primarily a hobbyist woodworker and frequently work to a couple of thou, because I can. I would make a terrible carpenter.
I work in Automotive manufacturing. Tolerance stackup is indeed a pain. Usually, the larger assemblies get a looser tolerance. And usually, the parts I work with being mostly sheet metal (body parts, etc.), there's some things than can be adjusted in the (sub)assembly process. Still, I have countless stories of being up the creek because I have two parts whose tolerances are near max and not in a way that agrees with each other... we find a way to make it work (and push back on the prior process/supplier to level it up), but aggravating nevertheless.
Tolerance stack up IS a PITA! Years ago, I was a Warranty Engineer for a German Diesel Engine manufacturer. Suddenly we started seeing problems with one particular application. The engine was mated to a ZF transmission and sometimes the thrust bearings would go bad on one machine, but not on the next five or so. My boss liked to assign me tasks WAY above my pay grade (he took a personal interest in my development as a young Engineer, he was a 50-State PE. SO I did a tolerance stackup based on the factory specs of the engine AND the transmission and YES, in fact if the tolerances in the transmission stacked up the wrong way it "Preloaded" the thrust bearings in the engine! ZF was "thrilled" when we informed them...
That B&S ‘leaning’ cylinder is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! 😳 Man, that must have been useful for some applications. ❤️ Those who chase perfection often haven’t held a tool in their hands. 🤔 You keep on being you. 👍
Keith, Your discussion touched on tolerance stack up and reminded me of my 2 experiences with this issue. The first one occurred back in my Air Force carrier when I was to demonstrate the stall warning and prevention system just installed in our FB-111A fleet to a general officer. The demonstration began a altitude with pulling the power to idle while maintaining altitude and watching the AOA (angle of attach) rise until a set point where the stall warning should occur and the "stick kicker" push the flight controls forward to reduce the AOA. As we passed the AOA point where the system should activate, but noting happened. Upon investigation we found that everything was within tolerance and working properly. The tolerances were just all in the same direction and the "stacking" of the tolerances allowed the system to exceed the overall specifications. The second occurred when we were required to measure some specific points on our fleet of B-1B bombers at the base where I was assigned. We hung plumb bobs from specific points and took measurements for all of our assigned aircraft. We found that there was as much a a foot's difference in the length of our shortest B1-B to the longest due to tolerance stacking.
Sometimes... I would do things differently to Mr Rucker. But he and other youtubers teach us alot. know more, get more done in all areas of life than me and others, and then add studying video making skills and setting up cameras to bring us free learning.
You hit a home run in your statement beginning at the 19:54 mark by summing up what, even prior to my machining hobby, that I daily had to measure within my own self to deliver on time regardless of time allotted a working stable product of the time per day freely given by me to meet the requirements of my several jobs in the electric power industry (Up to & including 500,000 Volts & a brand new Power Plant that was given to me to complete & commit, electrically, to the system we call the grid) & direct it's very 1st test to prove it was capable of fulfilling it's given mission. Well spoken Sir & although I am happily retired, consider of the regular classes I'm afforded to learn from in this, your trade, my favorite Professor. I really can only sum it up thusly: "There is no-one I look more forward to for my next video for the inspiration to fight my chronic back pain just to get up from this chair & show some progress. Don't stop what you're doing, just as you're doing, the time to continue & the Good Lord allows. It makes a bigger impact on countless lives more than you can count or know.
Use a machinist jack and some blocking to jack up the main head to control the rotation. That way you can loosen it up and jack it up or down until it is where you want it.
Two relevant facts I learnt during my apprenticeship. Man is not infallible so anything man made will never be 100%. Secondly the worlds most versatile and accurate measuring instrument is the human eyeball mk 1. It can look at something and access very quickly if it's level or not and can judge distances surprisingly accurately,.
Always interesting to watch you work. Even more so seeing the amazing collection of tools you have. Yes, toleranes are to fit the job not to drive you crazy chasing impossible fractions. Thanks for all your posts, Keith, They are greatly appreciated and a good source of practical operations
Evening Keith, I have watched you for years and your little speech on how perfect things have to be made that video one of the most memorable. Thank you for sharing your time and knowledge for such a long time to us part time and armchair machinists ❤ Regards Richard 🇬🇧
Regarding precision. I had a VP who had done such things as managing a nuclear power station that was under construction. Occasionally when some topic was being discussed, he would remark "don't put a micrometer on a mud puddle".
