By Lloyd Graff Ethamore Claar died at 55 near Pittsburgh. Among his possessions was a brass bell made on a National Acme screw machine at IMTS in 1971. Mr. Claar, known as Frank (the Ethamore came from his grandfather’s first name), worked his entire career as an engineer-draftsman for Kennametal, according to his niece Dorothy Miller who sold the bell to us for $15.02 on eBay.This bell, which measures 2 1/4” high, was made on an Acme in a one part cycle with an elegant improvisation that somehow stuck the clangor into the housing.I would love to hear from Acme…
Author: Noah Graff
In December 2004, a stage version of Mary Poppins debuted in London, based on the story’s original books from the ‘30s and the Disney film from 1964 which I and several generations of kids cherished growing up. Some might say producing a live remake of the story is just an easy unoriginal way to make a buck. I say it’s taking a great product that’s become somewhat neglected and making it appreciated again in today’s world. In a way it’s similar to taking a 1960 Acme and refitting it with the accoutrements of 2010 CNC controls. In September we are…
By Noah Graff Hey all you CNC Swiss medical component manufacturers out there. Ever wonder how companies are using your parts when they leave your floor?Recently medical device maker, Medtronic Inc., received a subpoena from federal prosecutors about a former army surgeon who is being accused by the army of falsifying data from his research on the company’s bone-growth product. Medtronic gave Dr. Timothy R. Kuklo nearly $800,000 over the past three years to conduct research on the company’s bone-growth protein called Infuse. A sinister doctor falsifying medical research for a multi-billion dollar company—haven’t I seen something like this before?…
Recently Lloyd Graff interviewed Chris Kaiser, president of Big Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc. They discussed what it takes for a niche cutting tool manufacturer to compete with large cutting tool companies such as Iscar, Kennametal and Sandvik. They also analyzed the features of one of Big Kaiser’s boring tools.
By Lloyd Graff Back in the heyday of Brown and Sharpe screw machines in the 1970s, many of the screw shops in Chicago ran parts for the pinball machine guys. The flippers and bumpers were exquisite mechanical devices full of precision components. Most of those parts are gone today as video games have come into vogue, but one manufacturer remains, Stern Pinball of Suburban Melrose Park, Illinois. There was an excellent article in Wednesday’s Chicago Tribune about the company and the owner Gary Stern. An accompanying piece on 98-year-old Steve Kordek, a hall of fame pinball designer is also well…
In yesterday’s Battle Creek Enquirer, Elizabeth Willis wrote an earthy portrait of Julie Eddy, a machinist for 24 years and now an adviser to local students. She says she first got hired because she was wearing a push-up bra when she knocked on the door of the machine shop. She’s had her share of shop injuries and talks about it with the sensibility of a professional wrestler–they come with the job. While the writer views Julie as a working anomaly, anybody who walks into a factory today is likely to see women working all over the shop floor.Direct link to…
By Lloyd Graff Michael Jackson’s passing got most of the ink, but the death of TV pitchman, Billy Mays, just a few days later affected me so much more. Both men died at 50. Billy was funny without trying to be funny and could relate to consumers. Michael Jackson was a sad freak who couldn’t relate to himself or his fame. Mays had soul, Michael had hair. Watch the following videos for more insight and a response from the Today’s Machining World team. Michael Jackson vs. Billy Mays — Who mattered more? Response to Michael vs. Billy Mays
Daniel Amos, the head of Aflac, the remarkably successful medical insurance firm, was interviewed in the New York Times on Sunday. His remarks on leadership and motivation are intriguing. He treats employees like voters and challenges his sales staff not with overt quotas but by telling his people he wants them to make a particular figure. For instance when he used to be a sales manager he would say to an employee, “I want you to make $60,000.” He recounts that employees couldn’t say, “No, I really don’t want to make that much.” He says they didn’t know how to…
By Lloyd Graff My daughter Sarah does funerals virtually every week as a Rabbi in Palo Alto, California. She has a knack for capturing the essence of the person who just died. She talks to the family, selects stories, brings in her own remembrances and embroiders the eulogy with texture and empathy. I thought about her eulogies before I started to write this piece about the death of Automatic Machining Magazine because I hope to strike a truthful and empathetic tone. Automatic Machining started almost 70 years ago under the name Screw Machine Engineering in Rochester, N.Y. Don Wood, its…
By Lloyd Graff I often talk to machining folks who like to reminisce about the good old days when General Motors owned 50 percent market share and when people actually believed “what’s good for General Motors is good for America.” General Motors got sloppy in every way. They made ridiculous deals with the United Auto Workers Union, spawning the infamous “job bank” and health care and retirement benefits that gave the company a monstrous sled to pull. In those good old days a lot of leaks developed. So many carbide inserts seeped out to bars near big factories to be…