Viewer's Questions, Answered! What You Wanted To Know About Topper Machine LLC
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
- A while back, I asked you to come up with some questions for me. I was not disappointed in the response. The questions were some great ones, and I hope I did my best to answer all of them to your satisfaction.
Keep the questions coming. I will do this type of video again as the questions pile up. Anything you want to know, feel free to ask.
Topper Machine LLC is an entirely manual machine shop located in Spooner, WI. Our videos will highlight some of our shop work.
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#machineshop #machinistlife #manualmachinist - Zábava
You're an inspiration to us all.
It's kinda hard to explain this to me, being a non-native English speaker, but there are people in this world who wear their good nature and character on the outside. You're one of them.
Best wishes for the next 20 years all the way from Croatia, Europe.
I think you express it very well and I totally ageee. I was thinking the same thing. Best wishes from Sweden.
I am a self taught machinist and mechanic, now 72 yrs old in Australia. I am supposedly retired and only learnt machining from about 10 years ago. I am a qualified mechanic, getting qualified in 1997 (also self taught). As far as asking people with more knowledge, I would say get every bit of knowledge you can. Also I am not concerned who I learn from - from a 4 yr old kid who seems to know things about phones or other gadgets. I learn something every day, either about mechanics, welding, machining, people or life in general and I don't care who I learn it from. Re life in general, learn from people you don't like how they are/interact with others. May seen weird but from that you know how NOT to behave. I also teach people (hands on) how to service/repair their cars. I don't pretend to know it all and I make sure each person here knows that. But what I do expect from people is for them to think. And many people do not think past the end of their nose. They might say or do something but they do not think about the next step. Also the older I get the less tolerant I am of fools or foolish thinking. That includes short sighted thinking. I don't have time to waste and I don't waste other people's time. The time outside my well equipped 16M x 8M shed with a 4M long MT5 tailstock lathe, a Bridgeport clone mill and a NT40 universal mill plus many other pieces of equipment, that time I want for myself and my wife. I always have many jobs waiting for me, but over the years I was also reminded of two things. 1st - you work to live, not live to work and 2nd, no-one on their deathbed ever said "I wished I had worked some more". Get the balance right because life is short and "smelling the roses" gets more important the longer you live.
Thank you for a great read. Some great information to keep in mind. I know everyone thinks I'm working too much, but there is an end goal to this big push. With any luck it will be done by June 2024.
Excellent video. Please dont worry about offending others with "your" opinions based on "your" experience. Really enjoy your practical approach to creating your product or repairing something. Thanks again for all your effort making these videos and sharing with us.
That was a great video episode. Thank you!
I took early retirement and am 63 now and with time to pursue my hobbies. One of which is metal machinist work. After watching literally for years the Greats like Keith Rucker, Adam Booth, Keith Fenner and others I'm finally assembling my home machinist hobby shop. I've added your channel to my list of "Greats" and appreciate all you do for us Hobby machinists.
Thank you. I hope you have many good years in your shop.
“Eyes and ears open, mouth shut. You’ll learn something”
My fathers words will always ring true.
Cheers from the Eastern Arctic of Canada 😁
Lots of sage advice in this presentation. One thing about the machining trade is you never stop learning.
I used to do insurance inspections on pressure systems and consequently went to a lot of manufacturing and jobbing machinist shops. There was one similarity between all of the very successful ones. That was that they had very few old machines, some of them would not have anything older than 3 or 4 years, and those would have been pretty pricey CNC machines. As soon as they were not able to do what the companies needed them to do they were off and a more suitable replacement was brought in.
Ask questions, ask them again, then again in a different way so that you get all of the answers. There is NO such thing as a stupid question ONLY a stupid answer.
The answer to the final question, "Tips for young machinists?" was my favorite! I learned this early on by accident, and it was the most important thing I ever learned. I always wanted to be better, and LISTENING was the fastest and most effective way to get there. Learning the hard way was the next best, and that one is no fun, haha! Also remember, you will NEVER know everything, and there will always be someone else who knows more. Always. Just keep learning and improving every chance you get.
