How Much Money is Enough?

I've never been hung up on money. I see it more as a necessary evil. Would I take more if it was offered? Sure. I would like to have enough property to endulge in my hobbies without the hassle of planning a trip. Other than that if I was given millions of dollars I would live much the same as now. I would still work (although fewer hours) and things like that because that is what I do. Just give me a deer blind and a small boat and I'm good to go.
 
You could give me Bill Gate's entire fortune, and I would probably blow it on fancy diners made by ChefChiTown and romantic nights out with lurkingdirk.

The Dirk is not cheap.
 
My (late) uncle had a milling company (I think it was drill bits he manufactured) but he ****** before I could get in on it (I was still almost a baby). Actually, they sold the company for some good $$$ and I can't remember how it all played out. Been a while.

Anyway, the hand made pieces I think are what I'm after (that's how Scotty Cameron started out, his ***'s Bridgeport in their garage, and now his annual gross is like $50 million or some crazy number), but if I were to venture into something big time obviously to mass produce I would have to learn the CAD stuff. But those pieces in that link I provided obviously have a hand crafted touch, which, I don't think were produced using anything more sophisticated than a Bridgeport.

As far as their price, I've seen them as low as a few hundred but shipping is a bitch. Not to mention metal - although you could I suppose always practice on wood or plastic.


It all comes down to what you want to do and how serious you are about this as a career. Sure, it'd be great to have a Bridgeport to play around with. But classes and that apprenticeship are the way to go. Learning basic machine shop practices from a teacher or mentor will keep you from picking up lots of bad habits. You have to know the basic X, Y and Z axis moves to do anything. But you can learn how to move an axis to drill a .250" hole at X +2.500" and Y +1.125" in about 10 minutes. But you have to know speeds & feeds: aluminum will machine differently than cold roll steel. Cold roll will machine differently than S7. S7 <- D2. D2 <- titanium, etc., etc. And climb milling will give you a different finish than conventional milling. So practicing with plastic (regular end mills don't like wood) is possible, but only if you're going to be machining plastic in the future. You can get scraps of steel from machine shops in your area for nothing. An entire bar of cold roll isn't that expensive.

But once you learn how to build jigs, you certainly can do a lot of the same things that can be done on a CNC mill. A CNC just allows one person to be working on something else while the machine runs... which is why even small shops have CNC knee mills these days. Here's a guy who converted an old Bridgeport to run G-code programs:

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I'd had my MBA for years. But my *** was prouder of me when I went back and got an associates in Machine Technology several years ago. I found out I had enough credits for the degree because I'd taken so many classes just for shits & giggles. They'd only let me play with the machines and robots if I signed up for classes. It was like geek/gearhead porn... I loved it. My company even paid for the cost. What a bargain! :nanner: I want to go back and take Latin somewhere now. But I doubt I can con my new employer into paying for that. To me, it's all in fun. But for a career, I'd want to be a master with a lathe (the most basic piece of shop equipment) and a mill. And take all the math you can take. CAD/CAM programs will do the heavy lifting for you. If you don't have access to that though, you'll have to trig things out on your own.

How could I mate my love of porn with my love of mechanical gadgets? I wonder if I could make one of those motorized fuck machines? Hmm... Which one of the OCSM's wants to be the first to try my invention? Wonder if a 20 ***** motor would do the trick? :D
 
a couple of quotes that i believe in:

"money can't buy happiness, but it sure as hell helps"

"what can't you buy with 8 billion that you can with 10 billion"

"if bill gates has 500 million dollars and lost half his fortune, he would still have 250 million. how crazy is that"
 
I'll be satisfied once i have enough to buy the world! So far I have a one bedroom apartment and a 10 year old fridge. That's a good start right? Did I mention that there's milk, eggs, and 2 beers in the fridge? The milk may have expired but it's still milk dammit!
 
I'll be satisfied once i have enough to buy the world! So far I have a one bedroom apartment and a 10 year old fridge. That's a good start right? Did I mention that there's milk, eggs, and 2 beers in the fridge? The milk may have expired but it's still milk dammit!

