machine shop?

My dad was a machinist and taught me to run a 9" South Bend lathe when I was 12. I've been dabbling since. I've got a small vertical mill and a couple small lathes. I taught myself to scrape the ways and bearing surfaces and rebuilt small lathes and mills for fun and to earn a few bucks. Made and sold various parts for target rifles and provide a service to repair specific BMW oil pans. I hope to find a machine shop or fabricator locally that will need extra help when I retire, in order to keep me a little busy. I agree that a motivated person can just about write their own ticket as a machinist or fabricator. I started with a two year associate degree in Industrial Electronics and then went into engineering, but it was the IE degree that helped me the most in the early years. Classically trained engineers don't know how to use their hands. I know the integrators and machine builders that use my company's products are always looking for talent. Like many small businesses the biggest problem is probably dealing with certain difficult customers, be they individuals or companies.