Ya had one little job, WTF?

i had a new engineer refer to a square as "one of those L things".

our new plant manager has said that old practices are outdated and no longer need applied, says that how the press operator was taught to set the dies and blades is all BS and a waste of time....................they haven't bent a straight part since.
Let me guess - both the new engineer and the plant manager are relatively young (under 40). I run a growing engineering company and hire non-stop (I just spent all day yesterday talking to students at a career fair.) Our culture has definitely changed. When I graduated from college in the 80s, most of my classmates were handy fellers. I routinely ask these job candidates if they change oil or rotate tires, and the answer is most always "no." When it is "yes," they bump up in the queue. If they grew up on a farm - even better! And when they come to work for us, they spend a fair amount of time in the field while they are learning how to design because an engineer has to know how his/her designs are manufactured/built in order to be a great engineer. Anyone can create a design, but not everyone can create a great design...

Many reasons contribute to why that cultural shift has occurred, but a big one is the elimination of hands-on shop classes in high school (or Junior High School!) My learning started in the garage at home with Dad at 8 years old, continued in high school shop classes and college, and still continues - hence the "Semper Discens" under my user name. Latin for "Always Learning." With a couple generations now of people who can't do the simplest of automotive tasks, reinstating high school shop classes is the best way to turn things around because, sadly, Dads no longer have the skills to pass them on to their kids.
 
@sab I hear what you're saying. I graduated high school in 1979, and was still in contact until '81. We had a full set of shop classes: Auto, metal, wood, electronics, general fab, drafting (what's that?) as well as various Agricultural classes. Something changed about 1980. The electronics shop had been there since 1957, and we all came to learn. Suddenly, equipment was being vandalized and the kids just didn't give a shit. The award winning band sounded like crap, the quality of incoming freshmen was atrocious. A lot of teachers retired about then too.

In 1982, the electronics program was closed down - as were at least some of the other shop classes - maybe all of them. A year or two later, electronics came back with a new program and a new teacher as Voc-Ed had a new emphasis at the state (California) level. How good/bad the new curriculum was or how long it lasted I have no idea. The old time electronics instructor also retired about this time.

My first "real" job was working for an industrial computer manufacturer. About 1982, we had a summer intern from Cal Poly - an engineering student. This guy wasn't worth the powder to blow him to Hell, he honestly didn't know his ass from his elbow but thought he did. I'll never forget the time he was drilling a hole in a piece of sheet aluminum on a bench behind me. The drill ran and ran and ran. "Wow, this drill bit is REALLY dull!" he exclaimed. I turned around and suggested he run the drill in the forward direction. Goddess only knows what happened to him or where he ended up.

Guy I worked with years later was a welder-fabricator, a damn good one. His daughter was at our home to do some detail cleaning for us, I was busy replacing the motor in the bathroom fan. She was flabberghasted that I knew how to do that. I'm flabberghasted that she was flabberghasted! But then again, a subsequent time I was doing the same job far more recently - it was damn hard for me to find a motor to use! bLowe's didn't have them and looked at me like I had 3 heads when I asked for one - they used to be an off the shelf item at ANY hardware store. So I went to the local "old time" hardware outfit that's been in business (in the same location) since 1886. You can bet they had a motor!

My ex-brother in law barely knew which end of a screwdriver to hold. I don't get it...
 
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Made the lower cut first to see if that would let it bend upward at the front enough without distorting the top edge. It did so that was good. Then we articulated it and tried to turn the tire, then the next upper cut was made to slide the fender opening larger to clear the tire turning. We had to slide it back almost 3".
View attachment 305393

I don't wanna tell you how to do your job.............. but it would've been way more efficient to just cut and bend the square.
 
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Let me guess - both the new engineer and the plant manager are relatively young (under 40).
ding ding ding, we have a winner, and they know it all.

he's tried to fire me 3x now but he'd look like an ass cause i been right every time and he's been told i'm right which is what burns him most,
i don't know everything but i got 20yrs under my belt, just under this roof. what i don't know is when to walk, this guys pullin the walls down around us and it's on a timer. retired 2nd gen owner.........the fuse is lit.
 
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Alright someone check a stock fender……. Lmao
Funny you mention that. I went out to the shop with “one of those L things” to look at mine about 30 minutes ago. The legs on my square are too long (the short one hit my slider). I was going to take a picture, but with the leg hitting the slider, it was hard to see the squareness. It looked pretty square to me, but I’m not sure - I was in a rush.
 
i don't know everything but i got 20yrs under my belt, just under this roof. what i don't know is when to walk, this guys pullin the walls down around us and it's on a timer. retired 2nd gen owner.........the fuse is lit.
If you’re saying that the 3rd generation now has control, that would worry me. With privately-owned businesses, in my experience, the first and second generations usually do okay because both of those generations experienced the rags-to-riches success (first gen as parents, second gen as kids), but the second generation only saw the riches, and assumes that it’s easy to run a business. This isn’t always the case, but human nature makes it tough to raise the third generation without a silver spoon. If the third generation is in charge now, and you’re experiencing this crap, I’d start looking for a new gig. It’s always better to leave on your terms, not on theirs!
 
I think I read that you had checked. It was a funny. Wonder why they make them that way? Mine are at least 4 years old and are the same.
I suspect they modeled the first set on a bent rig, never caught, never cared and simply didn't give a shit. Why does Genright continue to produce and sell a tailgate skin that they know the upper holes are impossible to get nutserts set behind?
 
Why does Genright continue to produce and sell a tailgate skin that they know the upper holes are impossible to get nutserts set behind?
I'm curious about this one, I have my gripes with the genright skin I have - but didn't find the nutserts to be my issue.
 
Top row of nutserts hit dead center on the horizontal flange of the internal stiffener.
Ill have to look at mine again. But I'm no where near as skilled as you and just don't remember running into that. Is there any variation in the tailgate stiffeners across the years?
 
I suspect they modeled the first set on a bent rig, never caught, never cared and simply didn't give a shit. Why does Genright continue to produce and sell a tailgate skin that they know the upper holes are impossible to get nutserts set behind?
As consumers and promoters of a vehicular Icon we really want to believe in, and support, US made companies. Unfortunately, there are to many cases where the bottom line is more important than integrity. It certainly isn't new, but is still very, very disappointing to see!
 
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As consumers and promoters of a vehicular Icon we really want to believe in, and support, US made companies. Unfortunately, there are to many cases where the bottom line is more important than integrity. It certainly isn't new, but is still very, very disappointing to see!
If the first set I put on didn't fit and the last set was the same, I don't think they really ever cared. They certainly got feedback on the first ones. That should have been enough to go put a square on a stock fender.
 
If the first set I put on didn't fit and the last set was the same, I don't think they really ever cared. They certainly got feedback on the first ones. That should have been enough to go put a square on a stock fender.
Very few people would take the time or care enough to do the work you do. It’s the little things along the way that make a great finished product!
 
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