Jeff McKeel
New member
Hello everyone. I'm new to the Forum so a short introduction: I have recently retired and like many of you, have machining in my blood. I started out years ago in the Los Angeles area during the hay days of aerospace on manual machines swamping chips, until I ended up learning to set up and run just about every machine in our shop before graduating to final assembly, test and buy off of aircraft components (hydraulic assemblies, actuators, slide and sleeve valves) then out of the shop and into business development in the defense industry.
Now that I have some time, I recently purchased a Leblond 15 x 30 lathe and a Bridgeport, dusted off my mics and you know the rest of the story, I have continued to round out the garage with the necessary complementary tooling.
It's truly amazing how the industry has evolved over the last 35 years into CNC and multiple axis capability. The threads I read last night on the viability of surviving with a garage shop in today's environment were so insightful and helpful.
Today, my activities remain hobby based but, I'm always interested in making a few bucks helping folks who need something turned or milled for their projects. As some of you refer to as "walk in work".
I was surprised to discover that the "Rocket City" doesn't have the depth of machining resources like in California. But I just need to expand my search area.
I look forward to chatting with you in the future.
Best, Jeff
Now that I have some time, I recently purchased a Leblond 15 x 30 lathe and a Bridgeport, dusted off my mics and you know the rest of the story, I have continued to round out the garage with the necessary complementary tooling.
It's truly amazing how the industry has evolved over the last 35 years into CNC and multiple axis capability. The threads I read last night on the viability of surviving with a garage shop in today's environment were so insightful and helpful.
Today, my activities remain hobby based but, I'm always interested in making a few bucks helping folks who need something turned or milled for their projects. As some of you refer to as "walk in work".
I was surprised to discover that the "Rocket City" doesn't have the depth of machining resources like in California. But I just need to expand my search area.
I look forward to chatting with you in the future.
Best, Jeff
