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BigBill

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I built CNC machine tools lathes and chuckers for the industry. I remember the lathes I built. In 1982 I built a lathe and it's on eBay for $149,500. There's a machine shop here that's full of these lathes. These companies are out sourcing. I built these from 36" chuck to 144" chucks.


Bullard 46 inch Vertical Turret Lathe Inv 17679 | eBay
 
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My engineering group was out sourcing matching giant steel discs for brake testing. There's only one company here locally who has the big lathes to remachine these discs. He has all larger Bullard machines. A few years down the road I was a lead engineering tech. They test everything in the r&d lab.
 
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I'm glad I'm retired now. My job was out sourced too. But when they send out a new design to a vendor to be made they have no clue where this part is going and if it will fit. I caught many mistakes knowing the design and where it's going. You can't redesign the part after the vendor makes it. Now they redue the contract to make the part again or forget about it. This is the downfall of out sourcing. Your in no control of the vendors.
 
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The plant my dad worked in (closed in 83) had quite a few Bullards. Mostly Dynatrols I think 72" was the biggest. When the plant closed my dad started a machine repair company. My first jobs in the business was cleaning the Bullards for shipment. I spent days as a sixteen year old shoveling chips, wet and dried like cement cast iron dust out of those machines. They had a few kickers too.

One of my customer still has a 1910 (ish) VBM. He doesnt use it often but from time to time it makes chips.

Sometime in the 1970s the company send two machines back to Bullard for overhaul. The driver drove them into a low bridge...

They also had a Bullard HBM that always seemed to have bugs in it...

All the old line companies have evaporated, G&L, DeVlieg, W&S, Lodge & Shipley, Monarch and on and on.

Did you ever read "When the machine stopped" I think you will like it. Its the story of Burgmaster, buyouts, Japanese manipulation its an interesting story.

On my book shelf I have a original copy of Yankee Toolmaker, the Bullard story. I also have a brochure from 1955, the anniversary year. It shows the plant layout, kinda cool. It even shows the final assembly building that is now BJ's.

I Just got an email a few weeks ago, the current owners of Bullard are doing rebuilds. The are big in the oil field work with many machines in Texas. The other thing of interest is the even rebuild Kings too.
 
You guys are digging up memories again. I hadn't thought of those old machine names in years. I never operated any large equipment, my specialty was Levins, Hardinge and South Bend. The smallest hole I ever drilled was .007 diameter, on the Levin.

Have a blessed day,

Leon
 
46 years in the manufacturing business for me. Started out running engine lathes in 1970 at 15 years old...now running a large fabricating shop. Still lots of manufacturing done in the US. Yes there is plenty done overseas and very few machine tools built in the US, but don't count us out yet. IF we can just get parents to realize that a person can make an excellent living in manufacturing, we'd be ok. I have at least 10 welders in my shop that make over $80,000 per year with OT, and a couple who make over $100k. I know lots of college grads who don't make that much.
 
There is still at least 1 American machine tool maker, Kays Engineering, which is located here in my home county...they make precision deep hole drills & gun barrel drills & have since the 1940's... once someone gets hired on with them, few leave until they retire.
 
da gimp said:
There is still at least 1 American machine tool maker, Kays Engineering, which is located here in my home county...they make precision deep hole drills & gun barrel drills & have since the 1940's... once someone gets hired on with them, few leave until they retire.
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The Bullard machine tool company was like that once you got in you were set for life until white consolidated took them over when they purchased 51% of the stock. Mr Bullard locked up the pension fund which was quite large so white couldn't touch it. White said if they can't touch the pension money they will close the Bullard machine tool company and they did. They sold off the biggest money maker that white had profit wise. About 1,000 American jobs were lost in '83. We were told nothing as the machines in the machine shop were being sold off. About 900 jobs went right away. I was around 100 on the seniority list. I told my coworkers we were going soon. Of course denial took place. This area was full of industrial manufacturing might. Now it's a ghost town. We had Bridgeport machines(milling machines) producto (castings forgings), Moore Tool (built machines), Bridgeport Brass (brass manufacturer), ect there all gone. The car makers thought they were invincible till lately. You can only cut costs till your quality takes a hit. The cars from Japan were the highest quality when there production numbers were low. When there production numbers went up and greed took over there quality went down. Now we're seeing them make simple mistakes.

My point is the owners of these American companies had to show the stock holders profits even if it meant selling the company off. Now while these corporations were closing companies the cheaper machine tool imports from Japan were moving in. As our castings became more accurate they didn't need a big Bullard machine in some cases. But you can't remove material like you can on a Bullard. With our fair trade system we were blind sided in a way. The powers to be put the interest rates at 21% who's going to buy a million dollar machine at 21% interest back in 1983?

