2020

[mayday]

2020 sure fucked me over.  didn't work for almost 6 months. odds and ends here and there but they where shit shops. now I'm in a small job shop with only 5 toolmakers. I'm gramming setting up and running my own shit. been 12 years since I ran a machine . a couple of Mazaks and a Takomi. actually feels good to have a shop rag in my back pocket again. ain't making the big bucks anymore but fuck it. 7 to 3:30 ain't all bad. no political bullshit and the owner is running machines too. so at the end of the day all is good. no weekends no bullshit no sex. but I gotta deburr again. mill basterd

[byte]

Yeah.. you sure had a rotten deal last year, at least you found something, even if it's not fully using your talents...

[mayday]

ya but fuck it, we bought our kids echo shows for xmas so now we can see all 11 grandkids any time we want. fuck the covid restrictions. maybe joe hiden will ban them too

[mayday]

I still gots the 5 axis module so umm I'm good

[Incogneeto]

You should ask Yank about Deburring He's a Pro.

[Leehound]

The real question is - What will manufacturing look like in 2021?

I shouldn't have, but 2020 was a great year for me. But most of that work was established before the pandemic hit. The start of this year I can thank military spending for keeping me busy.

Unfortunately work is coming from fewer sources.

2016 was a terrible year (thanks Obama). It could have been the end of my business, but I survived. How long can I survive on the fumes of the Trump administration?

I worry for the future of manufacturing.

[Jim at Gentex]

My employer also had a great 2020, despite the pandemic.
Not only did I not lose a day of work, but I actually worked a ton of overtime.

We are a defense contractor, so I wouldn't even guess how 2021-24 will look with Biden / Harris.
Historically speaking, Democratic administrations have generally leaned toward more spending on social programs and less on defense, so I won't be surprised to see that pattern continue.

[Bruce Caulley]

I'm in medical, so thankful that people still get sick and need treatment.  Otherwise I'm a bit down on optimism for western manufacturing in general.  Very curious to see how the US goes post Trump.

[gcode]

We had a decent year last year. Not great, but no layoffs
I got my OT cut way back, but that was more due to a new manager's philosophy on the subject than a lack of work.
I think it pissed him off that at 60 hours/week I was making more than he was  
I've been working at home since late September and really like it. It will be tough going back to a regular job.
Our business is about 70% natural gas production hardware/30% defense.. I can see both getting hurt in a Biden/Harris Admin

My wife's job is in real trouble due to ever more burdensome laws imposed by the Cali government
and a simmering 30 year family feud coming to a boil.
They have slowly been migrating the business to New Mexico and Arizona. What's left in Cali is a shell of it's former
presence and struggling just to break even.
To make matters worse, the family patriarch has CV-19.
If it kills or disables him, the resulting power struggle will probably destroy the business.

I have planned to retire at 70 but a bad 2021 could make that happen sooner

[thad]

2020 sure fucked me over.  didn't work for almost 6 months. odds and ends here and there but they where shit shops. now I'm in a small job shop with only 5 toolmakers. I'm gramming setting up and running my own shit. been 12 years since I ran a machine . a couple of Mazaks and a Takomi. actually feels good to have a shop rag in my back pocket again. ain't making the big bucks anymore but fuck it. 7 to 3:30 ain't all bad. no political bullshit and the owner is running machines too. so at the end of the day all is good. no weekends no bullshit no sex. but I gotta deburr again. mill basterd

Wes, check your PMs. I might have an opportunity for you.