Rate my video!

[J-Bar]

That is very impressive work.

If you don't mind, how did you learn to do all this? Were you trained as a machinist or tool and die maker? I can't imagine myself learning to do all this on my own, but that's just me!

In any case, those are the kinds of photos that I really enjoy seeing. Thank you.

 

[MachIVshooter]

If you don't mind, how did you learn to do all this? Were you trained as a machinist or tool and die maker?

No. I've never been formally educated beyond the 9th grade. I dropped out at 15 and went to work doing carpentry. After a year and a half, I moved into automotive, been a wrench ever since. Machining always interested me, though. I bought that mini mill back in 2004, messed around on it from time to time, but didn't really get into it until I took delivery of my Lagun FTV-2 mill and Hardinge HCT lathe in June of 14. I've picked up quite a few tips and tricks from the pros and gleaned what I can reading, but yes, mostly it's just been doing it. And I definitely have my own style; an old school machinist who spent a career on manual machines with HSS tooling would likely never agree with the spindle RPMs I run, the depths of cut I do with small cutters, and that I prefer climb milling most of the time. It's not uncommon for me to run a 1/8" cutter at full width and 3/8" DOC in steel, which totally defies conventional techniques. I'll also dry cut with 3/4" carbide end mills at 1,500 RPM in steel, which is about triple what the old school SFM charts suggest. But it works for me I'm still learning every day, though. When I don't like the way my methods are working out in a particular material or doing a certain type of cut, I stop and go read about how others have dealt with it.

Machines and mechanical things have just always made sense to me. Going from repair/assembly to manufacture was a natural progression.

 

[buck460XVR]

Looks good to me!

Amazing what some folks can do with their God-given natural talent and good tools.

 

[barnbwt]

Meanwhile Royal Numbnuts gets the royal treatment from Serbu & a million funded Youtube hits for turning in a half-baked blowback gun encrusted with messy weldment. There's no justice in the world, I tell ya

 

[MachIVshooter]

Meanwhile Royal Numbnuts gets the royal treatment from Serbu & a million funded Youtube hits for turning in a half-baked blowback gun encrusted with messy weldment. There's no justice in the world, I tell ya

Hahaha.

Unfortunately, Youtube is about entertaining people, not the quality of work you do. My craftmanship, creativity and technical knowledge is irrelevant; I'm not an entertainment personality, and I don't blow stuff up.

Why Mark Serbu took an interest in that character I'm not sure, musta been when he tried to blow himself up with a .50 barrel clamped to some conglomeration and shooting at it with a .22. Sadly, his "guns" aren't even blow back; I don't think he ever came up with one that worked on his own, Serbu having had a hand in his latest PCC things. They're all either single shot open bolt, or some variety of slam fire tube-in-tube. I think he may have done one or two with actual fire control parts, albeit crude as can be by any standard.

Honestly, he was the #1 reason for this video, but there are plenty of other goofballs like him offering dangerous "how to" type clips.