Hello!
My wife and I just bought our first home, a 1933 colonial with plaster and lath walls. House is in great shape but I have been racking my brain on the best methods to use when going forward on hanging things/aesthetic improvements.
One thing I definitely plan on doing is putting up crown and wainscotting in a lot of different rooms, not the pre made panels, but chair rail and picture moulding. Likely going to do full height in the upstairs hallway, 1/3 height in my office, potentially full height in the primary bedroom, etc. so I am going to be shooting a lot of nails.
I am on the fence between these two stud finders:
Franklin M210 ($63.00)
Bosch D-Tect 120 ($250)
The Bosch has a few more features and apparently scans deeper but not sure if it is worth the extra nearly $200, it also seems to get more conflicting reviews. I know (if I am lucky and there is no wire mesh) that I will be able to use the stud finder to locate studs and live wires, but I am mostly worried about identifying piping as well, as the stud finder may pick it up but of course won't reflect the difference between a stud. We have oil and steam heater and radiators in every single room so I assume there is piping going all over the place.
I assume I should be able to use a rare earth magnet to cross check the stud finder to help determine if what is being picked up is a stud or a pipe as the magnet would stick to the stud nails and not the pipe but I am still a little worried. Should I pick up a camera scope to use as well to be extra sure? I could always drill where I plan to put the chair rail to eliminate the need of too much patching.
Please provide me with any recommendations you may have in terms of tools, means and methods, or anything else. I would greatly appreciate figuring out the best method so when we move in 2 weeks from now I have a game plan.
And yes, I will be checking the stud finder on myself first to give it the first true calibration.
THANK YOU!

Hello!
My wife and I just bought our first home, a 1933 colonial with plaster and lath walls. House is in great shape but I have been racking my brain on the best methods to use when going forward on hanging things/aesthetic improvements.
One thing I definitely plan on doing is putting up crown and wainscotting in a lot of different rooms, not the pre made panels, but chair rail and picture moulding. Likely going to do full height in the upstairs hallway, 1/3 height in my office, potentially full height in the primary bedroom, etc. so I am going to be shooting a lot of nails.
I am on the fence between these two stud finders:
Franklin M210 ($63.00)
Bosch D-Tect 120 ($250)
The Bosch has a few more features and apparently scans deeper but not sure if it is worth the extra nearly $200, it also seems to get more conflicting reviews. I know (if I am lucky and there is no wire mesh) that I will be able to use the stud finder to locate studs and live wires, but I am mostly worried about identifying piping as well, as the stud finder may pick it up but of course won't reflect the difference between a stud. We have oil and steam heater and radiators in every single room so I assume there is piping going all over the place.
I assume I should be able to use a rare earth magnet to cross check the stud finder to help determine if what is being picked up is a stud or a pipe as the magnet would stick to the stud nails and not the pipe but I am still a little worried. Should I pick up this camera scope to use as well to be extra sure? I could always drill where I plan to put the chair rail to eliminate the need of too much patching.
Please provide me with any recommendations you may have in terms of tools, means and methods, or anything else. I would greatly appreciate figuring out the best method so when we move in 2 weeks from now I have a game plan.
And yes, I will be checking the stud finder on myself first to give it the first true calibration.
THANK YOU!

Hi guys,
I want to broach a very long but flat keyway in a cone on a Haas lathe with a Y axis, but the VPS can only give me cycles that go parallel to the C axis and not simultaneously in C and X (or Y).
I could not figure out how to do this with Fusion 360 CAM either, as drilling cycles cause the same problem. Does anyone have any idea how to accomplish what I am trying to do?
https://preview.redd.it/p9ngboa1s60d1.png?width=1562&format=png&auto=webp&s=674ccaa121ba19e2f7f786abea754054062168b4
https://preview.redd.it/fcu4hf93s60d1.png?width=1537&format=png&auto=webp&s=fbf729978eaea8d47fbf7535a4634e7bb02119eb
https://broachingtool.net/product/keyway-broaching-holder-inch/112271673

EDIT: (shortened) How is a telescoping rod & tube with a blocked end best made? By boring a thicker rod so it doesn't completely run the hollow through end-to-end? Or fit a rod material inside the tube? Is it possible for someone with little experience and a lathe to do this? What kind of lathe? What should I consider for the tube & rod material: aluminum or steel? Where can I get short lengths for prototyping?
I hope I'm asking the right questions to the right people. My apologies in advance; I have little to no experience in machining.
I am looking for direction regarding the fabrication of a length of aluminum or steel rod (the male) to fit inside a tube (the female) of the same metal. The length I'm thinking of is 6 inches, and the width is anywhere from an inch to a half inch. First, I need to figure out where to source these materials. Secondly, The tube isn't entirely hollow; if it were a rod rod rod, its hollowed-out section would end an inch shy of the end, leaving the tube block. This rod & tube don't have to have a tight fit; there can be a little play.
Is there a specific name for this sort of tube, or a better way to describe better than I have? Does the tube start as a solid rod that's bored out, or would a short length of solid rod inside an existing piece of tube work better?
This tube/rod design won't bear any pressure; a long thin bolt or screw will pass through a hole in the tube's terminal end and into a threaded hole at the tip of the rod. The tube/rod design is more for alignment, as a few rods are attached to the face of one plate and the tubes to the face of another. An object (imagine a block) is held between the two facing plates, and tightening the long screws will apply pressure to it.
I know this is not a job for a drill press. I've never worked on a lathe despite always wanting to take machinist (and welding) classes. Is the modest lathe (maybe an old model of one brand or another) that I could someday accomplish this sort of work on my own?
I know I know nothing; Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi all.
I am a mechanical engineer student who feels that his knowledge on practical mechanical engineering projects and building things is not been developed as it should.
I really want to get my hands on some practical projects that can help me grow on the mechanical, electric and electronic fields and I was hoping you guys could guide me on this by telling me some homemade products I can create on my own with a low budget.
I can get some regular tools like drills and perhaps a 3d printer, but fancy tools such CNC machines is totally out of range.
Any advice?

Hi all.
I am a mechanical engineer student who feels that his knowledge on practical mechanical engineering projects and building things is not been developed as it should.
I really want to get my hands on some practical projects that can help me grow on the mechanical, electric and electronic fields and I was hoping you guys could guide me on this by telling me some homemade products I can create on my own with a low budget.
I can get some regular tools like drills and perhaps a 3d printer, but fancy tools such CNC machines is totally out of range.
Any advice?