Such is life and why we're in the shape were in today. We have lost these tradesman never to return.
 
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Wow reading here about all the out sourced people kinda makes me wonder!

My son (now 35) a graduate of Hudson Valleys Community College with a degree in Machining got hired at graduation and has worked since!.

After a couple years in the field is working more hours than he would like. FWIW he is very well compensated as he is a CNC programed/foreman and has 12 people working under him and a few million dollars of equipment to keep running. There are a couple other foreman there and they all say the same thing, WE NEED GOOD HELP!

He has said on many occasions they just can not get the help and he also states they pay well. His company has sent him to a few courses tool companies put on the last being Mazak (gone twice) He said they will also send any good person hired on. They are still looking for good help.

Just saw a add yesterday in the paper the GE Plant in nearby Schenectady is also looking for good men. Guess Northern NY weather scares off people.:D
 
Good trained help is hard to find. Finding tradesmen is even worse. Very few come out of trade school here and use the trade they were taught. Where are the future plumbers, steam fitters and electricians going to come from?
If you have steady work consider yourself lucky these days.
 
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BigBill said:
Good trained help is hard to find. Finding tradesmen is even worse. Very few come out of trade school here and use the trade they were taught. Where are the future plumbers, steam fitters and electricians going to come from?
If you have steady work consider yourself lucky these days.
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Retired (since 2002) union steamfitter here and we have plenty of applicants for our apprenticeship program. Albany, Schenectady Troy area of Northern NY.

We try to pick the best and match the amount that retire/die with noobs to keep our working membership relative constant. So far so good.
 
The politics of what has happened in this country will get me a time out if I go any further but if we don't all take this election seriously things will not get better for the country or its people.
 
Nobody wants their kids to be a loser and go to trade school. Want them to get a college degree so they can get a job managing a McDonald's somewhere. This country is hurting for craftsmen. I was a GF on a job during the last recession and over half my welders and fitters were guys with green cards, making $34 and hour, plus 20-48 hrs of OT a week, plus per diem. At the same time I see all the news about no jobs. No, jobs is because either no real skills or no real want to work.
 
raljr1 said:
Of course we lose a significant percentage because they can't stay off drugs....
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Ya, well on that. I have lost some good guys who never caused me a single problem that smoked some pot somewhere along the line. Yet, every time there is a big job, I get some guys that I know are what I call powder heads (meth, coke or the like). Thing is they get away with it because it goes through their system in less than 48 hrs. Then there are the prescription pill guys that are fine because they have a Dr ok to take Hydrocodones, Oxycontin etc. But some guy who smoked a bowl with his wife, girl friend, buddies on Fri or Sat. night is a safety hazard on Monday morning??? :rolleyes: Sure OK

Don't get me wrong. I don't want to work with anyone who is stoned or messed up. Yet, I get Mr brain dead and Joe Hangover while losing a basically good man who just took a chance doing something that in my opinion has ZERO effect next day, week or month.
 
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It's hard to acquire any kind of skill when all you want to do all day is stare at your stupid I-phone.

The education establishment is totally hung up on the necessity of getting a college degree. Meanwhile they make high school so dumb easy the kids can't cut the mustard in college. So they have dumbed down college too and hand out useless degrees with lots of student debt attached.

I could go on, but you know what I mean.
 
steelslaver said:
Ya, well on that. I have lost some good guys who never caused me a single problem that smoked some pot somewhere along the line. Yet, every time there is a big job, I get some guys that I know are what I call powder heads (meth, coke or the like). Thing is they get away with it because it goes through their system in less than 48 hrs. Then there are the prescription pill guys that are fine because they have a Dr ok to take Hydrocodones, Oxycontin etc. But some guy who smoked a bowl with his wife, girl friend, buddies on Fri or Sat. night is a safety hazard on Monday morning??? :rolleyes: Sure OK

Don't get me wrong. I don't want to work with anyone who is stoned or messed up. Yet, I get Mr brain dead and Joe Hangover while losing a basically good man who just took a chance doing something that in my opinion has ZERO effect next day, week or month.
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WE offer anyone who fails a random drug test the opportunity to go thru a program. Rehab, a couple weeks or so and come back. They get tested at their expense every month for a year. Only thing they lose it time a way for the rehab....Most won't bother....I get frustrated by it because I can grow the business, but not without good workers. Our guys get 15 days PTO first year and 13 paid holidays....now tell me where in the h double LL you get 28 days off with pay your first year????
 
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