My philosophy is to work to the highest level of precision that I can. I realize that perfection is unattainable. But, I find that, if I work with that mindset, I am much happier with the results.
Thanks Keith. That is a pretty interesting square, I've never seen one before but I sure would like to find one. And good for you, advocating for your self, well said.
Really enjoyed your lecture on precision. Yes, one should aim for the bullseye, but it's not necessary. I worked in a town where they made bearings for jet engines wherw a certain level of precision was necessary. It depends upon your needs and the tooling you have.
Keith your a really great machinist. I love the old school way you do things. I know CNC is the thing but im glad your old school. It takes real talent to do what you do sir.
Thanks Keith, nice tramming the head in with the cylinder square. Always very interesting the collection of special tools you have. Thanks for sharing.
For the axis that runs parallel to the table that is difficult to adjust because of the head being cantilevered: you could put a block of wood below the rod in the spindle so that it supports the head from flopping over and just enough under it that you could still measure with the cylinder. Then Use the table up/down to adjust it.
For a perfectionist, "good enough" is one of the hardest phrases to live out. After over 45 years in the cabinet trade, I'm doing better at it than I did back in the "old days". Chasing the elusive goal is mostly a waste of precious time. Good enough.
With regard to Keith's discussion about tolerance and precision (at ~20:00), my pet peeve is when counted numbers and measured numbers are confused. You can have exactly three apples. That is a counted number. But you can never measure exactly 3 inches. Or weigh exactly 3 pounds. Or wait exactly 3 minutes. Those are measured numbers and are only accurate to some precision.
'Perfection is the enemy of the good' is a very old maxim. I prefer 'Perfection is the enemy of the good ENOUGH' because it expresses the idea, um, more precisely. And, as you say, we all have differences in just when we think something is 'good enough'. I'll ask myself, 'Will it work just fine as it is?' Since almost everything I make or repair is for me, if the answer FOR ME is yes, then I'm done. On those rare occasions when I'm doing something for someone else, I try to go the extra bit of precision, even if I know they will neither know nor care, as long as what I do works.
I imagine, at some point after 7:37, perhaps off camera, Keith put a dial indicator on that shaft and rotated the spindle? I'm thinking, since it seems like it's a brand new tool holder, brand new precision silver steel shaft, and seems like they've never been combined on this machine before... And, Keith's about to perform a somewhat pain in the neck adjustment. It might be worth the extra few minutes to give the spindle a few rotations with a test indicator on the silver steel shaft to confirm concentricity, trueness, etc. Essentially qualifying the new tools to be used for tramming the machine with the old known-good tool (cylinder square). Anyway, just a plus up, if you will. Happy Thanksgiving '23, everyone!
Hey Keith, great tutorial, I'll start looking for one of these cylinder squares. That said, Please make some custom nuts for that parking attachment so it doesn't end up with a cracked casting
Keith, love watching you work! I wonder if you put lock washers or Bellville washers on two of the holding bolts diagonally on that head so when you cracked those loose, there would still be enough tension to hold the head in place but you could still bump it for adjustment. Totally agree about precision, good to hear someone on TH-cam point this out!
In s boat shop where my father worked in 1940 & 41, a coworker after being satisfied with the fit up of a part wold say," Ya good enough dis kind a ship", a phrase we will say when we know we could do better, but the job doesn't require it. Further along this line an area contractor that new my dad,s reputation for doing very fine work told me that though he admired dads work he would never want him on a job because he would not stop with good enough. I guess that't what's meant by the saying that perfection is the enemy of good enough.
Love the videos! There is a difference between Precision and accuracy, and yes when is it good enough? My history is from Lots of statistical analysis for high volume manufacturing. Thanks for what you do.
Commentary on the construction tolerances. As an architect, I run into the younger people not understanding that, kind of in reverse of what you are talking about. They miss the fact, that just because they can draw a 2x4 to exact dimensions in CAD, those don't exist in the real world. It takes them a while to understand what to be concerned about and what can be out a little bit, and needs to be in order for it to be done economically. You are working on a much finer scale, but same principal. I also like that you brought up the compounding error. In my world, if you get the foundation in tolerances and specs, the rest of the building process is smooth! Get it wrong and you spend all your time from then out trying to offset the error! Never a fun time or a good product. Its all about understanding the job and what the tolerances are.
