Origins of Precision

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This is the first video in a series of recreating the first micrometer. Before I introduce the project, I look into where precision comes from.
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One clip was too expensive to license, but you can view it on my website.
machinethinking...
Mr. Mealey's Mediocre Machine Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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Rags 2 Riches Rag by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
Artist: audionautix.com/

[@machinethinking]

Sorry I had to blur some of the footage. The copyright owners wanted $600 to use it. You can watch it here, though: machinethinking.co/2018/10/29/missing-first-video-footage/

[@ChaseFinn94]

Shouldn't that clip fall under fair use? Regardless, Great Video!

[@m3n4lyf]

I agree with the statement here about fair use, however youtube has it in their heads that they are the sole arbiter. Then again, not sure how that applies to UK law.

[@ArchitheFA]

@hehpillt28 Corncob by Kevin Macleod

[@ajhproductions2347]

Machine Thinking 😲😲😲 dang!

[@ZenMinus]

@@ChaseFinn94 Ah, yes,but fair use indirectly means "within limits"" and you tube is unlimited. So KZbin have done the right thing.

[@WilliamEades_Frostbite]

At 18:15 you state that it's unknown why gage blocks ring together. I was a NBS Physical Dimensional Laboratory Supervisor and Tech who used them almost daily during calibrations. The reason they "Stick" is from Molecular Adhesion. The lapped surfaces are so flat that adjacent molecules in rung blocks begin sharing valence electrons. This action causes them to stick together. An interesting aside is that if you leave two blocks rung together for an extended period, they will "Contact Weld" and you will never get them separated. (I had a trainee totally ruin a part of a set when he left the stack rung over a long weekend) Something I saw you do that should be avoided is your handling of the blocks with your bare hands. Gage blocks are 316 Stainless, and your body acids will attack the lapped surfaces. Prior to use, you should always clean the blocks with Acetone or MEK and afterwards fully reoil the blocks using acid free block oil before storage. I would tear a tech a new one if I caught him handle blocks without wearing linen gloves. Also S1 Standard blocks are calibrated for use at 68F + or - 1 degree with a correction factor of +/- 11 microinches per inch per degree deviance off nominal. (He steps off the soap box) ;-}

[@ghostrecon3214]

Van der Waals force is the term for this adhesion.

[@WilliamEades_Frostbite]

@@ghostrecon3214 Most would have no idea what that is, so I simplified it. I used to deal with all sorts of interesting effects as a Physical Dimensional Laboratory Tech when I was with the Bureau of Standards.

[@ghostrecon3214]

@@WilliamEades_Frostbite For sure. I learned about it fairly recently so when he said he wasn't what caused it i was like "oh i actually know this" so i came to comments and yours was the top one addressing it, but not naming it. So i just dropped the name in case anyone was interested. 👍

[@WilliamEades_Frostbite]

@@ghostrecon3214 I haven't found many true "Lab Rat" types on here so I usually try to simplify my responses a bit

[@blackychan8570]

why doesnt this have thousands of likes?!?!?!

[@bhgtree]

'The problem is that your barleycorns may be a different size then mine or mine might even dry out and change over time.' ---Every man's constant worry.

[@HarryNicNicholas]

my ex wife still has my barely corns, i know they will never wither.

[@StellarStreak]

Under rated comment.

[@ronwilken5219]

Not those barely corns!

[@von...]

This video is being played as a part of Harvard's Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering (ENG-SCI 190) courses now. Big ups my dude, I would be speechless if I found myself in your position. Make sure to use this as a bragging point as needed.

[@Emphasis213]

It is interesting how Harvard is showing this as a very good teaching aid to learn. At the same time we can watch the same video at our leisure thanks to KZbin making most education free for those who yearn to learn.

[@tongpoo8985]

Do they play it in class or is it like some suggested self-study kinda thing? Because boy would I be livid if I was paying thousands of dollars to watch a free youtube video. Such is uni though

[@alexruedi1995]

yeah but the same in an expensive book is fine?

[@artdonovandesign]

Whether it's in a YT video or in an expensive college textbook is not the point. The fact that we DO have the intellectual benefit of this video is the most important thing.

[@ItsCerealWarrior]

@@Emphasis213 dddtz7 sec s

[@brushybillroberts2654]

As a Journeyman Tool & Die maker with 47 years in the trade, I found this fascinating. Too many of us take the surface plate and Jo-Blocks for granted. I made a set of flat lapping plates as a student at the age of 17. (three plates lapped together just as you described) I still have them in my tool box.

[@smitpatel538]

I totally agree with you 👍💯

[@davefellhoelter1343]

AMEN Me too! grew up on the Same Street, Next Door to Rockwell Int Downey 60's to NOW! These older machinist COULD Do ANYTHING and Fast!

[@hootinouts]

I started out in tool and die as well. Right out of high school in 1977 but then I saw the writing on the wall with manufacturing leaving and with it, the job shops and tool and dies shops.

[@Parents_of_Twins]

@@hootinouts Very sad. I feel too many of today's machinist rely on the computer to do everything for them and don't have the knowledge of what I consider to be a true machinist. Personally I love my manual machines. I see where CNC machines can be valuable however I disagree with those who claim that they are more accurate than a manual machine.

[@johnpats7024]

@@Parents_of_Twins ok lol

[@rompis.a]

When I was little, I used to wonder: If factory equipments were made in another factory, how was the first-ever factory built? More than a dozen of years later, I get my answer in this video.

[@SeedFactoryProject]

Besides the surface plate described in the video, there are a couple of other ways to bootstrap the first factory. Copper wire can be drawn to a constant diameter by pulling it through a die plate. The wire can be wrapped around a rod and soldered in place to make a crude screw thread. A slide or nut which rides this thread will *average* the movement if it rides multiple turns of the thread. Thus a crude lathe can be used to cut a more accurate thread, which can then be used to build a more accurate lathe. Who made the ancient blacksmith's tools? The answer is they made them themselves. Metal ore can be reduced in a furnace and poured into sand molds to make a large block, and a small block with a hole in it. Put the small block on a stick, and you have a crude hammer. The large block is a crude anvil. With these, you can forge better hammers, tongs, etc. One thing you make is a chisel, which if from steel you can harden. With the chisel you can make grooves in a bar of soft steel to make a file. Then you harden the file. With a file you can adjust your hammered tools by filing away parts to improve their shape. Modern machine shops, foundries, and steel mills are descended from these steps the ancient blacksmiths did. The machine shops in turn make all the other machines used in factories.

[@Innomen]

@@SeedFactoryProject We need a book that is full of the core steps for ALL of this. I used to mentally plan such a book but it's just beyond me and I'm hoping someone else does/will do it.

[@ogarnogin5160]

Kind of like what came 1st ? the chicken or egg ?

[@ogarnogin5160]

@@SeedFactoryProject You can make a micrometer with out to much in precision . Basically . ( to current numbers used ) is to make a thread with 25 threads per inch or what ever thread you want to use. Then divide the thimble into 25 increments. I saw a black smith who made a tap and die set . They may have not been to a national standard but he could make a micrometer accurate to at the least .001 in the blacksmith shop , possibly to .0001

[@jimbarchuk]

@@ogarnogin5160 The egg. Ask any chicken.

