Blast from the Past

So my degree in Engineering made me take "boys" classes...we're talking the 70's here. I was the only girl in all of them and all the guys had already taken them in High School. I was slower than the rest, but always got A's. Included Metal Lathe, Sheet Metal, Welding, Foundry (had to run the class and loss my eyebrows for a quarter :eek:), Strength of Materials lab...blah, blah, blah. For some reason, Cal Poly made you actually have to know how things work...not just book work :)

I was unpacking some junk boxes today and came across some of the fine examples of my work :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Should be good for a laugh :rofl::rofl::rofl:

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What we have here is a nicely rolled bowl. In it, on the bottom part is what took the whole quarter to finish and to aggravate us all, we took the other end to a milling machine and got the same results in 2 seconds :eek: The other is a simple memo pad stand

Now on to that supposed toy I'm supposed to make :doh::doh::doh:
 

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Yeah! some of the the things they make you do in school don't make sense when you are doing it. It is like taking the elective courses. I used to think why do I need art appreciation or philosophy or speech etc. Now I know that it does help you expand your horizon.
 
The pics are kinda fuzzy but but that looks like an Acme and square threaded shaft. Guessing you had to single point them as CNC wasn't too common back then. Not too tough once you get the hang of it but darn good learning experience that not everyone can experience. I started learning machining in 1974 and retired in 2010 after 27 years as a tool and die maker. The skill is not limited to the boys. I've known several ladies who were excellent machinists using conventional machinery. Anyone can poke a button on a CNC set up.
 
Nothing there to laugh about Sharon. That is what is lacking in most of our trades/electives/courses today, work for experience.
So, maybe you or someone on here can explain to me. When I was a kid, there was an old guy that ran a junkyard on the edge of our town. I saw him do this "trick" three times maybe. He would take a quarter, drill a 1/4" hole in the middle of it, using a ball peen hammer, he would talk to you and tap on one side of that quarter (I assume one side only) anyway, after maybe a long discussion about who knows what now, he would hand me that quarter and the outside rim of it would be smooth, the inside hole was ridged! :eek: He essentially turned that quarter inside out!:huh: Now I assume he only pecked on one side because one side of that quarter was still visible, the other side was "peened".:dunno: Nope, thought he would live forever, at least long enough to show me his trick, he died before I graduated. He was the proverbial hermit, but I got on his good side as he had a pony he used to mow his junkyard and one time it got loose and I rode my pony over there to catch it. I could do anything and ask for anything after that. To the rest of the kids, he was more than a grouch. Anyway, any ideas how this was done anyone??????
 
That's a pretty neat trick. :huh:

No chance that he swapped the original quarter for an "unseen" one while you were distracted? :dunno:




Nope, he even gave me one or two of them, to young and dumb to keep them safe. Either sold or lost them.
 
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I used to think why do I need art appreciation or philosophy or speech etc. Now I know that it does help you expand your horizon.

Never a more true statement has been said. After just a couple of weeks in public speaking class, I have noticed a change.

Of course my teacher did get on me for the way I talk. Redneck accent and using past tense in stead of present. I just told him people expect that. Lots of folks won't pay attention to a know it all:D
 
Sharon, I've still got a cast aluminum mug and ashtray that my sister made for me in her university Industrial Processes (or some such name) class. I really like your rolled bowl, and the other pieces are beyond my capabilities, too. :thumb:
 
I know I have said it in several posts---Machinery loved my father. If he needed something unusual he made it. Like a ding-dong I didn't pay attention. And what makes it worse; he would have loved it if I had taken an interest.

Maybe I should change my Avatar statement---Apparently I had lost my brains way back then.

Sharon, I envy your talelnts.

Enjoy,

Jim
 
Thanks everyone...I guess i forget what I can do given the incentive (an "A"). :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

Kind of makes me wish I had taken shop as well during college (girls weren't allowed in HS). After all my dad was a cabinet maker by trade and i did my own thing as a kid in that arena.

I hear there is a toy swap coming up...we'll see :eek::eek:
 
A toy clipboard!! That would be fun! My dad went to Cal Poly too. I almost ended up there myself, but opted for Fresno State...nothing like a little family competition! That was when tractor pulls were huge and filled stadiums all over. The Ag engineering dept at Cal poly invented the sled technology that is still used today
 
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