Goodson Gazette
Take Care of Your Measuring Tools And They Will Take Care of You
Back when I was teaching at Riverland Community College (Austin, Minnesota) my students found that one of the easiest ways to get me steamed was to not take care of their measuring tools. A machinist is only as good as his tools and that extends to his (or her) measuring tools.There’s Nothing Boring About Boring Bar Maintenance
By David Monyhan, (retired)
You know the feeling: the machine you want, you can’t afford, and the machine you can afford you already have. Don’t you wish, just once, you could call up the sales representative and say “My turn, send me one of those new ‘XYZ’ machines?”
The Art of Relationship Maintenance
by David Monyhan (retired)
Over the past few years, I’ve written quit a few articles on how to maintain your shop machinery, but now its time to talk about how to maintain your relationships with your customer. Let’s face it…without customers we are out of business. You’ve probably heard the old saying, “all machine shops are alike and that’s just the way it is!”
I don’t think so Tim!
All machine shops are not created equal.
Follow the Clues to Avoid the Come Back Blues
Even before you start the teardown, you can gather a lot of clues about what needs to be done. Encourage your counter guys to engage in as much conversation with the customer as possible. Just listening to him tell why he is bringing you this engine will yield tons of information that goes a long way toward understanding why the engine has failed. Of course if the engine could talk it would tell you all about its life. It’d be nice to have one of those little black boxes like airplanes have to record every aspect of the engine’s life, but until then, the spent engine components you are about to throw away will provide ample clues as to why it failed. Laying out the critical components for review will tell you a story of that engine’s life. It is like looking into the past to prevent a future failure.Your Crankshaft Grinder
Your crankshaft grinder probably represents one of the single biggest investments you’ve made for your shop. Most of you purchased your grinder to insure quality, delivery and to enhance your shop’s ability to be self-sufficient. Hopefully you and your employees are taking good care of this sophisticated and expensive machine. To help you out, here are the basic maintenance requirements for keeping your crankshaft grinder in tip-top shape.Spring Cleaning 101
It’s that time of year again. The racing season is underway. Spring is here and hopefully your shop is getting busier. Before it gets too hectic, it’s time to do some spring-cleaning in your shop.
The first stop is the first place your customers will see – the front counter. Get rid of any old magazines and replace them with new ones. Clean off the counter, take out the trash, wash the windows, replace any burned out light bulbs. It doesn’t need to be spotless, but it’s your only chance to make a good first impression.
Is Your Shop a Safe Place?
Is your shop a safe place to work? Good questions, isn’t it? What do I mean when I say is your shop safe? Let’s put everything into perspective.
One injury could potentially cost you everything. Lest you think I’m being overly dramatic, consider this … while working on an important job your top machinist gets a piece of metal in the eye. You take him to the hospital, probably spending several hours to get him fixed up. The doctor tells you that he has to take the rest of the day off – at least.
Get your shop together with some "Spring Cleaning"
The sun is nearly back and birds have started chirping which means spring is in the air and with that comes some spring cleaning. So buckle up and read how you can get your shop together with these cleaning and organizing tips.
First off get yourself a pedometer, attach it to your belt and at the end of the day see how many miles you’ve walked around your shop. You’ll probably be surprised. Now, step back and imagine how you can reorganize your shop to reduce the distance you’re walking every day. Not only will your legs and feet feel better, your productivity will improve.
