What do cell phones, candy wrappers, and paper plates have in common? They all need a Machinist.
Five students in Mid-Coast’s Machine Tool class know everyone relies on Machinists and they are taking advantage. They are learning the skills that have enabled them to become employed even before graduation.
First year student Logan Willis is employed at Knox Machine in Warren and works in the warehouse and doing all of the jobs he is able to at his age. Logan has plans to return to Mid-Coast next year as a senior in Machine Tool.
Kyle Arey, is a 2nd year student and is working under an internship with Fisher Engineering in Rockland. He currently plans to attend CMCC for Precision Machining Technology.
Jakob Gess is a 2nd year Machine Tool student, however, he has also taken Pre-Engineering and Intro to Applied Technology while at Mid-Coast. He is currently employed at Kenniston Machine in Rockland and where he plans to continue working after graduation.
Third year student, Marley Patten, also took Intro to Applied Technologies prior to Machine Tool and is currently working at Knox Machine. After graduation this year, Marley plans to become employed by CMP and trained to be a lineman.
Elliot Johnson is another 3rd year Machine Tool student who took advantage of Intro to Applied Technology and is now employed at Lie Nielson in Warren. He is currently exploring options with experts in the industry to whether a college degree in machining will benefit him.
Elliot describes what they do in Machine Tool as “removing metal from a stock piece to make something.” Jakob said that while removing the metal it needs to be done intricately and precisely because they measure down to ten thousandths of an inch. While in the class they have learned to make pieces that are specific to the industry, however, they love the class because they are also allowed to use their skills to be creative and “make cool things.”
They all agree that their teacher Mr. Barratt has been instrumental in their success. Not only has he taught them the skills they need as a Machinist in the industry, but he also provides them with valuable connections. Rob Greely, from Knox Machine, used to volunteer weekly in the shop. This year Mr. Barratt has set the students up with webcams and laptops to Zoom with Rob in the shop to work with him. Mr. Barratt also provided many of the connections to local jobs for his students.
While the students all say that Machine Tool is intricate and finely detailed they agree that there is a lot of support. Machine Tool has a lot of math involving fractions, decimals, and trigonometry. The students say though, that they help each other, get help from Mr. Barratt, and Mr. Brungardt (Welding Teacher). They all say more students should be taking Machine Tool and that it may seem heavy on math, but because it is applied it makes it much easier to understand. They also appreciate that the class is the place to make mistakes and that it is ok because Mr. Barratt and their classmates are all helpful and supportive. Lastly, they all agreed that the connections to classmates, jobs and colleges have been immensely valuable from this course.
To learn more about the Machine Tool course watch the Fabrication or STEAM Cluster Panels here.
