Quote Originally Posted by olderdan View Post
Doug, I have for the first time visited your web site and what a revelation to see the machines you have restored over the years, they look like new. We are all familiar with the superb tooling you produce and I must admit I thought you were using newer machinery, how wrong I was.
I whole totally agree that the quality of old machines is not matched by what is available today, no aluminum or plastic just super solid cast iron and made by firms that were proud of their products. I am sure the Clausing will be a fine machine when finished.
Regards
Olderdan
Doug's abilities are outstanding.
His machines and tooling are well maintained, vintage equipment.
In combination they produce first rate work.

This is rather opposite to what corporate accountants understand, usually overriding those who are expected to do the work.

Another common notion stems from the "those are old!" or "why do you use such old machines?", and my favorite "why do you insist on such old equipment?".
They're always dumbfounded when I mention "used machines build brand new machines everyday".

There is one more coincidence about machinery and tooling. While it doesn't apply universally, 'our' favorites very often carry actual name of proprietor(s).
Lodge & Shipley, Kearney & Trecker, DeVlieg, Starrett, Brown & Sharpe, Peck, Stow & Wilcox [PEXTO], Mitts & Merrill, Clausing, Axelson,...there are hundreds more. PEXTO, by the way, began business 1785. Every time I hear of a company thinking a name change will 'align' itself with an intended market, same vision of a nitwit in a cubicle materializes.
That counters every intuition I have. A dependable brand should be the carrot and stick, NOT the market. Anything else is is selling out.