Going back 3 decades here, and I'm not sure what replaced it, or what subsequently morphed out of it, but there used to be a management philosophy in industry called 'Total Quality Management' or TQM. Which was an efficiency drive to better derive the specification requirement of whatever, and then complete that (say) part or work package to that spec, but no more, within time and cost restraints deemed appropriate, and no more.
There's a book Called "The Measure of All things". The "Book" is about how the French tried to accurately determine the geographical location of various points on the face of the Earth. Using the best measuring instruments of the time they were able to locate very accurately the location of various Monuments, Cities and points of interest. However, as the project was nearing the end, the "Surveyor" could not pinpoint the location of a City in Spain (I think is was Spain). Later it was discovered, The reason was a build up of tolerances and personal error, like you mentioned. The Surveyor eventually went "Mad" because he could not reconcile the error. it wasn't until years later personal error was discovered. if Two People try and measure the same object the measurements will usually be very close but rarely be exactly the same. Just adding my two cents. KOKO! I miss ARW.
Love the chanel and you are so 100% correct about precision..i run a general/precision repair shop for obsolete vehicles and machinery. I chose the precision thats required for each job..the other side to over precision working is you are pricing yourself out of work in the long termas the extra time required to hit that extra notch is going to make no difference in any way to the job except in your head.
Pefection is the enemy of profit. Period. Your channel has become one of my favorites for this reason. Because I admire the fact that you don't let the income of your day job or other income sources skew your pursuit of precision. No offense to channels like blondie hacks and clough42, also great channels, but theiroutside income allow them the ability to chase tenths with zero worry of making payroll at the end of the week or getting a part out to spec by the end of the week profitably and it becomes a neurotic pursuit of those that need to. Robrenz, adamthemachinist, stephan, all step down their tolerances when they are making a refrigerator_holder_shutter gadget out of bent banding stock or a 3d print. Clough has the luxury of time to dial in his 3D printers, no different than grimsmo, to speed futute production. Makes sense but its a luxury not often afforded. I am never endingly amazed at how much all of you creators have to defend yourselves against the comments. Its a rock i would never beat myself against. Great video
Keith, I wish you would have followed up your "good enough" tram using the cylinder square, with some additional verification showing traditional use of an indicator.... just to make your point!
Thanks for the video Keith; it's a good one. I have a question though. I have one of these B&S cylinder squares and mine is in very nice shape with an original wooden case like yours has. Is there any literature available anywhere for one of these squares? Using it on the tilt side is pretty intuitional but I would like to have any document or instructions on its use. Thanks again!
Great channel, love it. Have you considered putting a small screw jack on your vice and placing it where it can support the over-hung weight of the head, to stop the rotational movement of the rear pivot when loose/cracked for adjustment? The screw jack could be used for fine adjustment? Cheers, Glenn
Yes, I do have an indicating micrometer that is accurate down to: 0.0001 mm or 0.0000039." I do all of my most precise measured work in the metric system.
Could you use a wedge system for supporting the 1" diameter ground rod to keep the top from rotating as you make the second adjustment (the adjustment that isn't balanced weight-wise)?
I have that same cylindrical square with the graduations. I can’t imagine how the hell they made it. It makes my brain hurt. As for precision, it is the enemy of progress.
Perfection is only a direction to go in. Context is always key, to everything.
My teacher said: "Not as precise as possible, but as precise as necessary!"
Best regards from Dresden! 👍👏🍀❤🛠 🇩🇪❤🇺🇸😎
The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. All jobs are a balance of time, cost, performance, and risk. Balancing those is the job description of an engineer. Thanks for the video Keith.
Hi Keith
I am a clockmaker and you are absolutely right about tolerance in making parts for a restoration jobs sometimes it needs to be a rattling good fit and room for oil.
Love the channel keep up the good work 😊
Just for the sake of completeness, when using a new holder in this situation i would have spun the ground bar and used a dial gauge at the bottom to check for run out, but that is just me being paranoid about modern kit which is often from the east even with a reputable name etched on it. 😉
Thank you for addressing my comment in your previous video. I agree with your tolerance discussion-I was just noting that a big face mill really reveals even small tramming errors.
Best Clint/Dirty Harry saying ever. 'A mans got to know his limitations'.
