I guess I'm one lucky SOB. I took a job as a manual machinist making parts for the automation group at same company. Their programmer quit and since I had seen a couple of cnc machines before, they asked if I'd try it out. I had three weeks while the current programmer was quitting to learn Camax, Smartcam, Ideas, Autocad and Vericut. Of course I wasn't an expert now or after three weeks of getting familiar with the software, but I had determination to better myself and I guess alot of luck. Guess I should be alot more thankful. Good luck and keep your chin up produca2.

Hey guys, thanks alot. I greatly appreciate the quick response. Y'all have a Happy Memorial Weekend. Laterz

thanks chipmakr, one guys and i'll have the ammo I need.

Cool Brian, thanks for your input. Anybody else care to wade in. I probably need about three opinions to sway the vote. Thanks again.

Good afternoon yall, I was wondering if anyone has had problems with dell lcd monitors during verifying. I am gettin a new computer and was thinking of going lcd but wondered if there were any problem inherent with the lcd's. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks for the information Roger.

Well happy holidays Iskander.

We had a maintenance guy who worked part time at Burger King. (probably for the free food) He looked like he was about 12 months pregnant. Anyways, every damn morning, he would go into the office area bathroom and lock the door and be in there for two hours. Undoubtably sleeping. We used to think someone just really had the crapps, but we started taking turns keeping an eye out until we caught him going in and timed him. Every night he worked, the next morning he was in the bathroom for a couple of hours.

Oh, I see. I thought, maybe Scott might be tied up in a leather S&M suit and attached to a garage door opener like Dabney Coleman in "9 to 5", and Frank held the remote or something.

What, does Frank chase people of the forum from Ma or something John? That's not nice.

Hey Kannon, Good managers have their place, but when you have two shop foremans and seven toolmakers, come on, that's just ridiculous. I'm all for the "We're in a transistion phase", but when you start approaching two indians per chief, the tribes in trouble. The funny thing is, we get the speech, " Y'all are gonna have to step it up to keep up with the Chinese competition", but you don't see them trimming the number of managers and making them work harder. We don't have time to double check before we cut steel, but they have all the time to stand around and compare golf stories or talk about their latest toys. Them sob's should be thinned down and made to pull some weight. At least that's the way it is where I work. I'm sure we're the only ones top heavy with scattered lazy idiots at the controls. We have some good managers, but if they won't help thin out the bad ones, then they're all guilty through association. That's just my opinion and I'm probably wrong.

Hey guys, I appreciate y'alls imput. IT services has decided that I should be able to perform my duties with nothing more than an Etch-a-Sketch and an Abacus. The graphics are slow but I can slam them beads around pretty quickly. Thanks again Murlin and John.

Hey Haas_guy, nope but I was manually making a fixture at a bridgeport knee mill when a guy lost his index finger to a 1" endmill. There was no mercy and no forgiveness from the endmill. His finger slipped between the shaft he was working on and the endmill that he inadvertantly didn't shut-off before measuring the shaft and it pulled it through and chopped it up. It was nasty. He didn't even yell. Reached up, turned the machine off and asked the foreman to take him to the Hospital. I get the jitters everytime I use a kneemill now. Just have to collect myself and think before acting and I can still count to 11 on my fingers. lol

I hear ya Peter, we had a pre kaisan in our toolshop and the kiss-xxxx near retirement supervisor threw out everything that wasn't tied down or chained up. We ended up building a new plate for a mold that was used for changing between a 5 bolt pattern part from a 6 bolt pattern part. It was a good size plate that was in the shop to have the bolt holes touched up while the other style was running. We're missing half our specialty tools for the cnc side of the toolroom. Fixturing jigs and special clamp jigs were just tossed out per the "if you ain't used it lately, you don't need it." I think it all boils down to common sense, and it don't matter what system you use, if the guys in charge are morons, nothing is gonna get fixed no matter what new trend you come up with. I think Gary has the key, if you make the company money, you stay, if you don't, you need to be terminated with extreme justice and xxxx on the political correctness crybabies. That's just my opinion, and I could be wrong.

Well, you know they have little old ladies in India that can eat a handful of chips and crap out a perfectly good mold in no time at all. You're doomed. lol