Remarkable

[Lowell Holmes]

While at the university, one of my sons took a course called precision engineering or something like that. In this class one of the things they had to do was lap two pieces of steel until the steel was so smooth that when you placed them together, they would take suction on each other and had to pulled apart .

I never thought much about it until recently. A while back I was in the local Woodcraft store and they had 10% off everything in the store sale going on. In my befuddled state, I came home with a Lie Nielsen 4 1/2 hand plane. :-)

When I take the iron out of the plane to hone it a bit, the iron and chip breaker take suction on each other and I have to slide them side ways to separate them. I don't know how they accomplish it, but I'm impressed.

The plane is a delight to use.

[Lee]

[Brian In Hampton]

I am a machinist and I use gage blocks to measure keyways and you slide them together and they stick to each other and sometimes hard to get apart.....Brian

[Leon]

That was not a thin coat of oil holding the pieces together? Otherwise, I understand the concept and have witnessed what you are describing.

On another note, scary thought that someone studying engineering would be required to take a "precision engineering course. Seems all engineering courses would be teaching precision. ;~)

[Lowell Holmes]

No oil. I cleaned the steel with mineral spirits and applied Johnson Wax. The iron and chipbreaker are that smooth.

Precision engineering is one of many classes he took on his way to a Electrical Engineering PHD.

Bridge engineers don't need to work to molecular tolerances. That doesn't mean their calculations aren't precise. Another of my offspring (daughter) is a structural engineer designing structures offshore. She is as persnickety about her designs as the boy is his.

[Kewless]

Having spent a number of years in manufacturing, I can tell you that the idea of *engineering w/o precision* is extremely commonplace. And that at times this imprecision even comes about by accident!

But I do agree with you in that engineers should at least be exposed to the concept (while still in school anyway) in the same way that law students and business majors are expected to familiarize themselves with the notion of ethics...

[Leon]

I believe it.

I always thought it to be a bit odd/unusual that a brother and sister would go into the same higher education mathematically heavy professional fields. I also have a very good friend that has a son and a daughter that are very successful self employed architects.

[Leon]

Yeah, that concept is not new to me. LOL I recently learned from an archetct, that designers and not archetects are being used more and more in the design of new homes.

Bingo!

[Lew Hodgett]

Computers not withstanding, normal practice is limited to three (3) significant digits. (Slip sticks are still valid)

Most engineering calculations are based on assumptions that produce conservative results.

Deflection calculations for beams comes to mind for starters.

Lew

[GROVER]

Lowell, Very early in my career I worked in a factory that manufactured ball and roller anti-friction bearings. Precision was strived for in every step of the manufacturing process. They had an air conditioned room where " go and no-go gages" were calibrated. They used sets of Swedish made polished gage blocks which were wrung together in the manner you describe to create the dimensions they required to set the gages. This was many years ago, and I'm certain the technology has changed since then. But those blocks were a piece of work. Joe G

[Leon]

I realize that the industry in the real world uses a lot of published standards that are typically acceptable. It seems to me that if you are going for an education in a particular field that you should also be taught to understand the principals rather than where to find the answers in the book. For a simplified example, a math course teaches you how to use a paper and pencil to add and subtract rather than how to find the answer on a calculator. OTOH going the easier route seems to be the explanation as to why many college graduates don't seem to have any common sense knowledge about the field that they studied. I recall many years ago an employee of mine getting his CPA's certificate when we were both in our mid to late 20's. He very often quoted the book and very often what he was quoting had nothing to do with what we were talking about. He had a hard time with the concept of opening and using the next in line prenumbered box of invoices. While using involves out of order really has no ill effect on the usage of the invoice, it does seem to help things run more smoothly for all involved if you keep'em in order. He also was at a loss with how to, "put away for future reference", numerically sequenced information bulletins.

[Patriarch]

"Leon" wrote in news:iDJYh.3326$ [e-mail]:

I have nieces and nephews, same family, in a similar situation. One is just finishing a physics PhD at Princton. Another has a math PhD from Wisconsin. One stopped at a masters in biotech. Another in computer sciences. The 'rebel' is in technical law school, having clerked in congress, on tax law implications.

Some kids just don't 'get' tools.

Patriarch

[Lew Hodgett]

Was not referring to "canned" formulas in a text book, but rather understanding the assumptions that are required to be able to intelligentally analyze a problem.

Had a thermodynamics prof that gave a weekly quiz.

Write the quiz on the board and walk out of the room with a comment about using the text book.

"Gentlemen, understand I give a lot of partial credit for understanding how to solve the problem."

"If you use a formula in the book, all I can test are your math skills."

Never opened the book for any of his exams.

I'm a great believer in Co-oP schools.

You gather a sense of the real world along the way.

I won't go there.

Lew

[Bill in Detroit]

Jo blocks ... gage blocks

My information is that the company making them originally, while they had a Swedish name, were actually located in the Detroit area.

I've made my own (just for the flat reference surface, not for the dimension!) by cross-grinding a piece of CRS until the grinding pattern showed evenly across the surface from 4 directions. I just did it for the experience ... I'm fully aware that CRS is not the material of choice for a reference surface.

On the other hand, I checked it on my inspection-grade pink Starret granite a couple years ago and it was still 0-0 across the diagonals.

:-)

Bill