If you do ever adjust the other part of the universal head, I would consider using a machinist jack from the bed to the casting to provide support for the adjustment. It would also work a bit like the worm gears in other milling machines.
I was wondering why he couldn't use the vise that's mounted on the table to resist the rotation of axis... but the jack is also a great idea.
Agreed! It could be under the furthest out part. Put in the jack just touching, then measure the height to the bed, then loosen screws-if it drops ("nods") at all just use the screw jack to bring it back to the original height.
I was thinking the same thing, put it under the rod and turn it up or down. Also thought about loosing everything with the face mill installed and letting it sit flat on the table... then tighten everything down. Wonder how close thatd be...
@@KPSchleyer You wouldn't want to jack it up by the rod as it'll bend.
I was thinking about you needing to tram in 5he head with those bronze blocks you squared up. But as you said in this video. It was set good enough for the task on hand. Absolutely enjoy your content. Your shop is a far of dream of mine to have. Loads of thanks, from New Zealand. Always learning from you
a big ole factory near me made shoe making machinery, actually they were the world's largest maker of such. At one time they made 85% of all shoe making or repairing machinery in the USA, the United Shoe Machinery Corp. A popular saying among the workers when it came to precision was, "It's good enough for shoes". Always look forward to your posts Keith!
I worked road construction and our saying was “Looks good when you go by at 60 Miles an hour”. Lol It seems that every profession has its saying.
Well said Keith, I’m a machinist of 50 years. I’m always amazed how some Monday’s experts can always tell you how to do your job.
There are an amazing number of people who have never done anything, never tried doing anything, and never will try anything, who nonetheless somehow know exactly what everyone else should do.
This old dog appreciates your new tricks. Thanks
PERFECTION IS DEFINED BY THE INTENT OF THE CREATOR -END OF ARGUMENT.
Keith, you just gave one of the very best lectures I have ever heard in 72 years on the definition of perfection. Bravo for you Sir.
God himself called Job, a mortal man just like us, perfect.
Art from Ohio
Your comments on the subject of "good-a-nuff" were spot on. As a retired machine shop supervisor this was a endless problem on both sides of the spectrum. We once had a job of building the "wishbone" for a three point hitch on a tractor implement. I knew I was in trouble when 7 Hrs. into a 2-1/2 Hrs. job I saw the machinist with a set of (very expensive) 36" dial calipers measuring a welding/fabrication job only needing a framing square and tape measure. Didn't make any money on that one! But it was dead nuts on. You have to use some judgment on what degree of accuracy is needed. Good job Keith! Keep it up buddy.
A man’s gotta know his limitations!
I remember thinking “what the hell, why didn’t he tram the head” on that job recently, and I saw a few comments on that point. Thanks for the explanation on “good enough.” It’s now obvious that you were entirely correct on that application. I’ve learned enough to be dangerous watching TH-cam machining content, but obviously the more I learn, the more I realize how much more there is to learn.
20:30 That hits home because as a computer programmer we also go into that rabbit hole, we sometimes spend so much time trying to make something perfect that it's not worth it. As you say sometimes it's just good enough.
Actually, it's always "just good enough" even if your best measuring tool shows it's dead on the numbers, because your best measuring tool was made to a tolerance, too. The machinist's skill and judgement comes into play in knowing the point at which chasing even more precision is pointless.
I love to see the tools that Keith has accumulated over time - the Leaning Cylinder is a gem, and must have demanded some fantastic manufacturing.
Putting a ball bearing between the table and the bottom of that rod will allow you to use the up and down feed Of the table to aid in adjusting.
That's how I saw it done in the 70's while I was training.
Wouldn’t a point contact like that risk putting a dimple into the table? Plus the bearing could slip out. Why not just use a shim of wood? There should be enough friction to even do the adjustment by moving the table.
@@jamanjeval Actually, the guy I watched had a brass 'washer' on the table to prevent any marking from hardened ball.
Point contact from ball makes lining up much easier for some reason but I don't remember why as I've never had to tram that type of mill
Keith, at 20:00 you speak about "good enough". I 100% agree with you. You match the effort to the required tolerances. Why would I hold a 0.0001 tolerance on a part that has a +/- 0.003 tolerance? time is money, and the extra effort and time it takes to get to that level of precision doesn't put $$$ in the bank. Braggin' rights don't put food on the table. Nice video!