Your comments on consuming machines was spot on. I started my journey as an automotive machinist eventually owning the shop that my father and grandfather had built. When I sold of the auto parts business, I considered doing the machining business fulltime. The big problem was that we had used up the life of most of our machinery so they would have had to have been replaced in order to go into full production work. I sold off the machines one at a time and most f them were purchased by hobby machinists. They could still do an acceptable job but would not have stood up to the rigors of the fulltime production work. Thanks for sharing.
In the time I had a business (81yo) , worked out a easy quote system. 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. With another1/3 for 'feeling'. Parts, labour, profit. The other 1/3 came in very handy with 'd
'Entitled' customers. Worked for me.
Thanks Josh. I'm a self-taught hobbyist, retired from teaching engineering. Yes, one of those damn PhD's. Believe me I sympathize with how hard headed and narrow minded that group can be. I enjoy your channel because you do address some of these hard questions, and you do so with a pragmatic approach without turning it into a tirade. Your channel also shows real-world approaches to real world problems, at a pace I enjoy. And some of the side projects, bees, sawmill, trains, etc are fun too! Keep up the videos as your time and family allows. Putting out a video on a regular schedule is much less important than having something worthwhile to show. You've done well with that. Good luck with all your future projects.
Exactly, machines are consumables. I 3d print for a hobby. But when someone wants me to print for them it's a dollar an hour for just the machine, plus material. Then post processing time
Glad you made this video. My dad was a construction contractor who did many different jobs through out. His advice was "keep you eyes and ears open, and your mouth shut except for questions". He also said, you have to go where the work is meaning prepare to move to follow your dreams (he migrated from Italy to the US). I would only add, "READ" everything you can get your hands on.
I live in Galena Alaska, on the Yukon river, 360 miles from the nearest road. It's quite remote. Great place to live if you want the government out of your face. Don't need a drivers license (mine expired 3 years ago, haven't been to Fairbanks in 4 years to re-new them) or tags on your vehicles. No property taxes, no building permits, the list goes on.
Sounds like heaven
Thanks for answering the questions honestly, you gave some great insight to your world of owning your own business. These answers are very helpful!
hello topper machine & it's is randy and i like yours video is cool thanks friends randy
Enjoyed your journey, Josh. Same with skills in the lumber trade. I say exactly the same to the young ones. Spot on....Tony
Shut up and listen best tip ever 😂thanks for the vid josh
Fascinating video, thank you Josh 🙏
i worked around vietnamese welders for many years. they could squat on their heels and run perfect welds all day. hell i would be crippled if i tried that. damn i think they are born knowing how to weld.
Awesome Josh. I watch every video. --Doozer
When I was at high school, over 50 years ago, the manual arts department had a metal lathe and shaper in the metal shop and a wood lathe and bandsaw in the wood shop. My son (who left school nearly 10 years ago now) tells me that it's only hand tools in them now.
That's sad. Progress has obviously not been happening in the schools.
You definitely seem to have your head screwed on the right way. some great answers to the questions. Thanks for sharing and keep the video's coming
Thanks, but I question my sanity almost every day.
Hey Josh.. great video! Thanks for the Q&A. Hope that you and the family had a good Thanksgiving!
Thanks for the good answers! you're a great resourse
Great job, Josh. Pearls of wisdom for the next generation. Enjoy your weekend!
with many interruptions by my grandchild 🤣 i managed to finish looking that vid. i like very much what i heared from you. keep on going like this!
Martin
There's only a few good things about snow and winter time, 1) It keeps your after work Beers ice cold for _free_ no fridge needed 2) An excuse to stay home and consume said ice cold beers and 3) Snowmobiling 😂👍👍
I can agree with 1&2, but not 3. Could never understand owning a machine that I have to store for 11 months, fix for 2 weeks and maybe get to ride 2 weeks on trails that go the same place my warm truck goes.
Thanks Josh 👍
That was fun and informative, thanks.
