A Machinist Fairy Tale

A long, long, time ago there lived a designer of mechanical things who thought up this amazing new type of horse shoe. He brought his idea to the blacksmith who threw up his hammer and exclaimed, “I have great skills, but that can’t be made!”. So began the historic struggle between engineers and machinists.

That struggle continues today but I don’t understand why. Yes, there are times as a machinist that I get prints with incomplete information or RFQ’S that are imposible to quote because the purchasing person doesn’t know the answers but, for the most part, I have always gotten along with engineers.

I admit, I am prejudice. Even though I have never been a practicing design engineer, I do have my degree in that discipline. But that aside, I find that working directly with the engineers on a project is really efficient and usually turns out well for me and the machine shop. I get direct answers to direct questions, usually very quickly. I get the important information that I need to make parts right. And, I get their humor!

If I had a wish (after all, this is a fairy tale) it would be that engineers work with machinists, fabricators, and installers closer to the beginning of a project. Even more amazing things would be made!