Keith what you could do to fix the problem with the head wanting to swing as you explained it to drill a center in one end of the bar, then use a ball bearing under it and support it with the table. and raise and lower the table to tram it that direction. Thanks
Thanks for the video Keith , I’m not a machinist but I enjoy your videos .☺️
That was very interesting on Engineering tolerances Keith 👏👏👏👏👍
Your absolutely right. I was making a part at work, the machinist was busy repairing something important with the chief mechanic. I thought the part was for that operation and was trying to hit all the marks of the dimensions. I later found out the part was for the welder and just needed to be in the close to the dimensions and welded onto something else and the machinist would finish machining it after. I could have roughly made the part into roughing stage and right shape and it would have worked better and easier. The machinist said if you don’t know ask. Thanks for sharing.
Interesting tramming technique, Keith. Seems very effective and fast. Going from precision tool and diemaker to outside machinist in shipbuilding called for a major mindset change. To be effective in any machining job you have to understand the real requirements for accuracy and not go beyond that.
The Russians have a saying about this. " Good enough"
We built five tankers 272.69 m (894' 7.8") in length. Normally, the shipyard marks the centerline of the shipways or drydock before the start of assembly. In a large drydock, they may be building more than one ship at a time each with a different length and beam (width). Setting the centerline is critical.
On one ship they set a bulkhead in place before establishing and marking the build centerline. The shipyard then determined the centerline of the ship from one side of the bulkhead looking forward and the other side looking aft. It was not until the official length, beam, and depth measurements were taken before the ship was launched that anyone realized the centerline was bent. The bow was 0.15 m (6") off-center. The error was not detected during construction. But, the cumulative error was measurable before the launch.
What is an outside machinist in shipbuilding?
@@sbrunner69 Shipyards have machine shops which are responsible for machining parts such as propeller shafts rudder stocks, and rudder pintles. The shops will also turn the rough inside and outside diameters of bearings for the rudder and sterntube. Some shipyards manufacture watertight doors, while others produce their own propellers. The machinist in the shops are considered to be "inside" machinists.
There is a second group of machinists that work on the ships, or away from the shops, they are referred to as "outside" machinists. The work they do ranges from aligning engines, gears and shafting. They bore the sterntube, rudder, rudder castings, and pintles to size for bearing installation. Outside machinists align machinery, shim and bolt it in place. They bore and fit tapered bolts used to hold shafts together. They are also responsible for fitting and installing hydraulically tensioned bolts. In general if the work is machinery related, and is done in the outdoors or on the ship it is done by the "outside" machinists.
@@sbrunner69field machining, rigging, millwright, it's bullwork mostly, but pretty rewarding
It's done and named such, outside as in not in a shop
Good morning Keith. Ignore the peanut gallery. Thanks for the videos.
Great comments on precision and what's required day-to-day. There's good, and there's good enough. Especially important in a production environment where time is money. I'm primarily a hobbyist woodworker and frequently work to a couple of thou, because I can. I would make a terrible carpenter.
I work in Automotive manufacturing. Tolerance stackup is indeed a pain. Usually, the larger assemblies get a looser tolerance. And usually, the parts I work with being mostly sheet metal (body parts, etc.), there's some things than can be adjusted in the (sub)assembly process. Still, I have countless stories of being up the creek because I have two parts whose tolerances are near max and not in a way that agrees with each other... we find a way to make it work (and push back on the prior process/supplier to level it up), but aggravating nevertheless.
Tolerance stack up IS a PITA! Years ago, I was a Warranty Engineer for a German Diesel Engine manufacturer. Suddenly we started seeing problems with one particular application. The engine was mated to a ZF transmission and sometimes the thrust bearings would go bad on one machine, but not on the next five or so. My boss liked to assign me tasks WAY above my pay grade (he took a personal interest in my development as a young Engineer, he was a 50-State PE. SO I did a tolerance stackup based on the factory specs of the engine AND the transmission and YES, in fact if the tolerances in the transmission stacked up the wrong way it "Preloaded" the thrust bearings in the engine! ZF was "thrilled" when we informed them...
And with repair parts it only has to fit on one particular machine not any one of ten thousand machines.