Thank you for putting yourself out there and to hear your great story. I am 75 years old, from the once great Northeast and been around machining and manufacturing all my life. I love the smell of cutting oil in the morning. lol My earliest memories are of going to where my dad worked, seeing the line shaft run machines, (water power in action) and the dirt and grime of the foundry. Magical times. Worked in so many really different industries, companies and jobs loved them all. I have a million stories and hope I do not bore everyone rambling on about the olden days. lol Take care my friend, best wishes for lots of work and happiness.
Really enjoyed your Q&A session, got a lot of valuable and useful information. One thing I like about your job videos, you make a mistake or have a hard time the camera still rolls, you take us through the solution for that problem. I also have a one man manual machine shop, the work we get is a customer that only needs one part, manual machining is the best. CNC shops will only program the machine for multiple parts, and I think you made that clear with one of your answers. Good luck to you always.🤓
merci pour tout
Good one, Josh. Thanks for sharing.
10:36 Here I was waiting for three sunny destinations that have lots of manufacturing and... you list three incredibly cold places in the winter 😂 Thanks for the Q&A, loved the business answers!
Unfortunately for me, I don't like people. So frozen hell is the only safe place.
@@TopperMachineLLC Hello. I’m seeing you from Russia. I myself have a metalworking shop.
If you don’t mind, can you show the design of the motor compartment of a gas cutter pantograph with a magnetic copier? What kind of motor is there? its power.
Thank you .
Thanks Josh for another great video. Thank you for answering one of my questions. Shut up and listen is spot on! I practice it every day. Keep up the great videos.
Good one Josh . Cheers 👍
Very interesting Josh.
Yep. I'd say spot on, Josh. Machines are consumables. Thanks, I enjoy your videos.
Excellent video! Thanks, Josh.
I never have done any machine work other than small scale welding or just cobbling together some junk to make something work I’ve been around a couple very skilled people who could do anything and I believe from what I’ve seen of you that you could do or machine anything great video buddy thanks for sharing everything with us have a great thanksgiving
I like and appreciate your video today.
One thing I might add when you teach new people a trade, me being a butcher, I not only show them how to do the job but I add a proper Mindset so they can focus on their work, often the worst safety issue is not having a proper mindset,
Don't be thinking of what you're doing after work, don't be thinking about what's happening at home. Stay focused on the task at hand, maybe think of all the others that have done this task in the past and how they did it and if you can match or rival their work ethic.
I have been working hard on this one with Conner. Every so often he will say something about the time. My response is always something along the lines of "what difference does it make what time it is? We have a customer who is dependent on us getting this job done so they can earn a living". It's a hard habit to break people of.
Good video Q&A!
I first found your videos when I watched a EMD F9 video you worked on.
Now I'm subscribed and really enjoying the channel
I'm an old guy that always wanted a lathe, bought a Hercus 9 AR a few years back.
I love it! It changed my life.
Awesome, thank you!
“It’s ALL Randy’s fault”. T H A N K. Y O U Randy. Josh - I love your can-do attitude.
Very good video Josh ! Always nice to hear someone sharing there journey with similar passions. Some really great questions and equally great answers. There's so much we can learn from each other (if willing to listen of course). Thoroughly enjoyed..
ATB.....
Great video, hope the business thrives. I still say the Lion is the coolest lathe.
Thanks. I couldn't be happier with the Lion.
Absolutely laughed out loud when you threw Randy under the bus! Tell Randy thanks from all of your fans! 😂
That was a very interesting video. Thanks for taking the time to answer people's questions. Looking forward to your next video, whatever it might be about.
All the best from Queensland Australia, where we currently have a very hot and dry (almost) start to summer.
My local tech school teaches a whole semester on manual marching first before cnc
That is awesome!
I am 70 worked very hard my whole life in the automotive industry. Heavy collision , mechanical, electrical , machining, you name it.the last shop i worked at 20yrs. Hired me because i knew what i was doing then didn't listen to much of any thing i had to say. They wanted to make money not do anything right i retired 2yrs. Ago the owner came to see me wants me back because he can't find anyone that is good and cares, he's in trouble. MY ANSWER WAS SHOULD HAVE LISTENED ALONG TIME AGO. I'M 70. keep up the good attitude and thankyou.
This was a great video - some really excellent questions and insightful answers. Thanks to everyone that was involved!