[@kushalpatel5738]

In my 4 year of bachelor degree in mechanical engineering , I had never been gone through this history of precision so it very fruitful for me to understand the ground level of mechanism to advance level , thank you so much

[@davefellhoelter1343]

AMEN without the Basics, how do You Know? WHAT? You do Not Know?

[@firennice]

This is fascinating. I work for Sandvik, doing inspection. Where the blocks, pins, etc come from that help gage our machinery into the millionths of an inch.

[@bugfighter5949]

I've worked drills with your bits in Val-d'Or !

[@Yourname942]

I always wondered how you can make precise tools from the absence of precise tools, but now I know: rubbing 3 flat surfaces together to make them extremely precise. Neat.

[@zZzZzyxel]

Yeah, but then what? I wish he'd expanded on how exactly surface plate helps to build other stuff.

[@michaelppaull]

@@zZzZzyxel It does take some thought of your own, but he did explain. Take a sec and work your mind through how this could be done. Pretty amazing

[@zZzZzyxel]

@@michaelppaullwhat a spectacularly unhelpful reply. if I could I wouldn't have been asking in the first place.

[@Nettakrim]

​​@@zZzZzyxeltook me a bit to figure out a method, but you could make a 90 degree edge like this: have one surface plate as a base, then put two others face down on top of it, then you can scrape the vertical edges of the other two together, then to stop the vertical edge slanting in/out like a cone, you do the same AB BC CA thing by having a third one that you also scrape the edges with you could also do the same thing except you also level the vertical edge using the surface plate to get a non-curving 90 degree edge, and from there constructing an accurate cube is easy im not sure how to phyiscally get any other angles, but once you have an accurate ruler and a 90 degree edge you can construct them geometrically

[@GalaxyNewsRadio_]

@@zZzZzyxelbro he did explain it, what are you confused about if you really need someone to hold your hand and tell you step by step like a child igu

[@BAgodmode]

Precision was invented when John Precision accidentally did accuracy twice.

[@Phosphoenol_pyruvate_CK]

😂

[@sehajkaler9285]

That’s pretty funny 😂

[@scottpitner4298]

☝️ precisely!

[@GalaxyNewsRadio_]

Nah it was actually frank exact

[@mariocr666]

​@@sehajkaler9285i dont get it.. Please explain 😢

[@michaelcagle5938]

Answered questions I've had since childhood. I remember asking my dad how we got the first straight line. He was very honest about it. He didn't know.

[@Andre_Thomasson]

mm i always thought about using a rope or water to get a straight line but how a perfect corner was achieved i never knew

[@poly_hexamethyl]

Good question. Most people have much too little curiosity to even think of asking such a thing. I once heard a kid ask his parent, "why is the sky blue?" And the parent said, impatiently, "don't ask stupid questions". Sad.

[@throwawaypt2throwawaypt2-xp8nx]

​@@Andre_Thomassonlol how can we use water if the world is supposedly a globe, water curves on a globe

[@Andre_Thomasson]

@@throwawaypt2throwawaypt2-xp8nx yeah but for a 3 meter long object that curve is irrelevant since its tiny

[@throwawaypt2throwawaypt2-xp8nx]

@@Andre_Thomasson u r correct in that model gravity doesn't have a chance to curve the water yet

[@jmaverick70]

I'm retired now, but I spent nearly 45 years of my life in the machine trades. I've been fortunate enough to operate many of the machines you have described here. I served my apprenticeship at Westinghouse Electric's main manufacturing plant in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was a great program, but unfortunately nowadays there are very few apprentice programs in the machine trades and the high schools have all but eliminated the shop classes where I first became interested in metalworking. During my career I was a job shop machinist/ quality control technician/ toolmaker/ and master toolmaker. It was a very satisfying career that educators and guidance counselors seem to have forgotten about. You have an excellent channel here and if you haven't already may I suggest a trip to the Henry Ford Museum/ Greenfield Village in Dearborn and maybe a trip to the metalworking museum that I believe is in Vermont.

[@Seamus322]

jmaverick- I believe you're referring to the American Precision Museum in Windsor,VT. Definitely worth the trip, I chaperoned my son's class on a field trip there a few years ago. I was lucky enough to learn the basics of lathes and milling machines in the Navy, but if I was 16 again....

[@BodyKnight]

When i first herd about the three planes method i was blown away. I had always thought that precision was something which emerged slowly, through history, a conquest gained by mankind literally a fraction of unit of length after a fraction of unit of length. But the fact that no, you can just make something flat out of nothing, and then derive practically everything from that reference thing - is so unbelievable. It's one of those things in science that looks like when you can see three's roots under the asphalt, like if there was a pattern and sometimes it's on the surface and it's easy to spot.

[@prapanthebachelorette6803]

It requires someone with immense amount of ingenuity though 😂

[@AustinKoleCarlisle]

yeah but it means nothing if you don't have the means to measure it.

[@dewiz9596]

Who would have believed, that at the age of 74, I would have my mind blown! Wow! Thank you very much!

[@jimbarchuk]

I'm adding this note to a few threads. Y'all gotta read Daniel Boorstin _The Discoverers_. Clue: the first science was time, to gauge when the last and first frosts would be, to know when to plant and harvest.

[@cömerdark6524]

Never to old to learn something new 😉

[@dBREZ]

Like the Rolling Stones sang....She blew my nose and then she blew my mind.....

[@kristofferbook4946]

As a Swede I feel proud, but also a bit sad Mr. Johansson is not given the credability today. I humbly bow my head and send him warm thought.

[@commodoresixfour7478]

I'm not sad, except only that he is dead. I'm only calling them Jo Blocks now, Because of this video.

[@jeric_synergy8581]

@my name is my name , do you even know the population of Sweden? Moron. Bog off.

[@ksb2112]

@my name is my name Please...

[@erikengheim1106]

As a Norwegian I am proud on your behalf. You Swedes have done really impressive work in industrial history, which is quite a feat given the relatively small population of Sweden: Svensk Kule Lager, LM Ericcsson, IKEA, Alfred Nobel etc.

[@richardcurtis556]

When I learned about standardizing measuring instruments and how to use a sine bar to generate precise angles some 60 years ago, I was taught that the little gage bars were JOHANSSAN BLOCKS or JOBLOCKS for short.

[@beaustraub]

You are a machinist history genius, but also a low-key comedy genius

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Really phenomenal video. Enjoyed it greatly

[@seanleith5312]

Frenches shouldn't trusted with science and philosophy, everything they do, destroys the world. The Greek established the foundation of ancient world. The British establish the modern world, including science, technology, economics.

[@DragonsAndDragons777]

It's the grassrope guy again!

[@spam_act6914]

same

[@user-pc8tb7hg1lHandlesRDumb]

Hey night hawk.

[@NS-qx5mt]

5 years later, was iffy about watching a half hour video, but its wildly interesting. Great watch.