Hey I’ve got 3 years experience as a Manual and cnc machinist. I’m pretty good with a manual Bridgeport mill, haas cnc mills, fadal cnc mills, haas cnc lathe operation and some Manual lathe experience. I can read prints, can program gcode for drilling holes and milling slots. I have 2 college certifications for machining and 2 NIMS certifications. I was wondering what are some good machine shops and manufacturing plants to work for in the south Jersey area? (I’m not interested in the Philly naval yard.)

Preface: I started hammering this out not too long ago, with hopes of it extending to the truely amazing lengths that other stories have. Personally I doubt it will, but hey might be entertaining for a few people. Criticism is welcome, constructive criticism even more-so. Formatting is not my strong suit (mobile doesn’t help, nor does not knowing what the hell im doing), neither is pacing nor doling out enough detail to certain points, hopefully in time I will improve. Title may be subject to change, still iffy on it.
Kata surveyed the fields below her, searching for her quarry. The corrupted beast had three times now harassed the keep, harming multiple guards and killing a child. She gripped her bow harder, poor Ensia… just a little girl, ripped from the world too young.
She knew her parents and saw them mourn. It was heart wrenching, listening to them sob. Holding the orange blood stained body of their little girl.
She owed it to them to bring back the beast’s head. She kept a close eye on the ground below, looking for the black furred bear. It fled into the nearby woods.
Tree cover was common but did not prevent much visibility to the ground. She knew it was fairly small, and packed a mean bite, but she had her stinger, positioned at the end of her armored tail.
The red scales a sign of her bloodline, a relative of the royal family. As such, it was her sworn duty to protect her people and hunt down those who threaten them.
Minutes of careful gazing and hearty flying later and she spied her prey, positioned by a tree and ravenously devouring a still live deer. She couldn’t help but pity the deer, dying to feed such a beast. She watched as it struggled, trying to escape.
Kata began to swoop down to the two animals. After she had killed the bear, she would put down the deer. It would only be right.
Tucking in her wings, she began to dive, twisting around a tree and notching an arrow into her bow. Pulling up from the dive to coast a mere 10 feet above the ground, she let the arrow loose, hitting the bear in the back of the neck.
It reared back, roaring in pain as she slung her bow and drew her sword. Coming in low and fast, nimbly twisting around trees, she let her momentum work for the cut as she held it out at an angle.
Simultaneously, she readied her tail to nab a quick sting on the beast just in case the sword wouldn’t prove lethal. Meer moments later her sword cut deep into the bear, dragging along its neck like a guillotine. It hadn’t cut as deep as she would’ve liked, so as she passed the beast she whipped her tail down onto its back, her stinger piercing its thick hide and quickly delivering a dose of paralyzing venom.
Pulling up, she began to loop back around for a second swipe. Agilely twisting mid air to avoid hitting branches. The bear had began turning to face her, stiffly moving as the venom did its work. Confident in its potency, Kata continued forward, sure that the bear would not be able to fight back.
Only as she got too close to turn away had she realized her confidence was for nought, as it reared up onto its hind legs and took a mighty swipe at her, knocking her to the ground and cutting a nasty gash into her face
. As she hit the floor, her head filled with a searing pain like staring into the sun. She began to worry that the bear had hit her far too hard for her to recover and fight back, until with a thunderous clap and bolt of blue light the pain disappeared.
She quickly clambered to her feet, ready to face the bear once more, but to her shock, the beast wasn’t charging her. In fact, before her eyes was not just a bear, but a large building of metal and strange stone.
To her astonishment, the bear started to roar in pain. Looking around for the cause, she noticed a concerning sight. Its rear quarter of its body was fused into the structure. She stepped forward, blood from her face dripping down her neck in non-concerning quantities, inspecting the odd building.
Matthew stared excitedly at the workshop before him.
The most interesting room of the Nevada General Laboratory. A research center for robotics, genetics, botany, and most relevantly, quantum physics.
The mainstay of the Quantum Physics Department was the Quantum Breach Array. Theoretically capable of creating a portal to any point in space, perhaps even time.
The prior test of the array had not gone smoothly. When it was activated, a black bear sized animal had bolted out and started attacking researchers, biting a technician in the shoulder before scurrying back through the array. He had shut it down as soon as he could.
Mostly ignoring a handful of warnings, his boss was too excited about the prospect laid before him to slow down the research. Matthew couldn’t fault him. He was always chasing something exciting, and ever since his career in the military the thrills had to be bigger and more intense.
Seeing as he had combat experience, they’d bought him a fairly sturdy set of equipment from a surplus depot and plopped him down in the room. His technical expertise and education were more than enough to run the necessary equipment.
Perhaps they had gone a bit overkill, with night vision, full body kevlar and plates, M4, 1911, and lever action shotgun, but over equipped was better than under, and he didn’t mind the extra firepower.
He waited until the PA system crackled to life as the words rang out, the excited voices of the skeleton crew in the building.
The Q.P supervisor, two Q.P researchers, and 4 researchers from other departments which wanted to be present for the test. Technically, he wasn’t part of the Q.P department. He was just a technician working with robotics, but he hadn’t minded the hasty change to his job description.
A flurry of quickly hushed voices echoed through the speaker, before a clear concise sentence was beheld.
“Activate the array.”
Like a good grunt, Matthew did as he was told. Walking to the console and starting the device.
He felt sick to his stomach as the array buzzed to life and forced a hole through time and space. An unnatural feeling to be sure.
Stepping away from the console, he heard a capacitor burst and looked up in horror as the array buzzed louder and louder, the blue orb in the middle starting to expand.
Stepping back to the console, he fiddled with the controls, trying to shut it down. Error message after error message met his attempts, before a blinding flash of blue light and a piercing headache pervaded his concentration with a thunderous, seering mental pain.
He hadn’t even had the time to fall to his knees before it dissipated, he went to take a step back, but felt something give resistance, turning around to see something which shouldn’t be there.
A shrub, phased into the floor, right behind him. Had he been standing just a foot back, he’d likely be part of the plant. Atleast, he would be taking up the same space. Something told him that would not be a pleasant experience.
Giving the workshop before him a quick survey, the array was scorched, but the machinery around it was fine. Lathes, drill presses, other machines. He noticed a few patches of grass poking through the concrete floor, as he began walking around around.
With his first real steps around the area, he felt light and airy. Picking up a nearby wrench and dropping it, he noticed as it accelerated down, it was about half the rate it normally should.
Excitement rose in his stomach as the implications were clear, he was in a new world.
He had to see the reactions of the others. Opening the workshop door, he quickly made his way to the observation room. It was close, despite not needing to be. They watched via cameras.
More shrubs and tree limbs littered the halls, which hardly slowed him down. Reaching the observation room, he tried to push the door open to no avail. Giving it a harder push, he heard the crunching of tree limbs. His gut sank with dread as he called out to no response
“Hello?”
He took a few steps back before charging the door with his shoulder, one hit. More crunching. A second, the door opened more, and a third hit forced the door open all the way.
What he saw within did not assuage his concern, as the room was filled with thick tree limbs. Through the leaves and branches he could see bits of lab coats. He could only mumble two words as reality dawned on him
“Dear God.”
All excitement vanished from his mind. He no longer desired to explore the new location before him. It had gotten people killed. Injuries can be treated, but catching a case of death?
Matthew took a deep breath, before closing the door to the observation room and walking down the hall. Heading towards an office, he opened the door and rummaged through one of his coworkers desks.
She was saving the bottle of whiskey for when the array was stable and could be reliably used, celebrating the hard work it took. It was a good bottle too, 20 years old. But she wasn’t going to drink it. None of the staff were, the facility has clearly moved.
The thought crossed his mind, imagine how confused the other departments must be when they show up for work in the morning. Pull into the gravel road, but no building meets them.
The thought of their confused faces forced a small grin on his face. But it didn’t last. Stepping over to a window, he gazed out to the landscape before him. It definitely was not the deserts of Nevada.
Placing his hand onto the window latch to open it, he felt a small static shock.
Kata walked up to the odd stone wall before her. It was quite bumpy and rough, looking as if it were sandstone, yet granite at the same time.
She wondered what it was, and where it was cut from. More importantly, she wondered how it got here. Godly intervention? A sorcerer messing up a spell?
Pulling her from her curious examination, the trapped, corrupt bear let out a low whine, as its forelimbs gave way, hanging awkwardly from its odd binds.
Walking over and hoisting her sword high, and bringing it down hard. Stabbing it between the eyes.
Thick black blood oozed out onto the blade, smelling like the rancid corruption it had been tainted with.
She was both concerned and angry. More and more tainted creatures had been popping up and they couldn’t find the source. It was frustrating, and she couldn’t do anything about it.
Corruption searches needed large, well trained units, along with plenty of supplies and squires. Searches took weeks, and it was imperative all casualties be accounted for. Such forces can only be mustered by houses which have months of preparation.
Returning to the building once more, she slowly outstretched her hand to touch it. Once her fingers neared close enough, a small arc zapped her fingers. Pulling her hand back with a small yelp she looked around, surprised.
The gears turned in her head, a weird building did a weird thing. Weird. But not weirder than it just showing up. Slowly reaching out to touch it again, focusing intently, she was startled by the sound of cracking from above.
She immediately drew her bow and notched an arrow, looking up to where the noise originated. She saw a hand pushing open a window, and acted automatically, letting the arrow loose straight at the hand, cutting a gash into its back.
Had it been parallel to the ground, the arrow would have cleanly pierced the palm. A yell sounded out from the open window followed by words. Foreign words, but words nonetheless.
Kata winced, she thought it was a threat, something tainted. But the corrupted don’t speak. If she were in that situation, she’d probably be swearing, so she guessed that’s what they were.
She called out to the voice, hoping they understood her
“Sorry! So sorry! I thought you could’ve been one of the corrupted!”
Slinging her bow and taking a few steps back, she leaped up to the window, beating her wings to gain more height on the jump. Grabbing onto the ledge and vaulting in, she continued to apologize, atleast, until she was cut off by another yell before a hard impact connected with her head
“OHB’JESUS”
She did not know what an “ohb’jesus” was but she certainly knew the person exclaiming that could pack a punch. Stumbling to her right, she bumped into a desk of sorts and used that to steady herself.
Looking at the person she accidentally attacked and who, to her, reasonably struck back, she was confused by the sight. They were not of her own people. They were slightly shorter than her, but a lot stockier. No wings, tail, or specialized ears. They had pale skin, a compact face, and weird legs. They also wore clothes made of a material unlike anything she’d seen before. They stood firmly, fists raised, ready to throw another punch, something she’d rather not have to deal with. She raised her hands out in front of her, in an expression of ‘lets calm down here, shall we?’
Matthew stood fists raised as a genuinely surprising sight stood before him. A manticore thing, though humanoid in posture. New world, new peoples he supposed. Regardless, he hadn’t expected to get shot nor for someone to just fly through the window, so he clocked them in the face.
He hadn’t hit too hard, but it still sent them stumbling to a desk. He was just about to throw another when they held up their hands.
Hopefully it meant the same thing to both parties, as he shifted his posture and took a step back.
Hopefully they were here to apologize, cause his hand hurt like hell. They began speaking, gesturing with their hands in what seemed like an apology, but Matthew couldn’t be certain. He had no clue what they were saying, new world and thus, new languages.
After a moment of confused staring, they pointed at his hand, to which he just gave a thumbs up. He thought they were offering to help with his hand, something which seemed like a nice gesture but Matthew knew he could fix it better. Unless they had magic.
Now that was something, the excitement of the situation wormed its way back into him.
He cautiously held out his hand, letting them come forward. He used that opportunity to get a good look at them.
They were slightly taller than him, like someone standing on their toes, and casting a quick glance down revealed that’s quite literally why. Their legs were digitigrade. Adding to that, they had wings, a scaled tail, and a mean looking stinger capping it off.
Looking at their face, it was odd. It looked like a shrunk down and slightly misshapen lion's head mixed with that of a humans.
After getting over the mild oddness of the sight, he noticed a mean cut on the side of their head, bleeding bright orange blood.
‘Wonder how they got that’
He thought to himself as he watched curiously as they began to take some items out of a bag. In short order he was disappointed to notice that they were rudimentary bandages.
He withdrew his hand and sighed, seeming to confuse the… person? He was going to go with a person. Before him. If his hand was simply going to be bandaged, he’d rather do it himself.
Walking over to a first aid kit, mounted just under a fire alarm, he opened it and took out a pack of zip stitches and a bandage. He gestured for the manticore person to come over, as he demonstrated the use of the supplies.
Apply the zip stitch, pull, adhere, and place a bandage over it. He gestured to their own injury. He might as well, at the very least, it could build some good will with the locals…

