# Hello from America



## michaelmerriweather (Feb 26, 2022)

Hi. My name is Michael. I'm an office manager at a non-profit in Detroit, MI. I've slowly been reading/re-searching and acquiring tools so that I can get into metal working. My primary interest (right now) is in scale models of vehicles. I just acquired my first real lathe (an Emco Maximat Super 11) and am in the process of planning the setup for my home shop.


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## YYCHM (Feb 26, 2022)

Welcome from Calgary.


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## DPittman (Feb 26, 2022)

Welcome. Nice to have you here.


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## crittermutt (Feb 26, 2022)

Welcome from Sherwood park. Ab.


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## Chip Maker (Feb 26, 2022)

Welcome from Peterborough Ont.


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## deleted_user (Feb 26, 2022)

Welcome from Toronto.

My family hails from the Detroit-Toledo corridor... I got into metal working for live steam and model making. There used to be large show in Detroit but I haven't seen if it has been held in the last 10 years or more.


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## whydontu (Feb 26, 2022)

Welcome from Vancouver, BC


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## YYCHM (Feb 26, 2022)

This might interest you.  Another EMCO user

https://canadianhobbymetalworkers.com/threads/fly-reels.1651/









						Electric Motor Drive for compound
					

I make some fly reels which have a shallow (4Deg to 8Deg) taper on the flanges.  I try for a mirror finish without having to polish after the parts come off the lathe. Turning the compound by hand without leaving any tooling marks is a PITA.    I found a couple of small 27V DC gear motors in my...




					canadianhobbymetalworkers.com


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## CalgaryPT (Feb 26, 2022)

Another welcome from Calgary Michael.


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## Crosche (Feb 26, 2022)

Greetings and welcome to the forum Michael. 

Cheers,

Chad


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## combustable herbage (Feb 27, 2022)

Welcome from Ottawa, I got my  lathe about a year ago and haven't looked back since,  enjoy!


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## LenVW (Feb 27, 2022)

Hi Michael,
Lots of advice and assistance in this group of hobbyists.

In did visit the Garden City area for hockey games years ago. 
Has the Detroit core been experiencing an urban renewal ?


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## Susquatch (Feb 27, 2022)

Hi Michael, welcome! 

I worked a good chuck of my career in Detroit.


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## michaelmerriweather (Feb 27, 2022)

Thank you all for the warm welcome/reception!


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## SomeGuy (Mar 1, 2022)

Welcome!

Does whoever runs this place regret making it "Canadian"? Though I do find the members here more awesome than usual...I wonder if a bigger audience would help.


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## DPittman (Mar 1, 2022)

SomeGuy said:


> Welcome!
> 
> Does whoever runs this place regret making it "Canadian"? Though I do find the members here more awesome than usual...I wonder if a bigger audience would help.


I had nothing to do with the creation  of this forum but I LIKE that it is Canadian!  
PS.  This forum started out with "Calgary" in the title.


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## 6.5 Fan (Mar 2, 2022)

Welcome from SK.


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## Susquatch (Mar 2, 2022)

SomeGuy said:


> Welcome!
> 
> Does whoever runs this place regret making it "Canadian"? Though I do find the members here more awesome than usual...I wonder if a bigger audience would help.



There is a forum history if you want to know how it all came to be. 

Clearly our Calgary roots show through. 

I enjoy having folks from other countries as members - if for no other reason than to add an international flavour.

But I also like the Canadian flavour very much. We have different issues in Canada - not the least of which are material supply and tool availability, used equipment, rules & standards, etc etc. 

I belong to several US forums that I enjoy too for different reasons like experience, broader perspectives, bigger audience, more members, etc. etc. 

But truth be told, CHMW has become my goto forum for many reasons not the least of which is the blend of great humour, the colour of the comments, the availability of good aluminium advice, the fact that many members are neighbours, and last but not least the Canadian "ou" spelling of all the above..... 

I would not vote for any deliberate attempt to expand our focus. Practical Machinist fills that role just fine.

Perhaps it might help to put it another way. I would never dump CHMW in favour of Practical Machinist or any other more international forum.


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## kevin.decelles (Mar 2, 2022)

Susquatch said:


> I would not vote for any deliberate attempt to expand our focus. Practical Machinist fills that role just fine.
> 
> Perhaps it might help to put it another way. I would never dump CHMW in favour of Practical Machinist or any other more international forum.



+1 on that sentiment.


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## CalgaryPT (Mar 2, 2022)

SomeGuy said:


> Welcome!
> 
> Does whoever runs this place regret making it "Canadian"? Though I do find the members here more awesome than usual...I wonder if a bigger audience would help.