That B&S ‘leaning’ cylinder is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! 😳
Man, that must have been useful for some applications. ❤️
Those who chase perfection often haven’t held a tool in their hands. 🤔
You keep on being you. 👍
Keith,
Your discussion touched on tolerance stack up and reminded me of my 2 experiences with this issue. The first one occurred back in my Air Force carrier when I was to demonstrate the stall warning and prevention system just installed in our FB-111A fleet to a general officer. The demonstration began a altitude with pulling the power to idle while maintaining altitude and watching the AOA (angle of attach) rise until a set point where the stall warning should occur and the "stick kicker" push the flight controls forward to reduce the AOA. As we passed the AOA point where the system should activate, but noting happened. Upon investigation we found that everything was within tolerance and working properly. The tolerances were just all in the same direction and the "stacking" of the tolerances allowed the system to exceed the overall specifications.
The second occurred when we were required to measure some specific points on our fleet of B-1B bombers at the base where I was assigned. We hung plumb bobs from specific points and took measurements for all of our assigned aircraft. We found that there was as much a a foot's difference in the length of our shortest B1-B to the longest due to tolerance stacking.
Sometimes... I would do things differently to Mr Rucker. But he and other youtubers teach us alot. know more, get more done in all areas of life than me and others, and then add studying video making skills and setting up cameras to bring us free learning.
You hit a home run in your statement beginning at the 19:54 mark by summing up what, even prior to my machining hobby, that I daily had to measure within my own self to deliver on time regardless of time allotted a working stable product of the time per day freely given by me to meet the requirements of my several jobs in the electric power industry (Up to & including 500,000 Volts & a brand new Power Plant that was given to me to complete & commit, electrically, to the system we call the grid) & direct it's very 1st test to prove it was capable of fulfilling it's given mission. Well spoken Sir & although I am happily retired, consider of the regular classes I'm afforded to learn from in this, your trade, my favorite Professor. I really can only sum it up thusly: "There is no-one I look more forward to for my next video for the inspiration to fight my chronic back pain just to get up from this chair & show some progress. Don't stop what you're doing, just as you're doing, the time to continue & the Good Lord allows. It makes a bigger impact on countless lives more than you can count or know.
Use a machinist jack and some blocking to jack up the main head to control the rotation. That way you can loosen it up and jack it up or down until it is where you want it.
Two relevant facts I learnt during my apprenticeship. Man is not infallible so anything man made will never be 100%. Secondly the worlds most versatile and accurate measuring instrument is the human eyeball mk 1. It can look at something and access very quickly if it's level or not and can judge distances surprisingly accurately,.
I enjoyed your talk at the end. Thanks for showing another example of how to something
Always interesting to watch you work. Even more so seeing the amazing collection of tools you have. Yes, toleranes are to fit the job not to drive you crazy chasing impossible fractions. Thanks for all your posts, Keith, They are greatly appreciated and a good source of practical operations
Well said Keith. In the automotive business we always check tolerance stack up in assemblies.
Evening Keith, I have watched you for years and your little speech on how perfect things have to be made that video one of the most memorable. Thank you for sharing your time and knowledge for such a long time to us part time and armchair machinists ❤
Regards Richard 🇬🇧
Thank you for sharing. Not making heart valves here, "close enough"👍
Well done and your comments about precisions and prefection are spot on. Nice job!
Regarding precision. I had a VP who had done such things as managing a nuclear power station that was under construction. Occasionally when some topic was being discussed, he would remark "don't put a micrometer on a mud puddle".
Nice discussion at the end. Very pragmatic.
My philosophy is to work to the highest level of precision that I can. I realize that perfection is unattainable. But, I find that, if I work with that mindset, I am much happier with the results.
Thanks Keith. That is a pretty interesting square, I've never seen one before but I sure would like to find one. And good for you, advocating for your self, well said.
Awesome thank you for taking the time to share, specifically the more holistic points in respect general engineering.
A wise machinist said “nothing you make will be perfect but the skilled machinist knows what is good enough”
Really enjoyed your lecture on precision. Yes, one should aim for the bullseye, but it's not necessary. I worked in a town where they made bearings for jet engines wherw a certain level of precision was necessary. It depends upon your needs and the tooling you have.
Keith your a really great machinist. I love the old school way you do things. I know CNC is the thing but im glad your old school. It takes real talent to do what you do sir.
You are spot on Keith.
Thanks Keith, nice tramming the head in with the cylinder square.
Always very interesting the collection of special tools you have.
Thanks for sharing.
