On 4/22/2011 Jim Lux wrote:
...snip...
I know 3 of the stories personally - 2 of the hammers, and one of an ashtray
Hammer #1 - wasn't a 'normal' hammer at all, but what should probably be called
an 'impulse hammer' - it was made out of carbon fiber, and had many thousands
of dollars worth of accelerometers built into it, so you would know exactly HOW
hard you hit something - it was used for documenting resonances/shock vibration
to things like aircraft parts and was really an accessory to a half million
dollar data collection system. But it was a "Ten Thousand Dollar Hammer"
Hammer #2 - really a batch of them - You, I and everyone else goes to the store
to buy a hammer - when the Govt goes to buy a LOT of them, how do you write the
spec? Well, there had been some complaints in the process, so they basically
wrote a spec that favored no one companies hammer, and asked for N prototypes
from each company for testing for approval - the companies charged BIG bucks
for the design/making new forging dies etc, and charged BIG bucks for the 5-10
hammers they each supplied. When the real orders came later to the people whos
hammers WERE approved, they were a lot cheaper
Ashtray - don't remember if it was an E2C or a C2 (basically same plane) -
Grumman had no more in stock, they had been deleted from the design. The Navy
wanted one to replace one that got lost. Grumman told them "so and so company
made them for us, go buy one from them" Navy said "we want one from you" -
turns out the subcontractor didn't have them, or the dies anymore. The had one
of their aircraft prototype techs make up a wood blocking form, and hand knock
out the ashtray to the spec. Took him about 2 weeks to make it exactly to
spec, and then there was all the paperwork fun. I knew the guy who actually
MADE the ashtray. Said by the time they got done paying him, and doing all the
inspections/paperwork the Navy insisted on, Grumman probably actually LOST money
--
73 de KG2V - Charles Gallo
Quality Custom Machine-shop work for the radio amateur (sm)
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