09-11-2013, 10:03 PM
I've always had a contempt for the idea of "Golden Ages" by virtue of their definition the idea says the past is better than the present, which is basically saying "wasn't Polio great", or wouldn't it be nice to have a bacterial infection and no antibiotics, or in our trade "isn't it great not being able to take full advantage of modern carbide tools" or "How great is it not being able to buy spare parts for my machine tool"
There used to be a Friday night institution on TV Channel ten in Sydney, near where I grew up, "The Golden years of Hollywood" for years it showed old movies (Which I love) but the facts are simple, the 100 or so movies that were shown on a two year rotation were about 1% or less of the movies made during those "Golden Years" Why? because the rest of the movies were drivel, badly made and of little interest, so... how "Golden" is that?
Please don't think I was offended, I didn't think you were criticizing. I suppose I try and bring balance on the Asian machine tool debate, over the last thirty or so years I've used machines from all over the world, Right now I have a Danish Shaper, Danish... really... I thought pastries were the pinnacle of Danish Mass production...
And some of the nicest, smoothest, easiest to use, most adaptable machines have been Asian, But I also love old English/American/Australian/European reclaimed/restored/re-purposed machines as well, the aesthetic and the connection that you can get with proper spoked cast iron handwheels and the animation of flat belt drives with the tickety,tickety,tickety sound from the belt's staple splices coming around and touching on the pulleys, just the rebuilding process in itself can be a blast.
I feel that we owe it to the newbies to give a fair representation of all of the machines so they can decide which way to go with their early purchases, so that they become oldies one day, I would like the Asian machine tool stigma to give way to an acceptance that sometimes Asian tools often just make sense and often the best choice for a first lathe is Asian.
I hope I'm making sense,
Regards
Rick
There used to be a Friday night institution on TV Channel ten in Sydney, near where I grew up, "The Golden years of Hollywood" for years it showed old movies (Which I love) but the facts are simple, the 100 or so movies that were shown on a two year rotation were about 1% or less of the movies made during those "Golden Years" Why? because the rest of the movies were drivel, badly made and of little interest, so... how "Golden" is that?
Please don't think I was offended, I didn't think you were criticizing. I suppose I try and bring balance on the Asian machine tool debate, over the last thirty or so years I've used machines from all over the world, Right now I have a Danish Shaper, Danish... really... I thought pastries were the pinnacle of Danish Mass production...
And some of the nicest, smoothest, easiest to use, most adaptable machines have been Asian, But I also love old English/American/Australian/European reclaimed/restored/re-purposed machines as well, the aesthetic and the connection that you can get with proper spoked cast iron handwheels and the animation of flat belt drives with the tickety,tickety,tickety sound from the belt's staple splices coming around and touching on the pulleys, just the rebuilding process in itself can be a blast.
I feel that we owe it to the newbies to give a fair representation of all of the machines so they can decide which way to go with their early purchases, so that they become oldies one day, I would like the Asian machine tool stigma to give way to an acceptance that sometimes Asian tools often just make sense and often the best choice for a first lathe is Asian.
I hope I'm making sense,
Regards
Rick
Whatever it is, do it today, Tomorrow may not be an option and regret outlasts fatigue.