Looking for an inexpensive metal lathe

[PenTurner]

Good times in Wood, Metal, and Auto shop classes. I attended a school a little further north of you guys, Rogers High School, in Puyallup Washington. Graduated in 1978. It is too bad that most school no longer have these kinds of classes. Seems like what I learn in those classes have been more useful in life than most of the other classes, lol.

 

[PDX1953]

In Germany a decision is made when you leave middle school - either you go to a remedial program, a trade school (guaranteed apprenticeship programs) or college. This info is based on a number or different YT videos so I'm not an expert.

Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs) has a Foundation - Mike Rowe Works - and they provide 100% scholarship programs for younger people (and a few older ones) who can pass a pretty intensive interview process & prove they have the grit to stick with a program. I think they've graduated over 1000 people who have a good trade & most make close to 6 figures & some a lot more. My cousin retired as a welder & he was certified to weld titanium & other exotic metals so he made pretty good money as well.

After living/working in Puyullap for nearly 20 years my Nephew & his family moved to Yamhill. He worked at Grey Lumber in Puyullap for approx 19 years & was making 6 figures as the Operations Mgr after working his way up. The company brought in some consulting group (always a bad sign) & he was suddenly relegated to driving a forklift. His wife is a grade school teacher & was tired of dealing with spoiled brats and Elk Creek Forrest Products here in Mac offered him a job starting at $6k more than he was making in WA so they were happy to move & bought an older house on 43 acres. Everything was going great, Elk Creek asked him to be on their Leadership Council three weeks after he got there but one day they called him in & said he wasn't earning his pay. No prior warnings, he always puts out 110% but they slashed his pay about 60% & he was back driving a forklift. His wife taught school in Yamhill County & found out the country kids were as bratty as city kids & quit. She works from home doing web design & makes pretty good $$. My Nephew took a skills test somewhere, had the highest score they'd ever seen & is now an Apprentice Electrician at 38 years old. They'd saved quite a bit over the years and they're both a lot happier down here. He has another 2 years & will become a Journeyman and if he lands in a plant or doing commercial work that's pretty recession proof.

If you work hard, smart & have common sense you can do pretty well in life although a lot of us old-timers say "you can't find those types of jobs anymore" which is partially true. I started out in Portland as a Service Tech for an office equipment company in 1972, was promoted to Service Manager in Sacramento in 1982 & then went into Engineering in CT in mid-93. I'm self taught but was a Mechanical & later a Software Engineer. I received a patent in 2004 for a method to transfer money within a closed loop network or via the internet & to my knowledge it's never been breached. The company I worked for owns the patent but for a kid who barely made it out of HS I didn't do too bad. I was there for nearly 37 years but in 2008 - 2010 if you were 55 or older with 25 or more years you were a target because we were under a fully funded pension plan. Myself & many other were shown the door & the company went from having a Cap Net Worth of $6.5B with 35k employees in 2007 to a company worth $750,000,000 with 12k employees today due to piss poor management. Myself & other long-timers used to refer to it as "our company" but now that I'm back "home" I rarely talk to folks I used to work with. Oh well - I have a pension, pretty good SS because I made good money and bank extra at the end of every month. No bills, no mortgage, no car payments - but I certainly spent a lot on guns since I moved back here in Dec 2012. Two large safes crammed full of a lot of things I'll never fire but my boys will eventually inherit them. They're in a Trust so nobody needs to argue about who gets what.

Wow - now I need a nap!!

 

[Stomper]

LOL... I basically lived at 85th off Holgate for over 17 years.

Driving through there now.....

 

[WAYNO]

LOL... I basically lived at 85th off Holgate for over 17 years.

Driving through there now.....

Small world. I grew up near 72nd and Duke, and moved to 87th off Holgate while in high school. What was the most wonderful neighborhood... has changed.

Good times in Wood, Metal, and Auto shop classes. I attended a school a little further north of you guys, Rogers High School, in Puyallup Washington. Graduated in 1978. It is too bad that most school no longer have these kinds of classes. Seems like what I learn in those classes have been more useful in life than most of the other classes, lol.

Benson Polytechnic High School still very much has these classes, but the school board would dearly love to close Benson. They think learning real skills while in high school is such a waste of resources.
The Alumni Association has been very instrumental in fighting to keep Benson open.



OP...Sorry to derail your thread. Have you found a small lathe?

 

[PDX1953]

Not only did I find a lathe I found a member close by who has one and now have a new friend in gunnut38. I've had a blast remembering all the stuff I'd totally forgotten about.

When I was about 16 my Dad built two spec houses on 88th across from Lents Park. They were framed & sheeted & I was in the basement leveling sand for the concrete floor. Three kids decided to pop in after school & look around so when they came running down into the basement I let out a yell & they left a trail of poo about a block long. My Dad would pay my older brother & I the same amount he would have paid Buckaroo Thermoseal and one evening a wind & rainstorm came through & the next day there was pink fiberglass wrapped around trees, sign posts, in neighbors yards.... He was plenty ticked off b/c he had to buy all new insulation & I doubt we were were paid for installing it again.

He was a real ball buster & the week after I turned 18 I moved out while my parents were on vacation. I'd have moved the DAY I turned 18 but had to wait for my paycheck from Haugen Auto Sales at Union & Thompson where I made the princely sum of $1.50/hr while often doing Journeyman level mechanics.

I've completely overhauled more engines than I can count & even did a couple while the block was still in the car. I only enjoyed doing a few & the others were because I had no choice - either overhaul them or blow tons of smoke out the back and a couple had burned valves - my '76 Granada didn't run well on 7 cylinders. These days I just drop off my truck at a great local shop & they come pick me up when it's done.

All this back & forth has been a blast but holeee crapp does it make me feel old. I have two sons who will be 42 & 44 in a couple of days (I just remembered!), a grand daughter, a grandson, a step-grandson and 3 great-grandchildren.

I'm going to curl up in the fetal position for a while while I think about how fast life has gone by.