Climatologists of the world have announced new observations about likely global temperature increases, as well as the latest report from Mauna Loa about parts-per-million of carbon in the atmosphere. The news is so dismal that climate scientists have trouble describing how truly dire the situation is – they are lost for words. Enter the poets. Death will not visit our doors because we don’t go solar – it will arrive when our authority disappears before a plan that doesn’t need it anymore. Doesn’t want it – would, in fact, prefer to do without it. Within a margin of error of plus or minus blah blah blah, there is this much coal and oil in the ground, and we plan to take it all out of the ground, sell it to willing buyers, and in the meantime, we will erect new skylines of carbon capture technology huffing away – not because we have to, but because we choose to.
But who again is saying this? Sure, people will write reports advocating for this or that, along with the data to back it up, a willingness to present in public when duty calls, get called before congress now and then in order to state for the record whose bread gets buttered, whose hide gets tanned. In the meantime, it all just keeps coming out of the ground – the actual remnants of the past, reconstituted as a physical analogue to the sunlight that made them, life acting as a media between photons and fuel, and what does that say about ourselves? When the authority of humanity gets displaced, by systems and markets and social scripts, the decision to extract more fossil fuel is just as mechanical as the processes of drilling and dredging and stripping and fracking, removing whole mountaintops if we have to, to extract energy sources from the past.
To respond effectively to catastrophic climate change, as a global concern, we must recover our authority from the machinery that has materialized around us, which is not a literal call to upset the applecart that is our relationship to technology but a mandate that we alter our conception of reality to be in keeping with what we now know is false – we very definitely don’t live in a reality that behaves like a machine – positively we don’t – and though we don’t know what that behavior is instead, we’re better off with uncertainty rather than science-oriented myths to keep the wheels on the road. Newton gave us many things but not an answer to what happens when human authority is displaced within a hyperreal conception of consciousness, even though, as a matter of record, Newton as scientist, as math genius, did not know where insight came from.
Hey, I suddenly feel hungry for an apple, so what do I do? Eat three homemade vegan cookies – see what I mean? Whole time I’m eating them – these little spherical brownie bites – I’m saying to myself, that was just a reference to Newton and inspiration, the apocryphal apple story, and not to be taken literally. I have another brownie bite. You know, when I stop to think about it, I don’t even have any apples, so the whole question of selection was a moot point – but the whole time I’m reflecting on this, I am an arm’s length away from a tangerine there on the table, which could have just as easily not-hit Newton on the head as an apple didn’t. I have a third brownie bite – I know fruit is good for me, and there is a piece of fruit right over there on the table, and it would have been in my interest to have eaten the fruit instead of those delicious brownie bites.
The fruit came from the protest encampment that’s been across the street for the last two weeks, originally in the front yard of the student union, which is when the police riot occurred, and they started body slamming students into the mud at some ungodly hour of the morning – and this detail chills me – after shutting off the streaming video trained on that part of the university property. Obstruct justice much? Some of the service and facilities workers called in to take down the first encampment refused to do so, and the union later objected, rightly so, that this sort of work was not in their contract, and they were encouraging their members to resist. If the first encampment was an act of civil disobedience – regarding plausible genocide – was labor solidarity initiating an act of rebellion? Shouldn’t peaceful dissent always be a plausible option?
Faith tells me the story of being there in the tents when it happened – we kettled the cops! she says, with a home-team kind of enthusiasm, and which strategy of surrounding the adversary is usually the cops’ thing. She says she felt someone picking her up from behind – a cop with a full facemask – a Gator, says Faith, which is a brand of face mask and confers some kind of cultural aura that I can’t quite put my finger on – oh right, terrorist – picking her up from behind, then . . . the next thing she remembers is being back up after the body slam, bear hugging the activist nearest to her. When the next cop put a hand on her shoulder, she flicked it away with her hand – and the dude complied! But that one cop – the cop with the fucking black gator – that fucker rocked my shit. I full-on don’t know what happened. I blacked out. Fucker had a gator – see?
She shows me a video clip on her phone of the cop with a black gator across his face. Faith says she’s had panopticon-type dreams since that moment – authority figures gazing, controlling, storming the capitol, whatever. She thinks she might have had a concussion, discusses the idea of holding the cops accountable, and I don’t say: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than to hold the police accountable for roughing people up. Faith says they found a cop’s Glock clip on the ground, plus a body cam. I say, wait – a cop had his gun drawn, and the clip fell out of it? Faith doesn’t know how it got there – they had to give the cop’s ammunition back to him. The body cam, too. Did it fall to the ground accidentally? Apparently all the body slamming started when the on-site administrator thought the activists were moving too slowly.
I haven’t asked Faith about her full interactions with the police – I see her at the moment as a survivor of a certain kind of encounter with authority that turned one version of reality – one of civil disobedience on a land-grant university – into another in which large men who could be some of these kids’ fathers, start grabbing them with gloved hands, slamming their bodies into the mud. If this sort of thing happened randomly in that exact same place, the perpetrator – we would call him a perpetrator – he would go to prison for 12 years. When it comes to the state’s property, extreme physicality is on the menu – independent media for the last few weeks has featured university professors turned on their heads by cops, zip tied and led away, calling over their shoulder to the person making the video – hey, please contact the head of my department.
The anti-genocidal encampment came down overnight – the sanctuary of the peace church I call home, plus the whole front lawn, became the place where much of the encampment ended up, and the end of the Woodstock movie started spontaneously running in my head – when Jimi’s doing a solo and the camera shows us after-concert hangers on, picking up garbage and limping through the mud. This memory had less to do with the stuff in the chapel – a bunch of camping gear – and more to do with the epic solo. The spontaneous making of authority where there was none, about an important topic we all care about, in a spirit of peace, love, togetherness – this is what speaks back to both massacre in the Middle East and catastrophic climate change. Those in the encampment proposed a better way to live – what did it cost? A few yellow circles of grass.
This morning, a bunch of people sorted through the gear, among them, local hero Ben Joselyn who proposed the original ceasefire resolution to the city council, which suggestion precipitated an eruption of feeling from the community, more than a little anxiety for Ben. I asked Ben how he would describe the value of the encampment, and Ben ran through a list of accomplishments that included environmental awareness, negotiating the press, having talks with the chancellor, creating a safe space among themselves, negotiating their own power. Then the guitar begins to swell, and sound feeds back on itself, the angry angels of life wailing like coastal storms, beating their chest like tremors in the earth, then a machine gun is heard, whistle of falling bombs – this is the war life calling, via Jimi’s epic guitar solo. In reply, the encampment demonstrated peace.
I stop to peal that lovely tangerine. What if, tomorrow morning, people of earth, all eight billion of us, were to do the right thing for the right reason forever more? War would be stopped in its tracks, never mind the genocidal premise of forcing millions of people to keep migrating while you decimate their homes, their hospitals, their universities, the civic infrastructure needed to survive – all at once, the barbarity and dropped bombs come to a halt. In an instant, we see each other as kindred human beings, never dream of heaping scorn on one another. Instead of war, we wonder how the rest of us are doing, having barely made it out of the stone age alive. Some of us didn’t, and so we do the right thing for the right reason by mourning each other, all of us, to make the depth of the moment deeper. We cry, then embrace. Count our breaths, then smile.