Actually, I think it is cheese at this point.
 
I've always thought that enough money is when I can rent Disneyland for a day.
 
It all comes down to what you want to do and how serious you are about this as a career. Sure, it'd be great to have a Bridgeport to play around with. But classes and that apprenticeship are the way to go. Learning basic machine shop practices from a teacher or mentor will keep you from picking up lots of bad habits. You have to know the basic X, Y and Z axis moves to do anything. But you can learn how to move an axis to drill a .250" hole at X +2.500" and Y +1.125" in about 10 minutes. But you have to know speeds & feeds: aluminum will machine differently than cold roll steel. Cold roll will machine differently than S7. S7 <- D2. D2 <- titanium, etc., etc. And climb milling will give you a different finish than conventional milling. So practicing with plastic (regular end mills don't like wood) is possible, but only if you're going to be machining plastic in the future. You can get scraps of steel from machine shops in your area for nothing. An entire bar of cold roll isn't that expensive.

But once you learn how to build jigs, you certainly can do a lot of the same things that can be done on a CNC mill. A CNC just allows one person to be working on something else while the machine runs... which is why even small shops have CNC knee mills these days. Here's a guy who converted an old Bridgeport to run G-code programs:

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I'd had my MBA for years. But my *** was prouder of me when I went back and got an associates in Machine Technology several years ago. I found out I had enough credits for the degree because I'd taken so many classes just for shits & giggles. They'd only let me play with the machines and robots if I signed up for classes. It was like geek/gearhead porn... I loved it. My company even paid for the cost. What a bargain! :nanner: I want to go back and take Latin somewhere now. But I doubt I can con my new employer into paying for that. To me, it's all in fun. But for a career, I'd want to be a master with a lathe (the most basic piece of shop equipment) and a mill. And take all the math you can take. CAD/CAM programs will do the heavy lifting for you. If you don't have access to that though, you'll have to trig things out on your own.


I did some milling back in high school in metal shop on an old manual Bridgeport, but it was nothing serious and it's been a while now. if you don't know the basics of milling technique it's easy to damage metal/pieces. That really was the ticket, if only I'd taken it more seriously in high school. Had access to the machines and everything. Can't remember if they let **** in there after school. But it's all good, I'm still young and finish my degree in the Fall. Then I might go to trade school and pursue either computer engineering or a tool and die route.
 
Money is the root of all evil
That is a misquote. The quote actually said "love of money is the root of all evil."

There is absolutely nothing wrong with money. When it becomes a problem is when you develop an unhealthy desire for it that causes you to do wrong.

Money on it's own is not evil.
Wanting money is not evil.
Working hard and honestly for money is not evil.
Having money is not evil.

What IS evil is being willing to do things that are *******, unethical, or immoral for the purpose of obtaining money.

Money can actually be a very good thing, depending on what it is used for.

Money can fund research to cure diseases.
Money can feed those who are hungry.
Money can build housing for the homeless.

This may shock some of you out there, but even money made by corporations and small businesses is not evil. Assuming the money was made honestly, corporate profits pay salaries for people who work hard for their families.

Money in and of itself is not inherently evil. It is what people do in the quest for it, or what they do with it after they have it that can be evil.
 
Enough to buy a cool house in a nice neighborhood of Paris + enough to, once intelligently and safely invested, guarantee me a rent of approximately 2.000€/month

I guess 3 millions would be enough.
 
1 billion.

I crave the feeling of never, EVER needing to worry about money, or how little I have. I think even with a few million, I'd constantly think "can I afford this" because houses, cars, handbags...aren't cheap.
 
1 billion.

I crave the feeling of never, EVER needing to worry about money, or how little I have. I think even with a few million, I'd constantly think "can I afford this" because houses, cars, handbags...aren't cheap.

Damn...seriously? There are a lot of things in life to be greatful for - your arms and legs (think of people missing those things); your friends and ******; the friggin' beautiful earth. :dunno: Ehhhh, everybody's different.
 
i just want enough to survive i have never been a greedy person and im a very humble and respectful and money will chance a person i seen it done first hand
 
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