[@jayying281]

Even as a 2nd generation machinist with over 10 years in the industry plus the trade schooling and apprenticeship and relevant experiences and skills... I cannot believe I never realized the role and importance of the surface plate, which I think I have probably used the most versus any cutting machine or tools. Really opened my eyes a little bigger and really appreciate much more in this amazing field that I'm in.

[@e30clew]

I've wondered many times how precise machining and measurements we're made back in the days. When you mentioned C E Johansson I recognised the name and googled it. Turns out that the factory where he first made the measuring blocks is the beautiful old building visible from my living room window. What a funny coincidence! Thank you for a very informative video, I knew he was known for making tools but I did not know the significance of his invention. If someone's interested: The factory was built in 1813 and is now a museum mostly dedicated to Eskilstuna's technical history. There are still some houses preserved that were used for making guns, built all the way back in around 1650. I really need to learn more about my city's proud industrial history!

[@DavidJohnson-nq9iu]

The have a company in Oakland County that calibrates measuring instruments that was started by a member of his family. I is called A. A. Hands-on and is located east of the Oakland County airport. I used to take instruments there for calibration from both AAM and Busche Southfield.

[@DavidJohnson-nq9iu]

This smart phone is a constant aggravation. That was supposed to be A. A. JANSSON

[@johnshilling2221]

I know! I find myself always being interested in histories of other places, while the ground I'm standing on is just as old, and has a history of its own. Possibly as exciting as any other history! I'll never know, until I look

[@josephsylwestrzak8037]

My dad was 100 % Polish born 1916 and I was born when he was 47. He had been a broach grinder and remember him talking about Jo blocks when I was very young. When I was 18 I started working as a lathe hand and he gave me his machinists oak tool box and tools which I still have. Even with only a 10 th grade education I made prototype parts within .003 s of an inch tolerance but remember dad saying he worked within 1/2 of a 10 thousandth. Europeans are bad ass , be proud of your heritage. I am. Seeing this I understand better how important these men were. My uncle Joe , dads brother was just a little better than dad and did work for NASA. I think this is the 3rd time Ive watched this. Thanks for listening and good luck Lars

[@apotato6278]

@@josephsylwestrzak8037 In all the world there are no machinists quite like the Europeans.

[@notyou6674]

as a kid i always wondered, how are tools made if you need tools to make them? how did anyone make a ruler, angle or other shape? i thought i could do both decently just with a string, cause you can make a straight line and a circle by using a fulcrum but neither would be anywhere near as precise as you would presumably need

[@arrrrr1689]

How to get a straight line when you don't have anything straight. Simple, arrange any thin and very light weight wire ,threat or rope and streach it hard bingo you got a straight line.

[@optimusprimum]

@@arrrrr1689 you’re working too hard. Get a rock and tie it to a string. Let it hang. You have center, level, straight, vertical, horizontal, flat and degree all in one.

[@kiwiwifi]

The hammer was the first tool that was capable of replicating itself. It is the foundation of toolmaking

[@szurketaltos2693]

@kiwiwifi which itself is on a foundation of evolutionary biology going back to RNA, which is probably but possibly unknowably on a foundation of chemical processes at volcanic vents or ponds on land or both, which go back to stellar formation and on to the big bang... The progress from low information to high information content has been amazing in this little corner of the universe.

[@andrasfogarasi5014]

@@arrrrr1689 How do you create a wire of consistent width?

[@drewgoddard7796]

A beautifully put together piece. I've worked in engineering for 30 years and I had no idea about some of this stuff. Very glad this popped up on my suggested videos. Thank you 😉

[@trae3290]

So precision comes from friction?

[@paulssuggestions7132]

I really enjoyed this. Between 1890 and 1935 before the electrical grid and electric motors, the industrial revolution was powered by various combustion engines that ran for years on end reliably. There were also various steam engines. This rapid expansion of the factories would not have been possible without the precision these engines were made with. Some of these engines still perform as as they did 100 years ago. Obviously the spread of a standard of accuracy contributed greatly to the ability to make the products of the last 100 years. And today the pistons for hydraulic construction equipment can marshal crushing forces that cut steel beams and reinforced concrete. We can shoot a jet of water with sand that can cut steel better than a torch. The root of these accomplishments is precision.

[@shockingguy]

This should be required learning for anybody going into engineering of any kind This was an absolute joy to watch thank you

[@rohankishibe8259]

Apparently as someone said in the comments, harvard is using this video as an introduction for materials and engineering students.

[@harlanglass]

And… everyone else (in the modern industrial world). Aristotle: “the unexamined life is not worth living”

[@HouseofTaint]

@@rohankishibe8259 None of which will probably have any practical use for this now days, other than some quote to throw out to show some unearned knowledge and false intelligence on the matter. SHOULD be played for community college students, most of which actually have passion for this level of work.

[@blueguitar4419]

I was a Navy Metcal program technician and lab manager. When you said surface plate I was like, where’s your metcal tag? AND THERE IT WAS!!

[@machinethinking]

Is it possible to get the inspection history from the stamped number?

[@blueguitar4419]

The file for that serial number has been long long purged, sorry. In 1995 they still used paper records you had to mail in at the end of the month to the central records control center, long before individual computerization. I envied the Air Force whose labs seemed to have a much better automated system. From the tag though, ACL is the lab code (not sure where), and the string of digits next to it was the technician ID. Unless he was a civilian, whoever he was has long since left the service. That model number at the time appears to have been placed on a twenty four month cycle. The fact a serial number isn’t written on the tag tells me the guys probably didn’t worry too much about this thing since it didn’t ever move. Not correct but overlooked

[@Seamus322]

I taught gage cal st the Submarine School in the '90's. This video should be shown to every class...

[@kennethschlegel870]

I tried looking up the Lab code in METPRO, didnt turn anything up, the lab might have been renamed or shut down

[@vinniecarter7183]

I've been a machinist for over 30 years, the last ten years working on prototype projects, and a tooling specialist. This video is very informative for people who have no knowledge about machining. I am currently opening my own machine shop in the Black Hills of South Dakota, just a small little prototype and fabrication shop.

[@AaronEmerald]

I am actually looking for a supplier that can make modifications to existing parts and some prototypes. We should get in touch.

[@simsacus]

well done video. I've been working as a metroligist/quality/manufacturing engineer for the past 7 years in the private sector and now working for one of the leading metrology companies in the world. its nice seeing stuff like this video showing the history of metrology. It gives a human aspect to a modern industry that has become very much technologically driven, and that lacks the human aspect in my opinion. These days its standard for certain sophisticated hardware and advanced software to calculate dimensional measurements, at least in the CMM world to have .002mm accuracy, and with certain dedicated machines capable of well under sub 10 millionths precision. Obviously that level of precision is hard to physically imagine. what i want to point out is how you've put together a narrative of the history of how metrology in its modern form has helped shape the manufacturing industry to what we see today. if you ever feel like putting together more videos like this, i will be up front awaiting the release. well done and thank you for telling the story of the industry i am passionate about.

