Re: telephoning long distance

Hi Sven:
It was a real pleaasure to talk to you on the telephone yesterday.
I received your fax, and read it carefully.
You are right, it is a shame to have lost the talent of this man!
The number of GOOD machine rebuilders is getting fewer and fewer, and the
quality of new machines is getting worse and worse.
I read an article a few years ago that spoke about coordinate measuring
machines.
Many of the biggest buyers of these machines were getting older models and
retrofitting them, because the new machines were poorly built and relied on
software compensation instead of good design and good manufacturing
practices to get their accuracy.
So when the weather got hot, the machines lost their accuracy, and when they
were moved to a new plant they lost their accuracy etc etc.
You are correct too, when you say that too many engineers have no practical
knowledge about what they are supposed to administer.
The technical "expert" in the company who is my biggest customer can barely
read a drawing, and has no understanding of tolerances other than that they
are "important".
He is a mechanical engineer with over 20 years experience, but all of it in
a big company (DuPont).
I am holding his hand now, but I think he will drop me as a vendor as soon
as he doesn't NEED me anymore.
So I will go hungry until I find more good customers.

Sven, I will get a copy of "Dreher Fachkunde" to you as soon as I can get to
a photocopier.
It will be sometime this weekend.
As I told you, it will probably not teach you anything new, but it is
interesting reading, just to flip through and get a sense of craftsmanship
in Germany during the war years.
Give my regards to your Lady, and tell her that her English is far better
than my Spanish!!!
Cheers

Marcus
(Covered with Prussian Blue, but not so Prussian)