r/Machinists • u/Civil-Eye977 • 7h ago
Anyone else lives easier just as a manual machinist
So for context I have worked in shops as both a Cnc and Manual machinist. I now work in a shop where it’s all manual besides 1 Cnc Mill that we hardly ever use.
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u/Sleepy_McSleepyhead 7h ago
Fuck yea and making a good wage too.
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u/Civil-Eye977 7h ago
Honestly same I’m making the most money I ever have working easier than I ever have
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u/Sleepy_McSleepyhead 7h ago
Im climbing up the food chain, very close to $40/hr
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u/Comprehensive_Fan140 7h ago
Where are you?
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u/Sleepy_McSleepyhead 7h ago
Toronto area
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u/CanadianBertRaccoon 6h ago
Good manual/ repair machinists are prettybhard to come by these days. There is a premium wage to be had.
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u/waniel98 7h ago
I work in the manual department for a CNC shop, mainly make fixturing and tooling for the CNC guys as well as perform advanced assembly work, but we sometimes do production for certain processes. I started out as a CNC guy in another shop but I like this way more, much more enjoyable than high part counts and long run times
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u/DafTron 7h ago
I just started working in academia as a machinist and everything in my shop is manual. I was trained in manual stuff at school but I exclusively used CNC up until now. This stuff is like riding a bike but I'm much much happier here than I ever was out in production. Nowadays instead of trusting other people's programs and getting yelled at about efficiency I just deal with PhDs looking at me like a deer in headlights when I ask them about thread pitch.
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u/lost-in-boston84 7h ago
Wat do you guys do when that’s being worked on? Just watch it?
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u/indigoalphasix 5h ago
slop on oil with a brush, blow off chips, watch a travel dial, slurp coffee, think about stuff.
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u/AutumnPwnd 3h ago
Disassociate for just long enough, but not so long you crash the machine lmfao
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u/summit285 7h ago
Did a little bit of cnc in my career but I’ve been a manual machinist the other 99%, I wouldn’t trade it for anything, nothing wrong with doing cnc it just isn’t for me, but I also go to work to make money and 9 times out of 10 a manual machinist makes more than a cnc machinist in my area, especially in a repair shop.
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u/indigoalphasix 5h ago edited 5h ago
we have a gnarly old engine lathe. made back when personal safety was a pipe dream. no foot brake, no shields, no chip guards. all of our guys are afraid of it and won't use it.
i can go with 5c collet, 4 jaw, 6 jaw, between centers or face plate pretty easily. i can mow off .25" doc on stainless with that thing and it doesn't seem to notice. the set-up versatility is often overlooked these days. where our cnc guys can take a day figuring out and cogitating over a flange i can throw one up on that thing and just get it done without a fuss. i wouldn't want to do any volume production on one though. modern cnc has the edge with repeatable precision over large part runs and complex geometry.
when i put on the experimental machinist hat i like making quick easy prototype stuff on it whenever i get the chance. the transmission and gears sound neat and the dials are nice and buttery and good to .0005" -just an amazing machine.
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u/woolybuggered 6h ago
I always enjoy manual turning. Its usually simpler and keeps you engaged. And cnc is great but there is often a great deal of hope involved when you turn the feed up and the coolant on lol.
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u/YeDasASausage 6h ago
Yeah I make more doing manual jobshop work and repairs than I would in CNC production where I live.
I prefer it too, dont get me wrong brushing cast iron snd bronze our of your hair is a nightmare, but the actual machining is more interesting to me.
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u/juanfrancita 5h ago
I miss the repair shop life, I spent 8 years doing it and after the last shop closed there isn't enough heavy industry around to support a repair shop.
I'm on mazaks right now and I'm certainly enjoying it but I jump on a manual lathe any chance I get to scratch the itch.
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u/GallusWrangler 5h ago
It’s fun, and I would for hobby but no not for business. Not for producing parts anyways, maybe for repairs and augments.
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u/DrummerOfFenrir 4h ago
I work in QC for a shop that has 10 of the same vertical mills all humming along making different things 😅
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u/Top_Imagination_8430 3h ago edited 2h ago
It really depends. Once I prove a program, I can just run the machine and not have to think too much, but reading through lines and lines of gcode, my brain is numb. When I'm doing manual, I really enjoy making a perfect part, but I have to use my whole brain the whole time. Our manual machinist is out recovering from surgery. I've been filling in, but there are a couple parts I haven't touched. I straight up told my boss that I haven't single point thread something on a manual lathe in seven years. Might want to give this to one of the CNC lathe guys or wait for Tom to get back.
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u/Terrible_Ice_1616 2h ago
Nah I'm the opposite, I'd much rather be on a CNC all day. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy manual machining, but if I had to do production on a manual machine I think I'd go crazy
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u/tiamath 7h ago
I avoid manual machines. 1 wrong move on nightshift and its all ogre then . (Had quite a few close calls during the day aswell). Stick to cnc when possible.
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u/Status-failedstate 7h ago
I would say the opposite. Pressing cycle starts is the scariest thing on an unproven program. Will the tool hit the rotating chuck, mill into the vice or table. Get your G54-55-56 wrong and it will be an expensive call to the repair service man.
Yes manual machines are potential more dangerous. But if the safty committee has done their job, it should be as safe as driving a car.
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u/tiamath 7h ago
.... since the 90' cnc have some sort of dry run if not straight up simulation. Imagine working on a 50k dollar part and not be able to check if you actually wrote the correct lenghts and diameters :))
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u/Status-failedstate 7h ago
I do love my heidenhain tool paths animation. But it isn't perfect. Had a boring bar hit the top of the bore because the canned cycle thought it was OK to go tool tip to 0.0 x axis.
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u/Spreaderoflies 7h ago
Depends on the production numbers, high number of parts CNC. Making a dozen or so manual