[@cablevamp3163]

This was one of the coolest videos I’ve ever seen in my life Wringing was always a concept that my mind could not fathom and the fact some guy took a sewing machine and made the first set is unbelievable

[@vianneyb.8776]

I was reading a sci-fi webnovel about a young engineer student suddenly stranded in a medieval fantasy world and using his knowledge to start an industrial revolution, and one of the commenters linked this fascinating video. Great stuff! Thanks for your work!

[@allejandrodavid5222]

What is the name of web novel?

[@rayrous8229]

On reflection, I use this stone on stone technique to keep my sharpening stones flat. A nice overview of the topic. Thanks.

[@Shifter611]

I recieved just recieved my Canadian Machinist Red Seal. When this video first came out 5 years ago, I was fresh out of highschool and prepped to start my career as a CNC Machinist. This video, among others, ignited my passion for precision and manufacturing. Thank you!

[@thomaskaldahl196]

Oops, almost forgot to watch this again today

[@johngray8580]

Thanks for this great video. I was Navy but went through AF PMEL training at Lowry AFB, then taught the subject for 4 years Navy, then 7 in civilian school. You have some history that I had not heard and you did a fantastic job presenting!

[@nomanmcshmoo8640]

As a Metrologist.....I salute you, Sir!!!!

[@RealMaxoou262]

Im a Cnc machinist since 2003 and your channel is a breath of fresh air! I live in Sorel Canada we have a GE hydro division enormous plant here and even them Nowadays measure and program in mm... cats and dogs sleeping together!!! But for about 90% of the machine shops in Canada we mesure in inch and we weights ourselves in pounds but we drive in km/h........

[@ronwilken5219]

Yes, and I still calculate my vehicle's fuel consumption in miles per gallon, the real gallon, not that phony yank job! Excellent and informative video. Regards from Canada's banana belt. 🤞🇨🇦🍌🥋🇺🇦🕊🇺🇲🐖💩🐑👍

[@gsx600racer]

I got to meet the Moore's (father and son) in 1985 and tour the plant when I received the Richard F. Moore Award at the age of 16 in my junior year in high school(vocational-tech). I got a personal copy of the book too.

[@luminography]

Did you become an engineer?

[@gsx600racer]

@@luminography The short answer is no. Was a machinist/machine operator for about 12 years after high school. All the shops in the area were either closing or moving south. Went back to school for a bit to learn CADD. Was involved in telecommunication equipment design, printing press design, high end office furniture design, then A/V systems. Been doing that ever since. Currently working from home as a A/V designer/consultant for the past 8 years. Just started working as a marine mechanic a couple years ago and back doing what Iv enjoyed the most, working with my hands. I still do the a/v work(it pays better than the mechanic job) but not as rewarding.

[@natlavishnuvardhanreddy]

Our professor sent this video as an instructional video for a test! excellent work sir!

[@machinethinking]

Cool! I’ve had a few comments like this over the years. Which institution?

[@natlavishnuvardhanreddy]

@@machinethinking National Institute of technology, Calicut, India.

[@von...]

@@machinethinking it is being played in Harvard's Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering (ENG-SCI 190) courses now too. Big ups my dude, I would be speechless if I found myself in your position.

[@machinethinking]

@@von... That's awesome! thanks for letting me know!

[@davidlee8329]

As a former lead metrologist in a calibration lab, I loved this! Outstanding work!

[@sgct89]

Former? How come you're no longer one if you don't mind me asking? (I'm in a similar field) 😅

[@XxMsrSzprzxX]

This video has answered questions I’ve had all my life. I’ve been obsessed with the origins of precision, how it was carried on all these years and so on. I always forgot to search, I wouldn’t even know how to search for such a question. I’m very glad this video got recommended for me.

[@isaacmarkovitz7548]

pretty much the same here. i usually google things as soon as i think of them (and as such im pretty sure i have one of the highest hours on wikipedia per unit time out of pretty much everyone i know), but yeah, never got around to finding this one out.

[@johnwilson3668]

Hi .The Whitworth three plates method was one of the first tests I had when I started my apprenticeship at 15 years old .we were issued with three 5 inch square plates I had to scrape them together using a sequence of six steps . the submitted plate could only be checked by the instructor on a surface plate when I said I was finished. I will always remember this as I was amazed on the flatness of the finished plate. Everyone who enters engineering should have a go at this . Another interesting procedure is to hammer a bar of iron on an anvil keeping it pointing to magnetic north . With enough hammering the bar will become magnetised I have tried it. I find it fascinating

[@desmo750f1]

John Wilson What is it about Josephs and precision?

[@johnwilson3668]

Hi No one knows were the first compass comes from for accurately finding north. There is a theory that the Vikings were the first ones to use them. They worked with iron possibly using iron meteorites which were a lot purer . So they could have hammered the iron has described to make a compass . A compass is a precise measuring instrument which changed the world .The hammering process could have led the way to make a measuring instrument that we take for granted.

[@VAXHeadroom]

@@johnwilson3668 I recommend reading Michael Faraday's "Experiments and Researches in Electricity" (free on Kindle) in which he describes (among MANY other things!) making large bound permanent magnets by basically bootstrapping them out of the Earth's magnetic field. Lodestones are natural permanent magnets and were likely used for the first compasses (floating them in a bowl of water etc.). Once we figured out that heating up iron and letting it cool while oriented along the same line as a lodestone (you don't have to hammer it) would create a permanent magnet, then you basically build bigger magnets by using the first ones to create the subsequent ones which end up being stronger...repeat until saturated!

[@brokenrecord3523]

I don't find precision very interesting, but I need it every day. I appreciate that people are really interested in things that I don't much care about.

[@squidcaps4308]

How is this not more popular? Excellent content.

[@jaredj631]

SquidCaps it’s getting there, the algorithm is just about to go into a exponential burst.

[@SKBKER]

because people are thick

[@jcsrst]

Because people either aren't that bright or just not curious. Seems a shame.

[@godwantsplastic]

Not enough drama

[@millercroger]

Because nowadays most people only care about what's going on with themselves.

[@ytadmin]

Who do you think you are; dropping a fantastic, educational, dopamine laced video on KZbin like that?! Dude - you keep making works of love like this and you will go far in the KZbin world. Subbed, shared, loved. /me wish I had found out about metrology a long time ago.

[@ww8251]

I worked at NAS Alameda till it closed. I went to the machine shop from time to time. That is so great you ended up with that piece.

[@kidcysco9786]

your videos are incredible, not only do they always teach me an array of new things, they also permanently alter the way i view the world in an incredibly intellectually stimulating way. thank you so so much for creating such wonderful content, and shedding light on things i would otherwise miss out on.

[@lorenzwiedemar1837]

Me on desert island: "has anyone tree cast iron plates? reasonably flat is prefered!?"

[@AppliedCryogenics]

Oh well, we'll have to make cement blocks from seashells, fire, and sand.