Great video, as usual. I did the same job for almost 40 years, I would train students....some acted like sponges and loved the practical advice, some thought they knew everything and were only with me because they were assigned to be there. I can tell you, I would spend much more energy on the sponge....my Motto was, "I can teach someone everything they want to know, but you just can't fix the "I dont really care" attitude. You can teach the ignorant, but you cant fix stupid.
Some people want to learn, and when you find that person, the flood gates seem to open up. Let the knowledge flow.
This was great. Many thanks to you all for the questions, spot on. 👍
great answers mate!
I hate winter as much as the next guy, but it does filter out the sort of people that can't handle it. I live in Minnesota and so does most of my family. It takes a certain stoicism and hardiness to deal with. (I ride one of my bikes in Minnesota, in the winter, if you're wondering what I'm willing to tolerate. It's funny to see more mileage in the tracking app at the year end review in December than August because muggy August weather sucks more than nice December days.) Mad props to those brave enough to live in Alaska!
One of my cousins from MN moved to LA, their sibling moved to Philadelphia. Both now live in places more suited to *people like that*. I love them both, and it sucks that my closest cousin isn't around so much anymore, but they're where they belong now.
The answers was honestly , so I like that, also the tips at newbies.
I taught myself to stick weld on rusty car floors, quite a challenge, Then I picked up oxy welding when I worked in a bike shop. Lastly I leaned to MIG weld when the builder stuffed up our steel house frame and I had to buy a small flux-core welder and learn how to use it to fix the stuff-up.
all of the remote quiet places you named all have winters with snow and cold
They do, but very few people. The population thing is a big one for us.
That was a great video. I know you answered a lot of questions that people had who didn't even send them in. It was a really good learning experience. Thank you.
A lot of down to earth answers here. To often answers are sugar coated for the masses.
There is no point to sugar coat life. No BS, straight to the point is best.
Wishing you all the best things this life has to offer. Nice work !
Wonderful!
Where has your video intro been? I always liked that little tune. Love the content, and greetings from WV.
I cut it out to get to the machining faster.
Hi! Mr.Topper, Who Does your Theme Music? And Have You Ever Been To Canada Before?
Thanks for the honesty Josh
Great answers
Thanks for sharing
Don't waste your valuable time driving to get stuff. Have it shipped, or have them bring it to you. Don't waste time going shopping for stuff either, have that shipped. Amazon, McMaster etc
The last several years have been a big shift to having things brought in or being able to make the supplies in house. This area is very depressed and remote so shipping or making what you need is the only real option
It would be good if you showed us those MIG welding tips that you learned on that job years ago. Any information is always useful.
Thanks Josh
Great video. I am so proud to know you.
Very interesting and thank you for sharing.
Great video Josh, keep'um coming.
Great video! Best advice listen…
54" vertical lathe is a great size
Gets you ton of work and usually some Horizontal borer work along with it.
Would be a great machine for you to add. 90% of the work I do I either do on my Bullard VTL or my TOS hor borer
This was great and very interesting, thanks. We have very little industry in our area too, we even find it hard to buy stock. It would be great to spend some time with a machinist but that is just not really possible around here, CZcams is as close as I can get and I learn a lot from your videos
Why on earth would you move to Alaska when you hate the cold? Sure it's remote but it would be like jumping out of the fridge into the freezer. Try Florida.
Too many people in those warm areas. No thank you. I hate winter, but overpopulation is far more of a problem.
Hello .
Thank YOU mr. Topper for sharing your work and your knowledge with us, big wide hugs from Mexico 👊🏼
in my region all the shops are closing. everyone is retiring and or leaving the state
Same here. I'm the last real shop left. But there is also no real industry left.
CNC machines are more about mass production of specific parts, whereas a manual machinist can do one-off jobs that can;t be done in a CNC machine.
It depends on the cnc machine. Some are basic enough that for some jobs a cnc can do a lot of the labor.
The shop I worked at had a couple of Clausing lathes with a Fanuc brain. No turret, we used something like Topper has on this Monarch. We had maybe at the most 7 tools set up and the offsets in the controller. All tools are referenced off of the first tool.