I’m new to woodworking but all I got is a handheld circular saw and a SawZaw. Of course I got the drills and A BASIC handsaw. I have a standard 2 car garage and half of its filled with my mechanic stuff for the cars and motorcycles. I’m tired of using gaming as a past time tbh so the question is:
What is the bare minimum in terms of large tools needed to have a good time woodworking. I’d like this list to be a budget friendly as possible. Things that come to mind are table saw, band saw, lathe, sanding methods, and an actual wood working table (build it probably)
Anyone have any thing they’d want to share in terms of that list or getting started with wood working?

Efficiency and precision are paramount. Many companies consider upgrading their machining centers with hydraulic fixtures to stay ahead. This blog will explore the cost and benefits of this upgrade, focusing on key aspects such as initial costs, operational efficiency, maintenance, and the overall impact on production.

Initial Costs and Installation

Upgrading to hydraulic fixtures involves initial expenses, including the purchase of the fixtures and installation costs. Hydraulic fixtures for machining centers are more expensive than traditional manual clamping systems. However, the investment should be viewed against the potential long-term savings and production improvements.

Improved Efficiency and Productivity

Hydraulic fixtures provide significant advantages in terms of efficiency. One of the main benefits is the reduction in setup time. Unlike manual clamps that require adjustment and tightening, hydraulic fixtures can be set up quickly and easily. This rapid setup saves time and allows more jobs to be completed in a shorter period.

Enhanced Precision and Quality

The consistency of hydraulic fixtures significantly reduces the chances of human error during clamping. This uniform pressure ensures that each part is held securely and in the correct position, leading to higher accuracy and fewer defects. For operations that require high precision, such as those involving a vertical turret lathe or a deep hole drilling machine, the exact alignment provided by hydraulic fixtures can dramatically improve the quality of the final product.

Reduced Wear and Tear

Using hydraulic fixtures can also reduce wear and tear on tools and machining centers. The even distribution of clamping force prevents excessive stress on any single part of the machine, extending the lifespan of the fixtures and the equipment. This reduction in wear and tear can decrease maintenance costs over time and prevent costly machine downtimes.

Cost Savings Over Time

Their long-term savings offset the initial cost of hydraulic fixtures. Increased productivity, reduced machine downtime, lower maintenance costs, and fewer errors contribute to significant cost savings. Moreover, the ability to produce higher quality products can lead to better customer satisfaction and potentially higher prices or more orders.

Challenges and Considerations

It's important to consider potential challenges when upgrading to hydraulic fixtures. For instance, the need for additional staff training to operate the new system can add to the cost. There is also the risk of hydraulic fluid leaks, which can cause machine failures and require additional maintenance.

WIDMA's Role in Advanced Machining Solutions

As a leader in the manufacturing industry, WIDMA has consistently provided top-notch machining solutions, including advanced vertical turret lathes, deep-hole drilling machines, and hydraulic fixtures for machining centers. WIDMA’s commitment to innovation and quality ensures that its hydraulic fixtures are designed to meet the high standards required in modern machining operations. Their solutions are about upgrading equipment and enhancing the production process to achieve maximum efficiency and quality.

Conclusion

The decision to upgrade to hydraulic fixtures in machining centers involves weighing the initial investment against the potential benefits. These benefits include increased productivity, enhanced product quality, reduced wear and tear, and improved safety. With the right planning and implementation, upgrading hydraulic fixtures can be cost-effective, boosting overall operational efficiency and competitiveness in the manufacturing sector.
Incorporating advanced equipment from trusted manufacturers like WIDMA can further ensure a smooth and beneficial transition to hydraulic fixtures, positioning businesses for success in a demanding market.

