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Started my turning apprenticeship, 6 years,with well known earth moving machine manufacturer. Manual capstan, turret, centre, copying machines, some mechanical automatics, 10 months in toolroom, should have been 6  I,m not an expert but I know what I like ! Post apprenticeship went off on travels as times were hard & you have to finance a burgeoning love affair with motorcycling somehow. Had several jobs including 1 at a subcontractor to Rolls- Royce. Eventually my original employer offered me a position as an automatic lathe setter, I took the job as I had noticed that they seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time grooming their fingernails whilst leaning on a bench (multi tasking). This was probably the most hectic time of my life, worked most of the autos that they had at that time, then charge hand setter of a section of 20 Ward #8 turret lathes, then Relief Setter of the whole shop, 250 men plus covering the tool grinding crib, & training apprentices! did I use the word hectic in there somewhere? Anyroad up, one day us auto setters were approached with a view to embracing the up and coming CNC technology, which 4 of us initially did, I have since spent the ensuing 40 years doing just that, I have finally retired in the last few weeks, after training my last apprentice CNC Machinist who has won awards, mainly for making tea for me & lifting heavy fings on my behalf ! So must see what sort of fist I can make of this retirement lark, now that I'm older than dirt, have acquired a lot of machinery over all these years, the most recent being a Union tool & cutter grinder,when I make a place for it, so now when I want to "play at factories" I'll do it in my garage, in truth I only carried on as long as I did to help finance my fiancee & I's travels to the 4 corners of the universe in our Volkswagen campervan. so there you have it.      Bob H 

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