[@augustovasconcellos7173]

Well, if there aren't any, you'll have to make your own. First you're going to have to secure access to food, running water, trees, iron ore, and clay. This may be tricky, so take your time. Use the clay to build a very basic brickmaking furnace. You can upgrade it later with your bricks. You will also want to set up a charcoal furnace. With charcoal and bricks in hand, you can build a bloomery furnace, which will allow to make basic wrought iron implements. You may use a large and reasonably flat stone as an anvil. With metal tools you can perform more advanced carpentry, which you will need in order to build a waterwheel, piston blowers powered by said waterwheel, and a large enough building to house a charcoal blast furnace. Once you have a blast furnace, you have cast iron, which can be poured into sand molds. This cast iron can also be turned into steel with the puddling method in a reverberatory furnace.

[@pirobot668beta]

First precise screw, Medieval edition. I don't know if it went down like this, but I would try this route: Secure a quantity of iron wire, drawn through a die. The die is to be smooth as can be made. Inspect the wire, keep only the most uniform section. Secure a spindle, turned on centers. Doesn't have to be metal at this point, just round and straight. Wrap wire around spindle, taking care to keep each turn snug against the prior. Secure the wire onto the spindle. Make a follower that rides on the coiled spindle; this is your lead screw attachment for the lathe. Use lathe and lead screw to make a proper cut screw; Acme thread variant is a good start. Use screw to create a tap. Use the tap to make a die. Use the die to make a proper feed-screw for the lathe. Make a lead-screw follower with that tap while your'e at it! Die-cut threaded rods tend to be pretty uniform in pitch; using a brass or copper lapping die makes them more better. Now the lathe can cut threads that are far more uniform than the coiled shaft did. Next up, lathe makes a new lead screw for itself, using the lapped lead screw made earlier! Each 'pass' through the process results in closer tolerances being possible. Once you have uniformity in your geometry, precision tends to follow.

[@jimbarchuk]

Yes but what made that first die? Its dimension is unknown and arbitrary, because dimension/gauge hasn't been invented yet.

[@clarencegreen3071]

Thank you for this post! I've wondered for a long, long time how the first lead screw could be made with any precision.

[@francisc.howlandjr.4845]

There are also 8 piece sets for longer measurements, which of course can also be "wrung" together with any of the sdt. 81 piece set for even more combinations. I was an US Army Metrology Engineering Technician, aka: Calibrator for 43 years. The longest gage block measurement / Calibration that I ever had to make in the field; was on a Hawk Missile, Launch-Lach Gage at 40 some inches +/- 0.0002" this was done in Korea in 1979 in a 5 ton expandable Van in the summer time! we had a 36K btu AC unit but getting the "Unit under Test" and the Standards to stabilize was a b!t&#!! Love your videos.

[@BrotherCreamy]

That's 1m +/- 5um, which is ridiculous. Why did they need a gage block that long?

[@francisc.howlandjr.4845]

@@BrotherCreamy There were two items of Hawk Missile launch latch test equipment that required certification/calibration; The 40" "check Rod" and a "Lanch-Latch" release tester; it was a plier-like hand-held tool with a depth gage calibrated in pounds of force. If these were not operating or used correctly the Launch-latch may NOT disengage at the correct setting, then A fired missile would take the Launcher AND the other two missiles with it down-range! When this happened, once to my knowledge, There was GREAT consternation among the "Brass" with a subsequent Massive search for the Guilty and Persecution on the Innocent! 😁

[@wfjhDUI]

So I'm curious, without getting out the speciality gauge blocks, how does one typically take precision measurements in the range of ~1-10 feet?

[@joemulkerins5250]

Absolute best intro I have heard or seen in the last 10 years. That is genuinely the arbitrary reference point from where the rest of the engineered world came from, those 3 rocks on the island. The fundamental root cause of it all. Thank you for that.

[@maibster]

I had this question for YEARS! Thank you so much for this awesome video. Everyone watching this should be gratefull this type of content is available for free.

[@wot_hog]

Your calculations at the end reminded me of what I always taught millwrights about shimming rotating machines with precut stainless steel shims that come in thirteen thicknesses from 0.001" to 0.125": You're supposed to minimize the number of shims under a machine foot to the extent possible when aligning it, so take a moment and Think, and you will realize that you can achieve any desired thickness from 1 to 150 mils with never more than 3 shims, and often fewer. But the lazy ones will often stack 5 fives to get 25 instead of just finding the single 25 left in the box!

[@brianlove6506]

I just love your voice tone and easy teaching pace and dictation. Your research is astounding; especially the history of Johanson and his metal set of standard gauge blocks. The way the blocks adhere to each other is incredible! Shows the early role of materials science played with this story. Thanks for playing that old Swiss movie!

[@therealbullpeters]

mate, this is a great video. Thank you. All my kids watched it. Some willingly........ Thanks for taking the time

[@Sovereign_Citizen_LEO]

This is one of the most amazing videos I've ever seen (and the one on the 50 ton presses also). I was an apprentice machinist at Schlage Lock Company (Santa Clara Knob Company, - in San Jose, CA in the late 1980s/early 1990s). We made seamless doorknobs, residential and commercial locksets, lever handles, trims, etc., from alloys of nickel steel, stainless/chromium steel, bronze, brass, copper, etc. We had all manner of measuring devices/gauges in our machine shop. But I never knew the history of gauges/ measures (or about Johansson). We had manual lathes, mills, die grinders, massive heavy automated punch presses, drill presses, and CNC lathes and mills also (and heat treating furnaces/ovens). Compared to the CNC machine tools of today they were far less capable and sophisticated, with only 3 axis (maybe 4 axis?, -don't remember). Of course the modern CNC lathes and mills had built-in gauging capabilities. I used manual machine tools only. The journeymen machinists would program and use the CNC/NC machines. We had about 80 employees I believe. They closed our plant in 1991 and moved it to Tecate, Mexico. Schlage had an amazing history, and was an almost 100 year old San Francisco company (near Candlestick Point/Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard). The Founder, Walter Schlage, a German immigrant had 250 U.S. Patents to his name at the time of his death in 1946. His first patent was in 1909, inventing a door lock that turned lights on and off (as you entered and exited). Ingersoll Rand bought Schlage in 1974. The San Francisco plant was massive and during WWII was converted to making parts and equipment for the military. Anyway, the only thing I can find [remaining] on the internet about Santa Clara Knob Company, is on the resume of a guy who worked there long before me, and left long before I was hired: bit.ly/2ENFlK1 Schlage history: bit.ly/2XNBu8n The original SF factory closed in 1999, but some of these images show the factory and footprint of it before/after it was demolished (near the Bayshore/ Caltrain coridor): bit.ly/2J1WkOc bit.ly/2Hs7idd bit.ly/2NSgnNE Fortunately they saved the historic main office building: bit.ly/2HbY4mb This is an interesting blog of a local explorer whose webpage has a lot of cool info about Bay Area historic sites: bit.ly/2Cd24Pf (the pics in the link above are his Flickr site). Anyway, since you're local I though you might be interested in this stuff (if not, sorry :) As I commented on your other video (the amazing lathe in the French museum), the history of (likely) the Moore Tool Company, and so many other American machine tool/manufacturing companies (like Stanley Tool Company, Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems, United Technologies, Groton Electric Boat, clock manufacturers like Ansonia Clock (and at least 8 others), Sturm Ruger, Smith and Wesson, Marlin, Colt, Remington, Winchester, and many others) arose from the Connecticut Valley, primarily as a result of the need to be able to mass produce firearms using precision (gauged) interchangeable components (first accomplished at the Eli Whitney Armory). Thus the firearms industry was primarily responsible for the American Industrial Revolution (along with ensuring victory in the War of 1812, guaranteeing that we remained a free and independent nation). Machine Tools literally made America and saved America, and created a lasting peace. The Connecticut River Valley became the integrated manufacturing capital of America (and later the Northeast in general with companies like bit.ly/2UuPGBf Starrett bit.ly/2VJGJE8 , IBM, etc. etc. etc.). This is a great documentary that elucidates this history well: amzn.to/2TsgGVE Eli Whitney link: bit.ly/2q7BCAy

