Extinction

[gcode]

A post on X

I thought this a fitting post to announce my retirement Jan 30, 2026
I make no claim to be at this guy's level, but my bosses are in shock.

We are witnessing, in real time, the quiet extinction of a certain kind of in this case, American genius: the genius of the man who can simply do the job better than anyone else alive, and who, when he finally lays down his tools, takes the entire trick with him to the grave.

We have spent enough time in factories across American to recognise these figures. The old guard. Men (almost invariably men) who began as apprentices when apprenticeships still meant something, who learned their craft in the days when "health and safety" had not yet been weaponised into a substitute for competence, and who, through a mixture of obsessive care, brute experience, and what can only be described as a form of love, achieved results that no amount of ISO certification or digital twinning can replicate. (Note: igital twinning should be banned!)

You see it in the G-code archives, the meticulously saved CAM files, the drawers of fixtures and collets. All preserved, all perfectly useless. Because the real program was not written in Fusion 360 or Mastercam.

It was written in the old boy's head, in the muscle memory of his hands, in the thousand tiny adjustments he made while standing at the machine in the small hours, listening to the spindle the way a sailor once listened to the wind. When he dies or retires to his RV (or, more likely these days, simply drops dead between shifts), the yield collapses. The scrap rate climbs. The tolerances wander. And everyone pretends to be shocked.

Now extend that story to the fellow in North Texas who has been hard-coat anodising aluminium since he was sixteen. A cantankerous old devil, by all accounts (the best ones always are). He will not take work from just anyone; you have to earn the right to have your parts racked by him. And when those parts come back (Type III, Class 2, black, two thou thick, dyed in the tank the way God and Mil-A-8625 intended), they are, quite simply, perfect. Perfect enough to be trusted on equipment carried by men who go in harm's way.

In five years not one apprentice has lasted. Four twelve-hour days of racking, masking, anodising, dyeing, sealing, unpacking, packing again. The work is hot, wet, and corrosive. It demands concentration and pride at a level the modern temperament no longer possesses. And so, very shortly, the doors will be locked for the last time. The landlord will drain the tanks, probably discovering half a dozen baskets of our phone holder parts "off-the-rack" parts quietly dissolving at the bottom (a secret embarrassment we all pretend does not happen). And several hundred small machine shops across the state will discover that the supply chain they took for granted has vanished.

[Newbeeee™]

A cantankerous old devil, by all accounts (the best ones always are).
Edit - state of the Ark interwebz here in Cyprus lost the rest of what I posted as the modem dropped

Tom, you won't regret it. Have a plan, keep active, keep sharp. But above all, do not worry.
If the nippers want to ask, they will. If not, they will find out the hard way.
You've done more than your bit, because like others here, you've also passed your knowledge on to many many others without you even knowing - eWC has had it's money outta you with people reading who have never posted or interacted.
So thanks for it all, and above all the laughs too. Very important the laughs!
All the very best for a very long, and very happy future.

[jstell]

Well put, sir.  Enjoy your future ramblings.  You've certainly been the

cantankerous old

master helping me and countless others on these forums for at least a decade that I've interacted with you, and I'm sure before I was even aware of the wealth of knowledge available for just listening.  My hat is off, and many thanks, to you.

[JParis]

I'm 5 to 7 years out. I've made that known.

I desperately want to teach what I know to those who want it...

I'm no Rhodes Scholar and I'll not pretend to be though I do feel there will be a whole lot that goes out the door when I finally step away.

On a side note....my immediate predecessor,  he had a swath of knowledge that went with him when he retired.  As I have modernized things these past 3+ years, I've realized that much,  though not all,  of the knowledge he carried was outdated.

My hope is that when I go,  a good chunk of what I take with me will be outdated.

Currently though,  it doesn't feel that way.

The question that others will be left to answer is, "was my knowledge still relevant to their world or can it fade into the background"

It'll be left to others to ultimately make that decision.

[gcode]

My hope is that when I go,  a good chunk of what I take with me will be outdated.