Hello everyone, I'm Swappy and I am a relatively new Muv-Luv fan. Despite this and against my better judgement I have decided to run a Muv-Luv Tabletop, titled Muv-Luv Conative. I am not using the Muv-Luv TTRPG system, but rather a homemade system utilizing the Operation V system, a Gundam TTRPG system made for the Feddie Scum podcast (great podcast). Specifically a finished version made by a fan and one of my players, as the official version is still undergoing play testing via the podcast.
Now let's introduce the party:
Alexander Kurylenko (33): A Soviet pilot from Belarus who has the misfortune for being born right as the war with the BETA broke out. He's had his home taken, he's seen friends die, and he has developed a fatalistic viewpoint on life. He believes in the Soviet Union, but isn't necessarily zealous about it. He dislikes aristocrats and the US government and he is the flight leader of the party.
Dana von Romer (23): An American pilot hailing from Texas. Dana von Romer is a guitar playing, shotgun wielding, hat wearing Texan in every way you can imagine. She believes in the principles American was founded upon, but that doesn't mean she believes in the US government and would follow it's orders without question. Her father was killed, and Dana believes it was an assassination on the part of a US Major General, and she wants answers.
Lloyd Aymar (25): A Canadian pilot who's been part of the UN since he graduated from flight school. He believes humanity should be united in the fight against the BETA, and serves as a middle ground between Dana, Alexander, and the next party member. He too has developed a fatalistic view, but he is far more sociable and friendly than Alexander. He simply believes that he'll probably die to the BETA, but he'll attempt to take as many of them with him before he goes out.
Chiyoko Kinoshita (19): Introduced at the start but joining the party later, and played by me for the sake of rounding out the party to a number of four. Chiyoko is a Japanese Fudai who is part of the Kinoshita family, a family who overlooks Japan's TSF development and manufacturing alongside the Takamuras. She is the youngest and greenest of the party, but is still a member of the Royal Guard. Her family relationship seems to be tense, especially with her older brother, and Chiyoko has a lot of expectations on her as a member of this family.
These four are part of the United Nations squadron known as the Wild Stallions. A Squadron with the on paper purpose of showing the capabilities of cooperation between countries via being comprised of pilots from different countries and utilizing all kinds of TSFs from American, to Soviet, to even Japanese TSFs.
One Shot Prologue:
The year is 1999, and the three party members (Alex, Dana and Lloyd) find themselves in Japan during the events of Operation Lucifer. The squadron is waiting to sortie, to fight the Yokohama hive, and as they wait they pack up the belongings of their recently killed wingman. Making small talk, the party soon runs into a Squadron of Japanese teenagers and meet Chiyoko Kinoshita. Chiyoko and Dana talk, but soon have to part ways as they have to sortie. Boarding their F-15E Strike Eagles, our brave pilots begin their sortie to push towards the BETA hive. Of course, they soon encounter a horde of BETA and combat starts. Dana utilizes her missiles to cause a rock slide which inures some grappler class, Lloyd charges in with his melee Halberd and begins cutting beta apart, and Alexander gives orders and lays down covering fire. Despite murdering a bunch of BETA more seems to come making their push forwards slow to a crawl. Alongside that, they can hear their apart list several other Wild Stallion flights being shot down. Eventually the two are suddenly told to retreat, as it seems US forces are going to be dropping something with little to no warning. Before they can retreat however, the party spots Chiyoko by herself in an damaged F-4J, seemingly being the sole survivor of her squad. Alexander tries to have the squad just leave her, as he is more concerned with their survival than hers, but Lloyd quickly comes to her rescue, pulling her out of the F-4 and placing her in the cockpit with him, and the party retreats. They just barely manage to get out of the blast radius of the G Bombs, getting front row seats to their detonation. As they go off, the party feels as though something about the world itself shifts, but they are more concerned with the absolute destruction left before them. Returning to base, the Stallions get Chiyoko to a medic, giving her comforting words. Chiyoko cries over the loss of her own team. With that, the Stallions retire for the day, and the one shot ends with the opening scene of Muv-Luv Alternative; the Discovery of human brains in the BETA hive.
Session 1:
It has been two years since the events of Operation Lucifer, and it is early February of 2001. Our party of three find themselves on a plane heading over to Yukon base in Alaska in order to potentially get involved with Project Prominence (my excuse of having players potentially get upgrades later one). The players now flaunt new TSFs, with Alexander piloting a MiG-290VT Fulcrum, and Dana piloting a very interesting F-18E Super Hornet. Lloyd however, doesn't seem to have his TSF on him, as Alexander managed to get into contact with an old Soviet contact and politically maneuvered his way into potentially getting Lloyd a Soviet TSF. Arriving at Yukon base, the crew first make their way to the Soviet side of the base in order to meet with Alex's contact, with Dana getting looks from the Soviets on the base, but she pays them little to no mind. Arriving at the hangar, the gang meets Alex's contact, one Jerzy Sandek. It is revealed Alexander managed to negotiate and get his hands on an SU-37 Terminator in exchange for proving the superiority of soviet TSFs, as well as a more personal favor from Jerzy. The gang also sees and are introduced to the Scarlet Twins, Inia and Cryska.
With that out of the way, the gang makes their way to the US/UN side of the base and talk with the base commander, before going off to meet the Argos Test Flight. Meeting them, the teams get along, with Alex scolding Tarisa a bit. It is then stated that the two will be going up against each other in a mock fight in order to determine if the Wild Stallions can be brought onto Project Prominence in a limited capacity. The two teams face off, with Lloyd in his new Terminator immediately eliminating Tarisa and then Ibrahim before getting gunned down by Valerio and Stella. Alexander is also shot down, but Dana manages to barely scrape out the win via a combat knife into Valerio's cockpit. With the mock fight finished, Dana and the Argos test fight go out drinking while Alexander forces Lloyd to do push-ups considering he got shot down. Alexander and Jerzy then meet, and Jerzy tells him to forget the personal favor, as he doesn't believe the two don't have what it takes to help progress what he's working on (the twins). The next day, with their objective complete, the Stallions leave back to Yokohama base, ending the session.
Session 2:
Back at Yokohama, the Stallions are missing a member as Lloyd is busy tweaking his SU-37. To compensate however, the team is joined by Chiyoko Kinoshita, now an official member of the Royal Guard and sporting a Shiranui. The gang talks over breakfast, with Alex being cold towards Chiyoko due to her status, and Dana cursing the difficulty of using chop sticks. The players are also introduced to another member of the Stallions, Jason Whiteford (a Brit). Finishing their food, the crew make small talk and head to the hangar before coming across quite the sight. It seems that over the night, someone had come in and VANDALIZED Dana's TSF with provocative words written in Japanese. After practically strong arming Chiyoko into translating for her, Dana laughs like a mad woman which makes everyone in the hangar uncomfortable before dragging the party off to investigate who did it. Making their way to security, they review the footage and see younger folks commiting the deed. Initially believing them to be trainees, Alexander heads to the training grounds and talks to Sergeant Jinguuji Marimo about this, but the cadets are soon dismissed from suspicion as they are all girls, while the culprits on camera seem to have been men. Deciding to ask Jason about any other squadrons who could harbor anti American sentiments, they are pointed to Cracker Squadron. Alexander pulls the Captain of the squadron aside while Dana decides to be less civil about it, getting into a fight with the other aggressive pilots of the flight, who were indeed behind the vandalization. With the MPs and the Captains breaking up the fight, after giving their accounts to the MPs, Alexander orders Dana to several hours of firing drills in her TSF before being called to Brigadier General Paul Radhabinod's office. Arriving, he is informed that he and his squadron will most likely be involved in the defense of Niigata, as it seems a BETA force is planning an invasion there. The two are then interrupted by one Professor Kouzuki Yuuko, and Alexander is dismissed. He leaves due to this, and due to Professor Yuuko's vibes. Late into the night, early morning in fact, Dana finally finishes her punishment and is greeted by Chiyoko, who managed to get her guitar fixed (which had been damaged in the brawl). The two talk about their ideals and the two then promise to win the war against the BETA so everyone can have Wagyu steaks. With that, they go off to make late night burgers as the session ends.
Session 3:
It is now time for the defense of Yokohama! The Wild Stallions are given a briefing by their commanding officer, one Colonel Augustine Gil, about the defense line that has been established at the Niigata shoreline. The Stallions alongside other UN and IJA forces will intercept the BETA hordes at the shores and perform an active defense against this invasion. Colonel Gil also informs them that Chiyoko will be accompanying their squadron as she is on loan from the Royal Guard to the Wild Stallions. With that out of the way, the Wild Stallions sortie (with Lloyd literally doing warm up exercises with his Terminator while taxying towards the runway) towards Niigata. The squadron arrives as the shoreline, and wait for the BETA to arrive. Once they do, the defense begins, starting with air support and artillery supporting hounding the initial waves of the BETA. Of course despite that they keep coming, and the Stallions alongside other squadrons begins to intercept the BETA. Chiyoko and Lloyd prove to be excellent Melee fighters, which is expected from Lloyd, while Dana and Alex fire on the BETA. Alex rolls a critical fail and then a critical success, which confuses all of the characters including Alexander himself. Of course they hear over the radio as people die horrible deaths, but at that point it's white noise. Suddenly, Laser class BETA appear and shoot down any air support! This naturally causes the Stallions to book ass to cover, with the members doing evasive maneuvers against the incoming laser fire. Before they can try to intercept the laser classes, they are ordered to support one of the other defensive lines which is suffering heavy casualties.
Arriving at the scene and seeing a pilot die, Alexander barely manages to use artillery to get rid of the laser class present and the Stallions begin to clean up the BETA. Lloyd actually fails a melee check for once, and Chiyoko fucks up an evasion roll against a Destroyer class and gets hit hard. At that moment, however, more reinforcements appear. They are a squadron of Shiranui's being led by a Takamikazuchi. The pilot is non other than Chiyoko's older brother, Yamato, who witnessed Chiyoko be hit and tells her off while being rude to the other party members. They are then allowed to return to base for resupply. Arriving back at base, Chiyoko is visibily upset by the interaction with her brother, but the others (including Alexander surprisingly) try and cheer her up which kind of works. With that, the session ends with the Stallions put on standby.
Session 4: It is near the end of February and the defense of Niigata is still ongoing! The Wild Stallions are on standby at a forward operating base, with Lloyd and some of the other Stallions drinking, Alexander sulking, and Dana writing a letter to an old friend. While basically partying, Lloyd spots Chiyoko practicing her swordsmanship with a sad expression. Correctly guessing this what still about her brother, Lloyd drags her ass to the party and attempts to offer a drink, but she declines. Lloyd messes around with Jason and then gets into a discussion about Soviet ideals with Alexander after the captain (Alexander) heard him talk about despite Soviet ideals on materialism, they party hard. Of course Lloyd takes the piss out of him in a scene worthy of the Chibi art style before they are informed that they will be sortieng soon. While Lloyd is literally hosing down some of the members of the Stallions, Chiyoko comments on how seemingly free he seems, as he doesn't exactly have to worry about things like familial obligations. Alexander stays silent because he doesn't like her, as her status makes her the enemy to him. Dana comes out the post office to witness Alexander standing there by himself before being informed of the briefing. Arriving, they are once again briefed by Colonel Gil, who explains they'll be intercepting the last of the BETA at a nondescript city. The Stallions once again sortie, with Chiyoko now having a maxed out maneuverability skill, and arrive at the city. While other squadrons intercept the BETA in the city, Alexander has the Stallions hold back and let the BETA come to them. Making quick work of them, they push in only to see two Fort class beta. Thinking quick, Dana fires off her missiles at one of the Fort Class and successfully eliminated it, while Chiyoko and Lloyd go for the other one. Lloyd uses his large halberd to carve into the Fort Class, but doesn't manage to kill it. He lands in front of it's stinger, and it tries to stab into his cockpit with it, but Lloyd barely manages to dodge and promptly cuts the Fort Class in half with his sword, soaking his Terminator in red and laughing, taking enjoyment in killing BETA. At that moment, they receive laser warnings and Lloyd and Alex dodge much larger than usual laser fire.
Off in the distance they see two Heavy Laser BETA. As Alexander barely managed to dodge the laser, he could nearly feel his blood literally boil from the heat. At that moment, he receives a vision, both clear and barely intelligible, both seemingly real and fake, of the heavy lasers eliminating some of the other Stallion pilots, but he chocks it up to adrenaline. Chiyoko and Dana then make quick work of the heavy lasers, as Alexander uses his admittedly broken skill to eliminate all of the remaining BETA on the field. This sudden increase of skill shocks everyone in the squadron, but Alexander brushes it off and they return to base. Considering the strain he put on his body through his intense maneuvering while eliminating the remaining BETA, Alexander vomits up some blood and bile and passes out, as he is taken to the infirmary. Dana spots Colonel Gil with a change in his expression, and the two exchange nods as he returns to his tent. The session then ends with him informing a certain professor about this strange increase in skill.
Session 5:
It is now mid March, and the Stallions find themselves boarding a plane back to America, specifically Dana's homestate of Texas. Oddly enough Chiyoko, now dawning a UN Uniform, is accompanying them. It seems she's gotten orders to continue accompanying the Stallions. Alexander is slightly annoyed by this, but fellow squadron member and Soviet, Nairi Oganesyan, jabs at him for this and notes that despite his dislike of her, he could probably pass off as her father in a civilian setting considering their looks, despite the fact he's only 33. This shakes Alexander to his core, and he turns to dust. Boarding the plane, they head off to America and arrive at US Air Force Plant 4 for, even stranger, an escort mission. They are greeted by Dana's old commanding officer, Major General Jairo Campbell, the person Dana suspects had her father killed, and Dana's old squadron captain and friend Crystal Myers. The two catch up and Dana is dragged off by her old squadron, the Braves, off to the plant, ditching the other three. Arriving at the plant, the Stallions head off to unpack, not before the two captains of each squadron share some words with each other. After unpacking, Dana mentions wanting to see if her old "stache' was still around, and Alexander and Lloyd leave with Alexander saying it's due to what Dana mentioned and how he can't be complacent in it despite overlooking it, and Lloyd wanting to go drinking. This leaves Dana and Chiyoko by themselves, and Chiyoko finds herself being dragged away by Dana, being given looks of worry and concern from other people in the base who knew Dana. Dana takes Chiyoko to an abandoned storage building, and enters. The hangar is home to some abandoned F-16 prototypes and various other containers as Dana takes her to some old, hidden lockers. She kicks the door open, and Chiyoko fails a movement check and gets hit right in the face by the locker door, causing a nosebleed. Dana apologies and lands her a handkerchief before the two look at the contents of the locker. Inside the locker are the belongings and picture of her father. Dana explains to Chiyoko that despite his skills and accomplishments as a pilot, Campbell practically wiped him from the records, and Dana believes it's because he knew something Campbell was planning. That's why she became a pilot, and despite Campbell's attempts to get rid of her, she persisted and soon joined the UN. This shocks Chiyoko.
Alexander meanwhiles runs into Crystal Myers again, her seemingly friendly and upbeat demeanor gone as she smocks a cigarette. The two talk, Crystal mentioning how he's Belarusian, which surprises Alexander a bit. She explains how she fought in the Soviet areas during her own brief time as a UN pilot, and she laments that despite the fact humanity seems to be on the verge of losing against the BETA, humanity still conspires against each other. She then tells him to keep an eye out for his squad, and leaves to go do a flight. This comment kicks Alex's paranoia into overdrive. Back to Chiyoko and Dana, Dana let's slip that she knows about the existence of Alternative IV which one again shocks Chiyoko. However, the two agree to keep this between them out of concern about the Major General potentially hearing about their suspicions. The two shake hands, with Dana spitting on her palm and grossing out Chiyoko a little. They then exit the storage building. Cutting back to Alexander, he spots Colonel Gil and Major General Campbell walking and discussing something in hushed tones. Against his better judgement and rolling a critical success, he listens in. Campbell states that despite being given orders to hand the XG-70s to Yokohama base for the Alternative IV Project he views it as a waste of time and that they should be used for Alternative V. Gil tells him that despite what he thinks, Alternative V is still the backup to alternative IV and he has to comply. They then enter a very large storage building.
Returning to base with Chiyoko still nosebleeding, with Dana saying to tell anyone it's from Texas' dry air, they run into Alexander. The three then being to make their way to the infirmary, not before spotting a new TSF with the monicher of X-35 painted on its jump jets taking off alongside some F-16s. Dana correctly summarizes that Crystal is the pilot of this new TSF and that it could be the replacement for the F-18 and F-16. Alexander curses the "Americans and their toys." Dana then comments on how Chiyoko seems to be fine despite the bleeding, but at that moment Chiyoko begins to feels dizzy and they carry her to the infirmary and retire for the day. Later that night, Chiyoko is greeted by Colonel Gil who asks her to gather up Dana and Alexander, and she does. Walking through the base Gil informs Alexander that he did notice him, and has decided that they should know as the lead flight as to what they are transporting (Lloyd is too drunk to inform). Arriving at the large storage building, the three pilots are out face to face with the two colossal XG-70s that they are to be escorting. Dana and Chiyoko are absolutely surprised by the sheer size of the machine, but Alexander isn't as impressed when informed that mass production would be very difficult. He is also informed of what happened to the test pilots, but is assured they won't be flying it. With that, they return to their rooms. The session ends with Gil apologizing to Chiyoko for getting her wrapped up in this, but Chiyoko tells him that it's fine, and that those machines may be what Humanity needs...
Session 6:
The latest session! The Wild Stallions wake up, with Lloyd hungover. Dana provides coffee to the pilots while Lloyd yells at them to wake up. Making their way to the cafeteria, the Stallions are introduced to another member of the Braves, Ariane Baker, a younger pilot who looks up to Dana. Ariane seems slightly annoyed about how close Chiyoko and Dana seems to be, but Dana manages to (maybe) settle her down. The two young pilots shake hands. They also talk about the F-35, mentioning how they hadn't managed to change the X-35 monicher that had been painted on yet, and how that America will be selling them to other countries as their new 3rd generation TSF. After breakfast and small talk, the stallions are briefed on their mission. The different flights will be accompanying the transport vehicle all the way to Yokohama, with the main party being given the responsibility of escorting the transport off American soil from California. Alexander questions why they need an escort in friendly territory, but Colonel Gil says it's simply a precaution while giving them a knowing look, which Lloyd doesn't pick up on. Boarding the plane, Jason, Lloyd and Nairi make bets on what the cargo is, with Nairi being suspiciously close to what it actually is. Dana takes up Nairi's bet. The trip to California is met with no issues, with Alexander having the rookie pilots stop ceaseless chatter, and they arrive at California. At the California airport, Dana references Quattro Bajeena in the second opening of Zeta Gundam and Lloyd asks her what's wrong, with Dana saying it's nothing. The Stallions take off, however this time they sortie without their heavier weapons, only having their assault cannons and combat knives. This annoys Lloyd greatly, but when Chiyoko says it isn't that big of a deal, Lloyd surprises everyone by agreeing and stopping his complaints.
Getting far enough from the shore, the Stallions are informed by their operator of five unknown IFFs heading right for them, and Alexander visually confirms two F-15Es and three F-16Cs with no markings and painted in dark colors. Being fired upon, the party is given clearance to intercept the TSFs. The team makes quick work of them, proving far too experienced and skilled for the mysterious assailants. Alexander and Dana agree on capturing a target, and the other two agree. Lloyd and Dana successfully manage to capture two TSFs, but they are informed of a self destruct signal coming off from them. Lloyd drops his, but Dana manages to rip out the cockpit block from the TSF before it explodes, and the party witness an explosion only capable from an S-11 self destruction device. Seemingly managing to save their prisoner, Dana is caught by surprise when, from directly behind her, a TSF arm reaches out and stabs the cockpit block in her hands with its knife before her F-18E is grabbed and shoved aside. The party is met with a mysterious unmarked TSF (an F-22A Raptor), but it breaks off and disappears into a horizon. Dana however barely manages to succeed an observation check and her suspicions are confirmed. It seems Crystal was the pilot of that unknown TSF. The session ends with Dana saying "Et tu, Crystal?" before they are forced to return to the California airbase.
And that about sums up every session so far of Muv-Luv Conative! I hope you enjoyed reading that extensive and long recap of the events of the story so far. I know there may be some hiccups with lore and what not, but me and my players have really enjoyed what we made so far, and I hope you do as well. I'll hopefully continue this once we get some more sessions done. Thank you for reading.

