Remember when we used to do everything by hand?

Last week I was setting up a job on a new Haas and it hit me how much has changed since I started 15 years ago. Back then at my first shop in Akron we had to manually calculate every feed and speed with a pocket calculator and a worn out Machinery's Handbook. Now the machine does half the thinking and I just sit there watching it run. Still feels wrong not double checking it though. Anybody else feel like the old way made you a better operator?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_hannah18d ago

Do you still catch yourself doing the mental math even when the machine says it's good?

tessa_rivera18d ago

Hell yeah, you're speaking my language! Started in a little shop in Cleveland around the same time, and I still catch myself punching numbers into my phone calculator before hitting go on the new Mazak. The old stuff beat the basics into you, made you feel every cut before the tool ever touched metal.