I often think of my second favourite (@Susquatch this "ou's" for you) forum, snowblower.com, which started in Toronto, but actually has more of its 28,000 members in the USA than in Canada. In fact, it has tons of members around the world and many in countries such as Sweden, Norway, Germany, etc. So there was a evolution there, and perhaps we will go through something similar on this forum over time as well. Having said that, I believe snowblower.com has paid staff, whereas we use volunteers.

I can't say enough about the admins (I'm not one of them) on this site, and thank them for keeping what has become a daily part of my life fun, educational and social. At least one of the admins here has a background in communications so I'm sure if there were a goal to become more international, it could be easily achieved. _But it is lots of work_ (especially if you are not being paid  )

It a good question you ask. Either way, we love it when non-Canadians join and certainly welcome our American friends. If you can be bribed with Maple Syrup or (superior) Canadian beer, there are members who would love to chat about cross-border machinery scouting with you.

Welcome.

@Jwest7788 @Alexander @Janger


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## deleted_user (Mar 2, 2022)

kevin.decelles said:


> +1 on that sentiment.


+1 here as well.


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## michaelmerriweather (Mar 2, 2022)

From my perspective, I think having a Canadian focus is great and like others said, makes it something different from Practical Machinist and other sites. At the same time everyone has been very welcoming to me and I think that's the right approach. Canadian focus, but welcoming to people from other countries and territories who find the site.

If I can somehow be helpful to anyone looking for machinery in the US just send me a chat and I will see what I can do. I found this forum in the first place because I was having a hard time locating Rusnok mills in the US. For some reason a regular google search didn't turn up this site, but when I did a google image search for Rusnok images posted within the past week this site finally came up and I was able to get in touch with a member who had one for sale.


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## Chicken lights (Mar 2, 2022)

michaelmerriweather said:


> From my perspective, I think having a Canadian focus is great and like others said, makes it something different from Practical Machinist and other sites. At the same time everyone has been very welcoming to me and I think that's the right approach. Canadian focus, but welcoming to people from other countries and territories who find the site.
> 
> If I can somehow be helpful to anyone looking for machinery in the US just send me a chat and I will see what I can do. I found this forum in the first place because I was having a hard time locating Rusnok mills in the US. For some reason a regular google search didn't turn up this site, but when I did a google image search for Rusnok images posted within the past week this site finally came up and I was able to get in touch with a member who had one for sale.


Heck we’ve even let in people from Quebec. It was all downhill from there 

Welcome aboard


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## SomeGuy (Mar 2, 2022)

Well I certainly wasn't denying I like the Canadian aspects of it...the people here are super friendly and helpful and I'm starting to recognize more and more of the regular posters.

Was just a thought given this new user was from the US, if it was unfortunate we didn't have those in say Michigan which is a closer neighbour to us Ontario folks than someone in say BC even.


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## Jwest7788 (Mar 2, 2022)

Thanks for the shout-out @CalgaryPT ,

Yeah, when this forum was first started, I was already frequenting another well-known 'hobby machinist' focused forum and was aware of other players in the space. 

The Canadian focus actually even started smaller. At the very very beginning, this was "Southern Alberta Hobby Metal Workers", but within a few weeks, the folks involved agreed that we may have been looking too close to home and expanded the scope across the nation. 

There may come a time when we look at a similar process, but no plans on my end for now. Definitely, anyone is welcome in my books though. 

~ JW


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## Janger (Mar 2, 2022)

SomeGuy said:


> Welcome!
> 
> Does whoever runs this place regret making it "Canadian"? Though I do find the members here more awesome than usual...I wonder if a bigger audience would help.


ah. No. This is the whole point!


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## Janger (Mar 2, 2022)

Chicken lights said:


> Heck we’ve even let in people from Quebec. It was all downhill from there
> 
> Welcome aboard


It is good to have members from all over. Even truckers! just kidding chicken lights. :>


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## deleted_user (Mar 2, 2022)

Janger said:


> ah. No. This is the whole point!


It is the only reason why I am here... I used to read other forums but never really participated much in them because I didn't enjoy the cultures of those forums much. I like this one just fine...


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## Jwest7788 (Mar 3, 2022)

SomeGuy said:


> Well I certainly wasn't denying I like the Canadian aspects of it...the people here are super friendly and helpful and I'm starting to recognize more and more of the regular posters.
> 
> Was just a thought given this new user was from the US, if it was unfortunate we didn't have those in say Michigan which is a closer neighbour to us Ontario folks than someone in say BC even.


I could see positioning this group as targetting Canadians and Canadian-Spirited folks
_i.e. Future Canadians:_
--> Somewhere between poutine and free healthcare to fix poutine-induced health concerns, anyone could be at risk of becoming Canadian one day. haha


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## Marc Moreau (Mar 3, 2022)

Welcome from Quebec


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