Machinist's Minute: Submitting two bids when the customer wants the wrong thing

Sometimes it's worth your time to submit two bids to the customer: one for what they ask for, and one for what actually makes sense.

[HOWEES]

The link for the trommel we built in 2006:

[Beemer]

I did one of these jobs! Only the engineer insisted that we manufacture it exactly to his drawings even though we knew it wasn't going to work. It was a machine to grind the rough on dental picks. You know this steel picks that the dentist screws into the end of his tool and then he heats them up and bends them to the shape he wants them. That machine had six separate grinding heads on it they were all mounted to a 2in thick aluminum plate that was four feet in diameter. This 4 ft diameter aluminum plate with the 6 rotating grinding heads on it all indexed on a 1in steel shaft! Can you imagine how much that plate would have flopped around. We reviewed the drawings and told him it wouldn't possibly work that way but he was a design engineer with the degree and got very angry and insisted we do it just like that. It ended up costing the company $60, 000 and that was in 1980s money.

[isalivegaming]

You built industrial weed equipment. I'm screaming 😱 🤣 😂 rofl

[mtraven]

been watching you for a bit now, really enjoy your stuff! This is the first mention of mining equipment, which I consider I huge plus. Look forward to hearing about & maybe seeing some of that in the future!

[joaguilar]

love the old g tells it like it is good work man.

[marclaforest]

As a machinist i have already had a similar request i politely declined .A month after the guy was arrested and is equipment seized

[waltermerrill]

In a land where many people seek their Fortune from mining gold, be the man who is able to fix their equipment.

[yotafan]

Aw come on you can't dangle a carrot like that and not say why. Hahaha

[joshpointoh]

My only guess is crack. It sounds like this request was made quite a while ago, like maybe in the 90s when that would have been booming. And 1/8 inch screen would be the right size to bag up individual servings

[TrapperAaron]

Why was his design "illegal" doesn't make sense to me.

[goinhot]

1/8 screen eh, keeps the seeds separate?

[jaboff-road]

I’m looking for a old old school bridge port if you know of one or if you ever come across one

[wikkidklown]

I did am extensive search online and can't find ANYTHING that says what you customer wanted is illegal. Please tell us what the illegal act was

[shatteredreality]

It was either for drugs or an illegal mining business

[matttatts]

We’ll let’s discuss this really uninteresting topic with a fascinating backstory that we won’t be discussing

[Barleetow]

Sounds like an Alskan miner I know of named Doug lol.

[jackwilliamson]

friend of mine sez machinist make terrible mechanics. get him.

[johnrobinson]

So he wanted to run weed through it really not a big deal its 2023 make your money

[TheCharillz]

Thanks now I'm super curious why it was illegal. Ugh

[DieselRamcharger]

Prime Example of how NOT to run a business. You are a fabricator and machine shop. Your shit is either built to print or its not. You are not the engineer nor consultant. Make the parts. Make the revisions. Laugh all the way to the bank.