Much of what I take with me is 20 years of tribal knowledge
Tribal knowledge becomes obsolete as old jobs fade away and old machines go to the bone yard.
There are a couple of family of parts here no one knows how to program but me.
I've told them I will help with those as a contractor... and I'm sure there are plenty
of guys who can do them better than me.

[gcode]

I really liked the original post on X,
but now it's getting raked over the coals by dozens of people.
It would be interesting to know something about the detractors.
I'd like to think they haven't done a day's real work in their life.

example... if he'd put better lighting in his shop young people would like to work there.

I've known a dozen guys like the old plater in that post and have had nothing
but admiration for their hard work.

[jstell]

if he'd put better lighting in his shop young people would like to work there.

I don't think that's probably the reason nobody wants to sign up for a life of being the plating man.
There is certainly something to be said for a shop where you're not wading thru quick-dry and watching the oil condense on and drip down the walls.  We've certainly sanitized and commodified a generation to not want to get their hands dirty or be around nasty chemicals, but also if there isn't an app for it they are just kinda lost.  The worst is the simple lack of curiosity or wanting to retain any esoteric knowledge.  If it can't be looked up on the phone, and controlled from the phone, it's just too hard.  And especially if it takes longer than a youtube short to figure out.

[CNCAppsJames]

If you can't hit the easy button, the overwhelming majority younger generation want nothing to do with it.

Like my job... I cast a WIDE net because we're hiring. Got 4 resumes. 3 are qualified.  2 are exceptional and already do the job in one capacity or another. I talked to a half-dozen young bucks I know and they just aren't interested in getting in front of people and learning on the fly in front of customers being the answer guy. 

[Newbeeee™]

Tom - From Incog wishing you well

Definitely not a fisherman, He's a Fisher of Men. I'm not allowed to sign in and wish him my thoughts. Please convey My respects and my hopes He appears here. He's a Special Guy  and Well respected. As He should be.

[Here's Johnny!]

Wishing you nothing but a wonderful and relaxing retirement!!!!

The manufacturing industry is loosing one of the best!!!

[neurosis]

I talked to a half-dozen young bucks I know and they just aren't interested in getting in front of people and learning on the fly in front of customers being the answer guy. 

I'll never understand that. When you have an opportunity to learn from some of the most knowledgeable people in the trade, why would you turn an opportunity like that down. Especially when you're young.

I somewhat understand not wanting to have to deal with different attitudes from people in different shops. I've seen the way some shop owners and foremen treat people when they expect something they're not getting, even if they're too proud to admit they don't know what they're talking about. Patience in those situations is a talent I just don't have. 

[neurosis]

G -

I hope you enjoy your retirement.  Find a hobby that keeps you busy, and hopefully you'll still lurk around the help forums.

We're not too far off from most of the emc originals being retired.

[Jeff]

If you can't hit the easy button, the overwhelming majority younger generation want nothing to do with it.

You hit the nail on the head.
It's extremely rare that we get an applicant that truly knows how to operate a cnc lathe or mill.
Most of the time it's a greenback kid that is more interested in looking at his phone than actually learning how to do the job they're being paid to do.
They're just here for a paycheck.
The best newbie operator we've ever had was a girl, early 30's. I never had to tell her twice how to do something, I was amazed. She listened and did exactly how I instructed her.
She was perfect for our Brother Speedio. Even her bench deburring was perfect.
She ended up quitting after about a year because her passion was the medical field and she pursued that route.

[kdg]

You made it to the finish line, congrats.
Few more years for me, not sure my current employer will make it that long.

[gcode]

I hope you enjoy your retirement.  Find a hobby that keeps you busy, and hopefully you'll still lurk around the help forums.

Actually once I get settled in our new home I'll be doing some contracting for my current employer.
We bought a house in north central Arkansas, $230k cash, property tax is $800/year gas is $2/gallon, electricity is 8 cents a kilowatt and 1 gig broadband internet is $60/month.
I read an article this morning that said California is losing 1 taxpayer every 90 seconds and it will be losing 2 more
in a couple of months.