Manual Machining and Layout (Machining Like a Pro): February/March

Description:
If you have reached the limits of the 'hacksaw, drillpress, and file' school of metalworking, this class is for you. The milling machine and lathe are the basic tools of the machinist - familiarity with these, and the various operations they can perform, as well as the fixtures and measurement tools used when making parts with them, will make any hobbyist, artist, or all-around maker a more capable individual.
This is an expansion and revamping of the Precision Machining class previously offered at Artisan's Asylum. In this class, students will not only learn mill and lathe operations, as before, but will also spend a significant amount of time in lecture learning part layout skills, precision measuring skills, scribe and centerpunch work, material selection, fastener selection, surface finish differentiation, and more. Students will then proceed to learn how to set up and use the milling machine, lathe, and supplementary tools such as grinders, tap and die sets, and more.
No prior metalworking experience is required - we have taught software and electrical engineers, mathematicians, artists, and, yes, even you mechanical engineers who skipped your shop classes.
Class Goals:
The goal of this class will be to introduce students to safe and accurate manual machining practices, getting them to the point where they can safely use the Asylum milling machines and engine lathes. The class will also make students familiar with the processes that these machines either automate or make more precise, to make them more effective machinists.
Prerequisites:
None.
Materials:
Students will purchase inexpensive raw materials from the instructor as needed for their projects.
Instructor Biography:
Christian believes that Keats -almost- got it right: "A thing of beauty and precision, made by skill and will, is a joy forever."
Years of pushing around photons on a computer monitor have led him to appreciate the simple but intense pleasure of making a fine, precise, real artifact by application of skill.  Currently active in the robotics R&D field, Christian uses his abilities as a machinist, mechanic, woodworker, welder, plumber, and otherwise general  accumulator-of-knowledge-and-knowhow as a compliment to his nominal career as an electrical engineer.
Event Time:
Session 1: Thursday, February 16, 7:30PM - 9:30PM
Session 2: Thursday, February 23, 7:30PM - 9:30PM
Session 3: Thursday, March 1, 7:30PM - 9:30PM
Session 4: Thursday, March 8, 7:30PM - 9:30PM
Session 5: Thursday, March 15, 7:30PM - 9:30PM
Session 6: Thursday, March 22, 7:30PM - 9:30PM