[@rajatgodara332]

Can you tell me how this video relates to metrology

[@wademullis7377]

One thing that is amazing is the precision that they have in automobiles. The axles connect to the hubs of the wheels and there are four of them. The precision of the placement of the hubs on the axles relative to one another is so precise that one can drive a car 70 mph and not feel any vibration from the axles and hubs and there are not just one of them but there are four rotating together.

[@MouldySoul]

"I'm not a scholar" ..30 mins later "..the recursive algorithm I wrote" Legend :)

[@HarryNicNicholas]

well, that would be "i'm not a programmer" to be real irony.

[@karabinjr]

recursion is a very basic technique. also usually redundant.

[@hyqhyp]

I think you have one of the most important channels on youtube, and hope that you'll continue to produce this series. I'll be using your videos in the STEM classes that I teach to middle and primary school kids, to bring "machine thinking" to them. My operation is private, so I don't have to directly negotiate the nonsense that is considered public education. But it does come into my space, and I am quite alarmed by it. The children are being terrorized by the teachers and curricula about their future, with global warming, over population, mass extinction, and whatnot. And yet simultaneously the history, the culture, and the "machine thinking" that will lead them to solutions to these putative problems are left uncovered, or even presented in the opposite light. I don't think this is just accidental oversight, I think something much more fishy is going on. Kids at their age in the 80s knew a lot more about where the modern world they lived in came from. I am highly concerned about these kids of today coming of voting age in less than a decade. In anycase, we desperately need content like yours, giving at least an inkling as to where the modern world does, and the future world might, come from.

[@machinethinking]

Thank you for the kind words! My primary goal is to help people appreciate and be grateful for the amazing world around them and not take it for granted.

[@mikew5775]

"Terrorized" by teachers? My kid's machine shop teacher doesn't strike me as a terrorist, though she (she!) does have a couple of CNC machines in her shop/classroom... Yup... "much more fishy"...

[@rogermoore8977]

hyqhyp Schools have cut many of the shop classes which leads me to believe the goal would be dependency. Basic life skill set is never taught so it is never learned. I hope someone writes a book on 100 things you must master in life. Starting a fire, fixing a flat and changing your oil would be a start.

[@stefantrethan]

Like it or not Roger, starting a fire, fixing a flat, or changing the oil is something the majority of people will never need these days. The other day I was listening to a discussion between two young guys who were complaining about how much of a hassle it is to change the oil in their car. It took me quite a ways into the discussion to realize they were not talking about changing the oil at all, but about taking their car to a shop that changes the oil! This is the modern world apparently. As for curricula, I find them vitally important to at least somewhat protect children from the random whims of teachers. Of course it requires a functioning government that is comitted to reason and science to set those minimum standards correctly, but that's another issue.

[@stefantrethan]

Eric, if anything learned ineptitude would make you dependent on the very profitable services provided by corporations in a capitalist system. If you look at any communist system, be it the USSR, China, North Korea, significant emphasis is placed on self sufficiency and manual labor. While I have not lived under communism myself I'm located right next to where the iron curtain once was, and I can assure you that practical life skills were absolutely vital to survive in a struggling communist system. There are many terrible aspects of communism and I would never wish for anyone to live under it, but it bothers me to no end when communism is misrepresented and misunderstood. The failing education system in the US and decimation of industrial production (through outsourcing) must be firmly placed at the feet of captialism and neo-conservatism, communism has nothing to do with it.

[@notthatgerry]

I am a phycisits by formation, and when I saw your video, i thought it was going to be about the theoretical definitions of meter, second, kilogram and so on, but this is absolutely amazing. your narrative is so absorbing, this half an hour went quickly. Such an interesting topic and of course, love how you take a second to thank to other scientists and engineers before. truly, people often trivializes how advanced as species we have come.

[@prapanthebachelorette6803]

I hated physics when I was in school but now I’m totally blown away so thanks 😊

[@jamesr.9239]

you should do a video on computer hard drive platters and the ultra precision they are made to due to to the extremely close gaps between platter and reading head. It is a testament to accuracy and ever improving industrial methods all driven by competition and demand.

[@larryslemp9698]

Wow, great comment..!!

[@alexanderhuff8758]

This video just cost me $150. I just bought a cheap set of gauge blocks, and an individual 0.5” grade 0 block. 🙂

[@anikidwolfy]

A drop in the sea, for when you get stranded on a desert island, you only have to crack out them precise pieces of steel and just like dorathy click them heels together and say "theres nothing like a scientific reference" ... Sadly you might not be wisked back home like her; but as you lay there on that desolate island slowly dying from basic exposure to the elements, just know that theres nothing closer than the faces of 2 gauge blocks wringed together and tom, dick and harry thats stuck with you, will understand that $150 spent was worth every penny.

[@angrydragonslayer]

Be happy, i already have a few surface blocks And this reminded me of a heavy-duty granite one for sale locally I might be spending $1800 if the urge wins out

[@HarryNicNicholas]

huh, i bought an island and the patent on a time machine.

[@camtheman559]

The search for precision and quality will lead you to madness

[@nicholasbell1164]

Ya I own a block set now

[@hootinouts]

Outstanding presentation. My father was a tool and die maker and I worked in the field for a few years right after high school. We often finish ground hardened steel parts to within .0001". I can remember my dad and I having conversations about the very topic of your video here. I can easily understand how a very flat surface can be progressively developed but not so easily with the level of precision we have today with cylindrical shapes. Regardless, we got where we are but it just a shame that many of those who made their contributions to brings us here remain unknown along with any writing they may have made.

[@BravoCharleses]

This is a brilliant video. I am thankful for having found it. Great job!

[@callumheron3467]

This is going to become one of the all time greatest channels alongside AVE and Cody's Lab. Keep it up!

[@micahrobles5210]

Don’t forget This Old Tony. Very similar humor and style this one.

[@rustandoil]

Been in engineering all my life, and now approaching retirement.... But I still learnt stuff from this video.... Facinating stuff 👍🏻

[@phuturephunk]

In a way, I've been waiting like 10 years for this video to be made. Well done, dude. Well done.

