A Day in the Life of an ACECO Machinist
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A machinist is a skilled tradesperson who uses tools and machinery to produce or repair mechanical parts. They read and interpret blueprints, schematics and diagrams to produce or repair precision mechanic pieces. Machinists work in industries such as aerospace, automotive and businesses like American Crane & Equipment Corporation. In this blog post, we sit down with Manual Machinist, Jeff Rear, to hear about a day in his life at ACECO.
Start Strong
Jeff wakes up before the birds around 3:55 a.m. He grabs his morning coffee at Wawa on his way to the Douglassville, Pennsylvania plant. He likes to get there early so that he can be in the proper mindset so he can do his best work. The tasks that he performs are mainly performed on a 5-inch spindle mill or a 7-inch horizontal boring mill, which is lovingly referred to as the “Green Monster.”
Work Smart
The hardest and most critical part of his job is the initial set up of his machines. “You have to think… Seriously think things through. Sequencing is key. You can be boring holes within 5000ths of an inch, so you need to know the most efficient way to do the job,” says Jeff. Working with such precise measurements is one of the reasons why he believes taking his time and being in the right mindset is essential for his job.
Problem Solving
This November, he’ll have worked at ACECO for 19 years and as a machinist for over 40 years. Even with over 40 years of experience as a machinist, Jeff encounters new challenges daily and makes the right adjustments to perform the job correctly. Knowledge builds up over the years, but you need to keep trying, learning and making adjustments. “Something may look familiar, but you have to make compromises with things that don’t work,” he says.
Patience & Collaboration
Jeff believes that the qualities a good machinist would include problem solving abilities, patience and collaboration. “Collaboration is key in the life of a machinist. It takes many hands and multiple steps to complete a job, so working together can make everyone’s jobs easier. It’s important to do your assignments properly, that way it makes it easier on the next person down the line in the process. He also says that the right mindset can go a long way. The right mindset is one that values critical thinking.” He tells us.
The Finished Product
Jeff enjoys what he does for a living and has pride in what he does. His favorite part of the job is seeing the finished product. “It involved the whole company to produce something like a 220-ton trolley, but I machined the pads and drilled in the tap holes. It’s kind of crazy to see,” he says.
He gives a lot of credit to his teacher in trade school when he first studied machining. There were no spots in auto mechanics left, so he studied machining, which became his life’s work.
Join us at ACECO to be part of a dynamic team that takes pride in its work. Visit the careers page to see our current openings and reach out to us if you have any questions about a career opportunity with ACECO.