For the axis that runs parallel to the table that is difficult to adjust because of the head being cantilevered: you could put a block of wood below the rod in the spindle so that it supports the head from flopping over and just enough under it that you could still measure with the cylinder. Then Use the table up/down to adjust it.
For a perfectionist, "good enough" is one of the hardest phrases to live out. After over 45 years in the cabinet trade, I'm doing better at it than I did back in the "old days". Chasing the elusive goal is mostly a waste of precious time. Good enough.
We were taught in my machining classes to say "It's within tolerance" instead. Same exact idea, but sounds professional and precise.
@@Halinspark Too bad I work by myself or I would be using that tomorrow!
With regard to Keith's discussion about tolerance and precision (at ~20:00), my pet peeve is when counted numbers and measured numbers are confused. You can have exactly three apples. That is a counted number. But you can never measure exactly 3 inches. Or weigh exactly 3 pounds. Or wait exactly 3 minutes. Those are measured numbers and are only accurate to some precision.
'Perfection is the enemy of the good' is a very old maxim. I prefer 'Perfection is the enemy of the good ENOUGH' because it expresses the idea, um, more precisely. And, as you say, we all have differences in just when we think something is 'good enough'. I'll ask myself, 'Will it work just fine as it is?' Since almost everything I make or repair is for me, if the answer FOR ME is yes, then I'm done. On those rare occasions when I'm doing something for someone else, I try to go the extra bit of precision, even if I know they will neither know nor care, as long as what I do works.
I imagine, at some point after 7:37, perhaps off camera, Keith put a dial indicator on that shaft and rotated the spindle?
I'm thinking, since it seems like it's a brand new tool holder, brand new precision silver steel shaft, and seems like they've never been combined on this machine before... And, Keith's about to perform a somewhat pain in the neck adjustment. It might be worth the extra few minutes to give the spindle a few rotations with a test indicator on the silver steel shaft to confirm concentricity, trueness, etc.
Essentially qualifying the new tools to be used for tramming the machine with the old known-good tool (cylinder square).
Anyway, just a plus up, if you will. Happy Thanksgiving '23, everyone!
Thanks for the show.
good message Keith
What you do is perfection you a great job thank you very much
Hey Keith, great tutorial, I'll start looking for one of these cylinder squares. That said, Please make some custom nuts for that parking attachment so it doesn't end up with a cracked casting
Keith, love watching you work! I wonder if you put lock washers or Bellville washers on two of the holding bolts diagonally on that head so when you cracked those loose, there would still be enough tension to hold the head in place but you could still bump it for adjustment. Totally agree about precision, good to hear someone on TH-cam point this out!
Love all your videos! As a hobby machinist, I really like your good enough for the job attitude!! I'm not doing space shuttle work!
Even the Space Shuttle work was done to the good enough standard!
In s boat shop where my father worked in 1940 & 41, a coworker after being satisfied with the fit up of a part wold say," Ya good enough dis kind a ship", a phrase we will say when we know we could do better, but the job doesn't require it. Further along this line an area contractor that new my dad,s reputation for doing very fine work told me that though he admired dads work he would never want him on a job because he would not stop with good enough. I guess that't what's meant by the saying that perfection is the enemy of good enough.
This was a fascinating video. Thank you Keith!
Happy Fri… Monday!!😊
"with your eye" Keith talking about adjustments sounds EXACTLY like matt damon in Rooster Cogburn!
That was a really good show, in my opinion, the last one being the better of the two.
Nice little tutorial.your in your element.just continue doing what you do best.good little video.👍👍👍😎😎😎
There is wisdom here.
Love the videos! There is a difference between Precision and accuracy, and yes when is it good enough? My history is from Lots of statistical analysis for high volume manufacturing. Thanks for what you do.
Very nice video content Keith. You are right on the money.
Keith great video as always
Great work and even better advice! Thank you sir!
Thank you good Sir! Good craftwork must always deal with the practical over perfection to to achieve effective production.
Commentary on the construction tolerances. As an architect, I run into the younger people not understanding that, kind of in reverse of what you are talking about. They miss the fact, that just because they can draw a 2x4 to exact dimensions in CAD, those don't exist in the real world. It takes them a while to understand what to be concerned about and what can be out a little bit, and needs to be in order for it to be done economically. You are working on a much finer scale, but same principal.