[@aerobill8554]

Sir, I watched this video some years ago and just introduced my 12 yo son to it as well. KZbin / Life standard in my opinion. Thank you ! Will you do some more in the future ? Greetings from Will in the Netherlands.

[@machinethinking]

I'm also Will :) And yes! I'm in production on several more now.

[@gavinsfriend456]

I’ve been a machinist for 3 years now and almost never everyday this industry gets more fascinating. From the complex machines and how they can run for years making the same precise parts, the tools and metal properties. And the precision which everyone takes for granted. I mean to be able to make something perfectly flat or round is incredible. Plus I love quality and everything in this industry needs to be quality. I really love machining and actually making the backbone of the modern age. Metalwork is truly amazing. Thank you for making this video so I can learn about where my cnc machine comes from as I work on it haha

[@peterblake4837]

When I was an apprentice tool maker, I had to make a set of three surface plates. Used D slide valves that were at least ten years old, so the iron was stable.

[@mariusschubert4737]

Great video mate, and I agree this film should be showed in schools. I'm working in machining in Germany and this video has brought together so many things that I use on a daily basis. Well done Sir!

[@GraemePayne1967Marine]

I stumbled upon this video while browsing KZbin. Thank you for a very excellent presentation. I was looking at this from a professional background. I spent about 20 years working in the Navy metrology system, and another 8 or so at a major US airline. My specialty was maintenance and calibration of electronic test and measurement equipment. But out of necessity and personal curiosity I learned a lot about physical/dimensional metrology as well. With the recent completion of the watt balance, the electrical and physical systems are now united in a way. I was a co-author of the first edition of the book "The Metrology Handbook" published by the American Society for Quality, and I became one of the first ASQ Certified Calibration Technicians (CCT). One photo in that book is of the British yard/foot/inch transfer standard that you show. The one I photographed is on the outside wall of the Greenwich Observatory. In my retirement hobby of woodworking, I still keep the value of precision measurements. I don't have a set of gage blocks yet but that is a goal. I have been able to purchase a number of things that I an careful to use only as reference standards, to check other dimensional tools. While wood is a dynamic material, precision and accuracy are still important but at a different scale: 1/32" instead of 0.001" or less. A lot of the material you present was either new to me or long forgotten - thank you again. An upcoming project for the woodworking shop is making a straightedge: by the same method you describe for surface plates, so I will end up with three instead of just the one I need. 😃

[@neuxstone]

You are the absolute king of cool when it comes to this type of content You made this extremely interesting and I shared it on all my social media accounts.

[@andersjjensen]

That "go fly a kite" remark nearly cost me a perfectly good laptop! :D

[@HarryNicNicholas]

the reaction is called "nose-coffee" for future reference, and accuracy of course.

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

@@HarryNicNicholas And you're tasting coffee in everything you eat that day.

[@Itachi52496]

I know this video is older but can we just appreciate the printed photos instead of animated transitions or otherwise, shows you don’t need flashy animations or complex transitions to make something meaningful and informative Love you dawg, thank you for explaining why so many of the things I love come from the appreciation of a truly flat surface lmao

[@beautanner8409]

This is amazing, I've been looking for info on exactly this topic - it's hard to find polished and entertaining videos that covers this material... thank you!

[@rizdalegend]

This is a deep rabbit hole, please dig deeper into the past

[@Trident_Euclid]

Amen to this

[@jimbarchuk]

I'm adding this note to a few threads. Y'all gotta read Daniel Boorstin _The Discoverers_. Clue: the first science was time, to gauge when the last and first frosts would be, to know when to plant and harvest.

[@gricklegrass100]

Former USMC Calibration and Repair Technician (6492) here. I've applied many of those Navy METCAL stickers in my career. I approve of this video. All hail NIST!

[@danward1070]

20:57 finally! Now we can make accurate and universal pretzels.

[@WheelsRCool]

Standardized, interchangeable pretzels are very important.

[@bouipozz]

*spits out mouthful of inferior pretzels in rage

[@egeoeris]

My favorite way to make a perfectly flat surface to this day is still glass panel making: They just lay/pour the glass on a pool full of molten tin so it floats/cools flat. Given it's a bit more advanced from grinding tree large stones with each other but i love it.

[@MrAstrojensen]

An optician will immediately tell you that glass panels are nowhere near flat, when measured in wavelengths of light. ;-)

[@aygwm]

@@MrAstrojensen much flatter than rubbing three stones together.

[@MrAstrojensen]

@@aygwm That depends. If you know what you're doing, you can polish the three stones (preferably obsidian) to a flatness much better than 1/4th the wavelength of green light (550nm), while float glass has a much larger surface error.

[@unicornadrian1358]

@@MrAstrojensen what if you rub 3 pieces of float glass together? It might be a good starting point?

[@MrAstrojensen]

@@unicornadrian1358 Exactly! That is basically how optically flat mirrors are made.

[@tegaidayt]

This is one of the single greatest videos I have ever seen. This is including fiction.

[@SolidRockMachineShopInc]

Thanks for the education. I often wondered how we got to where we are today. Steve

[@jimbarchuk]

I'm adding this note to a few threads. Y'all gotta read Daniel Boorstin _The Discoverers_. Clue: the first science was time, to gauge when the last and first frosts would be, to know when to plant and harvest.

[@oxtoolco]

Let me know if you want to see a Palmer and a super early B&S micrometer. A good friend has one locally in the SF bay area. Cheers, Tom

[@machinethinking]

Tom, that would be awesome, I'll be in touch! I'm local.

[@lnorman79]

@oxtoolco hey tom, just wanted to say i'm a huge fan of you!! I was lucky enough to meet Bruce Whittham, a couple of weeks ago, he popped into my machine shop, to help my boss, he's a champion of a bloke!! he even signed my moore and wright combination set! so stoked!!

[@AustrianAnarchy]

YES! YES! YES! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YES! Please?

[@commodoresixfour7478]

I found my B&S 6" caliper in the trash with the box and instructions.

[@dukecraig2402]

@@machinethinking You should have mentioned the "standards engineering day" and the critically important part to machine work, temperature, without maintaining that standard temperature you can throw accuracy out the window, I try to warn guys who are going to have machine work done on an engine, ie fit pistons into cylinders, that they shouldn't trust a machine shop that doesn't maintain 70° F, the tolerances of some of these modern pistons can be under .001 of an inch, change the temperature by just 10 or 15 degrees and then remeasure something that fits that close, your clearence will be cut in half with just that amount of change, shops that are 90 to 95 degrees inside in the heat of the summer and then 6 months later everyone is wearing sweatshirts and standing around kerosene heaters don't do accurate work.