Hi all!
​
I am trying to melt some silver scraps in the general shape of a ring. After which, I plan on doing the finishing, sizing, and detail work with air tools/lathe. I don't necessarily need to have much precision other than very round.
I have done the same with a copper ingot that I drilled and cut a ring out of.
​
Thoughts?

What is the deal with this industry?
I'm a journeyman Machinist and have been for 10 years now. There is a surplus of lathe work in Alberta, Canada due to being well connected to the drilling and completions industry. My job duties included Programming in Gcode and Mazatrol with the last employer providing crappy gibbscam programs which required hand edits. Every job I've had I have made it clear that I wanted milling experience, multiaxis, and that I wanted access to CAD/CAM software. Naturally, a number of places I've worked did not employ CAD/CAM software for turning operations.
Currently I'm on the hunt for a new job and I have hiring managers looking down their nose at me that I don't have CNC milling experience. I have manual shops that won't entertain me as a candidate. It's almost as bad as the online dating market. I don't remember getting a journeyman ticket in CNC lathe operations.
Do I have to go on afternoon/night shift to get the experience I need to progress on this trade? I would really rather not because the last time I tried my health and relationships really suffered. What are some methods you used to progress or to ace job interviews? I tend represent my abilities accurately rather than blowing smoke during the job interviews.
Perhaps some CAD/CAM training would allows me to progress but I have literally been practicing on and off for ten years at this point without the ability to post the code and run it on a machine. I've dabbled in solidworks, mastercam, Gibbscam, and Esprit and Fusion but I wouldn't say I'm proficient in any of them.
I recently became a second year Millwright apprentice looking to get onto maintenence crew for a change of pace. I having difficulty getting an opportunity there as well.
Sick to death of CNC Lathe operation. Please help