I also like that you brought up the compounding error. In my world, if you get the foundation in tolerances and specs, the rest of the building process is smooth! Get it wrong and you spend all your time from then out trying to offset the error! Never a fun time or a good product.
Its all about understanding the job and what the tolerances are.
True words of wisdom and experience :-)
Going back 3 decades here, and I'm not sure what replaced it, or what subsequently morphed out of it, but there used to be a management philosophy in industry called 'Total Quality Management' or TQM. Which was an efficiency drive to better derive the specification requirement of whatever, and then complete that (say) part or work package to that spec, but no more, within time and cost restraints deemed appropriate, and no more.
Very interesting as always Keith thanks for sharing 🦘
Seems like a removable counterweight/counterbalance or even the overhead crane would help with that offset weight.
There's a book Called "The Measure of All things". The "Book" is about how the French tried to accurately determine the geographical location of various points on the face of the Earth. Using the best measuring instruments of the time they were able to locate very accurately the location of various Monuments, Cities and points of interest. However, as the project was nearing the end, the "Surveyor" could not pinpoint the location of a City in Spain (I think is was Spain). Later it was discovered, The reason was a build up of tolerances and personal error, like you mentioned. The Surveyor eventually went "Mad" because he could not reconcile the error. it wasn't until years later personal error was discovered. if Two People try and measure the same object the measurements will usually be very close but rarely be exactly the same. Just adding my two cents. KOKO! I miss ARW.
Most excellent.
Love the chanel and you are so 100% correct about precision..i run a general/precision repair shop for obsolete vehicles and machinery. I chose the precision thats required for each job..the other side to over precision working is you are pricing yourself out of work in the long termas the extra time required to hit that extra notch is going to make no difference in any way to the job except in your head.
And your bank account. A machinist’s time costs money.
First thing firs should have been to check rout out top and bottom of the test bar mounted in the collet chuck .
Never seen one of those before - interesting.
Great video !! Thank you !
pretty slick!!
Pefection is the enemy of profit. Period. Your channel has become one of my favorites for this reason. Because I admire the fact that you don't let the income of your day job or other income sources skew your pursuit of precision. No offense to channels like blondie hacks and clough42, also great channels, but theiroutside income allow them the ability to chase tenths with zero worry of making payroll at the end of the week or getting a part out to spec by the end of the week profitably and it becomes a neurotic pursuit of those that need to. Robrenz, adamthemachinist, stephan, all step down their tolerances when they are making a refrigerator_holder_shutter gadget out of bent banding stock or a 3d print. Clough has the luxury of time to dial in his 3D printers, no different than grimsmo, to speed futute production. Makes sense but its a luxury not often afforded.
I am never endingly amazed at how much all of you creators have to defend yourselves against the comments. Its a rock i would never beat myself against.
Great video
Keith, I wish you would have followed up your "good enough" tram using the cylinder square, with some additional verification showing traditional use of an indicator.... just to make your point!
Very Nice
My thoughts too thanks for sharing always enjoy your videos. :o)
Thanks for the video Keith; it's a good one. I have a question though. I have one of these B&S cylinder squares and mine is in very nice shape with an original wooden case like yours has. Is there any literature available anywhere for one of these squares? Using it on the tilt side is pretty intuitional but I would like to have any document or instructions on its use. Thanks again!
Great video Thanks
Good job Cool!!
Can’t see it from my house…. Great videos!
Perfect is the enemy of good.
stacked tolerances
Great channel, love it. Have you considered putting a small screw jack on your vice and placing it where it can support the over-hung weight of the head, to stop the rotational movement of the rear pivot when loose/cracked for adjustment? The screw jack could be used for fine adjustment? Cheers, Glenn
Keith, are you losing weight? Don't worry, I found it. Thanks for the video. See you at the Bar-Z. Jon
Yes, I do have an indicating micrometer that is accurate down to: 0.0001 mm or 0.0000039." I do all of my most precise measured work in the metric system.
Looks like you’re loosing weight brother! Good job!
Could you use a wedge system for supporting the 1" diameter ground rod to keep the top from rotating as you make the second adjustment (the adjustment that isn't balanced weight-wise)?
Oh Keith, Yes, you are perfect !!! LOL
Perfect is the enemy of good enough.
I have that same cylindrical square with the graduations. I can’t imagine how the hell they made it. It makes my brain hurt. As for precision, it is the enemy of progress.