[@astaschak]

A week or so ago I was talking to a coworker at the machine shop about the first machines and how they made them in order to make more precise machines than the machine itself in order to get to where we are today. Here I am tonight fixing my son's glasses and working on a pinewood derby car for him just autoplaying videos to listen to. Well all my work stopped and I've been binging yours. The last couple videos I've watched about precision and the first lathe have answered many questions that I was hoping to find a book on or something. I wanted to find a book or set of books that detailed the history and progress of machine tool technologies and didn't come up with much of anything that's available to anyone. I appear to have been looking at the wrong media. Your videos are superbly informative. Idk if I'm sleeping tonight lol.

[@vintagelife5195]

As a professional machinist, this was the coolest video Ive seen in a long time. They dont teach this history stuff in college.

[@DieselpunkMachine]

Why not? History stuff tells us that all miracle machines were made by men in very unconvinient circumstances, so you can also. But the main school/college/university message is YOU CAN'T.

[@NorthernChev]

I tried, but was unable, to "thumbs-up" this video more than once! I shall gather three Machine Thinking videos, mark them A, B and C. Then rub them together until I get the precise result I seek.

[@0ldtractornut622]

As a tool maker trained in the late 70"s i learned old and new. From hand scraping and shaping machines to EDM and CNC. Thanks for your vids

[@shawng7902]

Amazing you did a full video on something I sit around and wonder myself. I work in the aerospace alloy field. As a tool nut, I have sat around many times wondering how in the world they came up with the precision we can replicate so easily today. I've always been amazed at what machinists can produce and think I would have enjoyed that field a little more. Being into precision firearms now it would make my life a lot easier. All i need is maybe $150k to buy machinery for my garage and i would be set lol

[@babydriver8134]

Art, precision machining is Art. Much respect.

[@von...]

Precision firearm and/or long distance shooting enthusiasts are some of my favorite people to hear just ramble about their current novel interests - especially when they care about the engineering involved, as much as they enjoy the real-world results of said engineering.

[@adrianvanallen4703]

A great explanation of how precision tools have shaped our world!

[@scorchgardenultrahothotsau7919]

How could nearly 900 people NOT like this?

[@CD-oe6lc]

It’s simply amazing how people dislike truth, history and learning factual things in general isn’t it?

[@TheFrankHuda]

Former USMC cal tech here. Also I worked for a few years at Starrett in Athol, MA inspecting their 1-6” micrometers. Very nice video homey.

[@christopherrto]

It's really too bad Jo didn't use 25mm instead of 25.4mm. imagine how much more compatible metric and imperial would be. A foot would be exactly 300mm, not 304.8

[@guard13007]

It might've stopped adoption, made it more difficult, or even introduced incompatibility. As much as those problems already existed, by adhering to the closed estimate available of what everyone was *already trying to*, he made sure these would be absolutely perfect.

[@nickbrutanna9973]

Good enough for government work... :-P

[@79Zhyr]

@@guard13007 The imperial system is already illogical. It'd do the entire (ie Mericah the centre of the known universe ) good to get rid of it.

[@Smokey298]

@@79Zhyr How is the imperial system illogical?

[@tcfs]

@@Smokey298 In the imperial system you have to memorize all of the possible conversions: "inch to a yard" = 36, "inch to a mile" = 63360, "yard to a mile" = 1760 etc. Those are just random numbers hard to memorize. Not to mention madnesses like: 1 cubic inch of water weights how many Stones? In metric system, everything is a power of 10. Millimeters to a centimeter? 10 Centimeters to a decimeter? 10 Decimeters to a meter? 10 Millimeter to a meter? 1000 Meter to kilometer? 1000 Even the prefixes help you to make the conversion. Kilo means thousand, so the Kilometer means "Kilo Meter" which translates to "1000 meters" (same for kilograms for measurement. 1 kilogram = 1000 grams) Milli means 1/1000, Centi means 1/100, Deci means 1/10, so the Decimeter stands for "1/10 meter" Even the volume, length and weight have clear correlation: 1 litre fits in a cube with an edge length of 10 centimeters. 1 litre of water weights 1 kilogram, etc...

[@Oldtimeytools]

I watch this every couple of years. Soon I’ll be watching it with my eldest son, couple more years. Thank you for making this, I miss quality content like this.

[@ronwilken5219]

As Bubba would say, "And now my brain hurts!" Thanks for an enlightening episode. I look forward, I think, to the next one.

[@flashpointrecycling]

Incredible documentary! Thank you. I just saw a Moore Jig Borer come up at auction. Wish I had given it more attention. It was in great shape.

[@machinethinking]

Moore machines are surely some of the best ever made. Their attention to detail, outlined in the book, is nothing short of shocking. I, too, would have a hard time passing up a nice Moore Jig Borer even though I wouldn't use it often. I believe their jig grinders are still well appreciated though.

[@ahobimo732]

I love how machining and programming both depend on bootstrapping.

[@himabimdimwim]

I know right! I love tech, and this video felt strangely in my language? I could follow the lesson material by using learned patterns from programming. It's surreal.

[@ahobimo732]

@@himabimdimwim Wild, isn't it? I love it when the same pattern emerges in what seem like they should be completely unrelated areas. For me, there's almost something spiritual about it. It's like the universe is winking at us.

[@babydriver8134]

Ya think?! Since the Garden of Eden.

[@bruhdabones]

Modern programming is effectively (and often, literally) an engineering discipline. You’re right to observe the identical language and utterly parallel concepts.

[@szurketaltos2693]

Complexity begets increasing complexity. We are all bootstrapped from RNA, evolutionarily, and RNA comes from the conditions of the Earth at a certain time, etc.

[@AndresGonzalez-qn2kv]

i was watching and then you said lest imagine you are on a desert island, okay okay i see were we are going a put the video in pause and make some mate and pastafrola and then put the video again I LOVE THIS KIND OF EFORT ON A VIDEO Saludos desde curupaity Paraguay!

[@averagefpv9449]

I was shocked. I can't believe i hadn't heard this "story" 100 times before! After all, I'm 45 years old! I feel embarrassed that I have just taken precision for granted my whole life, but the happiness I feel at knowing a tiny bit about the linage of precision sources that embarrassment--so i wrote this thank you comment!

[@georgehelliar]

Hey man, I liked your video, so I shared it to the skookum subreddit. Hope you enjoy the bump in subscribers; numbers appear to be up 25% in the last few hours! I hope this gives you a bit of encouragement to keep up the good work

[@machinethinking]

I surely did notice, thank you!

[@Finntheweekendwarrior]

thanks for posting this in there mate, love finding new channels like this!

[@Finntheweekendwarrior]

Keep up the good work mate!

[@jamesburnett7085]

THANK YOU! This answers questions I have had since about age 4. I think this script is expertly written. What a gift.

[@EmbraceMaking]

These are the questions that keep me awake at night lol, it always amazes me how ingenious and creative people are/were to come up with these things. Incredible.

[@josephjackson1956]

So THIS is how those machines in How It's Made are made

[@mitchellpatterson3323]

I love coming back and watching this documentary, it's so informative and your delivery is so soothing to listen to. I can't wait for your next one

[@stevej8478]

Just found your site and IMMEDIATELY subscribed. You do an EXCELLENT job of presentation and WOW, the research you must do is MIND BOGGLING! Thanks.