So, say I need a multiple step bushing. We would have three programs in the controller that we would use back and forth. Stick the raw stock in the chuck , bring the first tool up to a starting point, zero out the work shift, that would move all the z settings of the other tools to be in phase with the first tool. Rather than a turret, I would have to change the the tools and they would stay spot on as long as you don't crash the machine.
Go into the the turning program we kept in the memory, set the starting point , go down a few lines and put in the outside diameter geometry. Run the graphics and start the program. Then I would go to the boring program that we kept in the memory. Set the starting point and change the geometry.
These are all utilizing G codes and M codes and some knowledge of how the machine runs.
And the best part about the cnc is that it can make more than one exactly the same over and over. How often does that happen that they need more than one, a lot. Even more impressive was the fact that you wouldn't get any chips or coolant on yourself. I have run enough lathes over the years that dodging chips flying out of the chuck was just part of the job. These Clausings had two big guard/doors and you'd close them down and hit the button and all the chips and coolant stays inside .
We had an old Bridgeport VMC that was running Boss software and for some projects it was easier to hop in there and put together a quick simple drilling program and have the machine do the armstong part of machining. Pushing a 1 inch diameter drill through 6 inches of steel and make that 4 holes. Than pocket mill those 4 holes out to 3.85 inches in diameter all the way through that 6 inch thick plate of steel. Maybe if we had a big horizontal boring mill that would have been a better place to do the job, but that old Bridgeport vmc was the biggest machine we had .
@@paul5683 That's really interesting to know, as I've only ever seen a couple of CNC machines doing the job in videos. Sounds pretty complex setting them up. I guess you just about need a computer degree to run one.
Hello, when d you have enough measurement tools? Thank you, like your show.
This is a great question, never. Lol
I don’t think you hate winter as much as you say you do.
I do hate winter, but warm places are overpopulated. I chose the lesser of two evils.
@@TopperMachineLLC I’m in the city, so I know what you mean. All the hustle and bustle, don’t get me started on everyone driving while texting!!!
Do you advertise and if so how.
When an old machinist talks I listen, but never do like he says 🤣🤣 99% of the retired guys that I know are obsolete . 99% worked in production and made just roughing on the lathe.
They used just Hss , no DRO , no Quick change tool post .
And when I third to show them insert tooling’s, they laughed and told that hand ground is better. That DRO is crap … just because you worked 50years doesn’t mean you know or made good parts . And it’s a fact because this is why peoples come to me and not go to the old guys shop
Hey Josh; checking in from Gulliver MI. How's the deer herd looking over there?
Didn't see anything out hunting today but a few squirrels and woodpeckers
Nothing here either. I walked some state land about 2 miles from me last week; saw lots of wolf scat.
Nicely organized Q&A video. Good Job.
Lower Wisconsin here, about midway between Milwaukee and Madison. I see deer all the time. This afternoon I saw a 6 point buck chasing a do just outside of town, he had that dopey sideways walk going on like he wanted to screw. He must have been less than 100 yards from the road. He was causing some people to slow down in their cars to look.
The only things any government and government agency can do well are #1 F things up and #2 bill you for it.
100% accurate on this one.
Hello. I’m seeing you from Russia. I myself have a metalworking shop.
If you don’t mind, can you show the design of the motor compartment of a gas cutter pantograph with a magnetic copier? What kind of motor is there? its power.
Thank you .
The duplicator is a victor DC2400. You can look up the machine online and it has some good detail in the manual that is downloadable
There are government jobs that you work from your shop making there parts, could be something to look into. Ke😢up the utube videos.
You really should read the question. First of all it's hard to read the question while you are answering it, but the worst part for you is that it limits viewership simce it can't be listened to like a podcast. Often times i listen to audio type "videos" while doing other stuff cooking, working in the garage, even driving. If I have to stop and squint at the screen it doesn't work. And finally it gives you the uncomfortable feeling of listening to a one sided phone conversation. It won't take any more time and will make your presentation 100% better.
I will take this under advisement for the next Q&A session. Thanks.