Machinists create items from scratch at PPB

MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. – The artisans in the Production Plant Barstow Machine Shop can take a raw piece of material and turn it in to a finished product for any vehicle or project currently being worked on at the Marine Depot Maintenance Command facility aboard the Yermo Annex of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif.

Whether it’s for a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) line, a project from the Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV) line, the Logistics Vehicle System Replacement truck (LVSR), or the 777 Howitzer, when a part is needed to complete a job, everyone turns to the Machine Shop, Supervisor Ricardo Torres said.

“We work with plastic, aluminum, steel, stainless steel, titanium, armor plate, phenolic resin, and carbon fiber to produce whatever part may be needed to repair or refurbish a vehicle,” he said.

The Shop uses the latest in machining technology to achieve results.

“We have Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling machines as well as conventional horizontal and vertical milling machines, lathes, and an Electrical Discharge Machine to break up and remove broken taps and bolts,” Torres explained.

“The most challenging part of being a machinist is being creative,” he continued. “For example, you’re asked to design and build a tool to install seals or O-rings. You have to study the work and figure out how to make that installation tool without disturbing the other parts already in place.”

“What I do is a bit more specialized then a conventional machinist,” Journeyman machinist Kevin Panowicz said. “Right now I’m modifying the rifle mounts for the Cougar Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle.”

“I’m milling out a section of an AAV hatch to support a torsion bar,” tool and die maker Mike Johnson said. “The torsion bar counterbalances the heavy weight of the hatch to make it much easier to open.”

Torres said most of the 11 artisans working in the Shop have been machinists for decades, bringing with them useful knowledge and unique skill sets to tackle any problem.

“With the experience we have we can analyze any part and create it,” he said. “It is a challenge but not difficult if you know what you are doing.”

“I’m using a vertical milling machine to make parts for a stand we’re building at the Plant,” Richard Ristow, a machinist with 35 years of experience said. “The stand will be used to put Cougar MRAPs on so mechanics can work on the vehicle.”

Serafin Hacinas, a U.S. Navy veteran, was removing a broken bolt from a part with a vertical milling machine.

“Once I take out the broken bolt I have to check to see if the threads have been damaged,” he said. “If they are then I have to fill the existing hole with metal then drill it out again and put new threads in.”

Outside on the tarmac around Production Plant Barstow machinists Joseph Cooper and James Chavez were scrutinizing the interior of an AAV.

“We’re looking at all of the dozens of bolt holes on the inside to see if they’ve been damaged and need repairing,” Chavez explained. “We fix the bolt holes and prep the vehicles for the assembly lines so the mechanics won’t have any obstacles in their way while refurbishing the AAVs.”

Torres said the veteran machinists at PPB are always mindful of their ultimate customer and the importance of giving the job their best effort.

“The warfighter is our number one customer,” Johnson said. “I have a son in the Marines. I feel very proud to come here and do this job to keep our men and women safe in the Marine Corps.”

“If I don’t do my job correctly and we put a part on a machine that goes in to battle and that part fails,” lead machinist Jerry Piper said, “that’s going to weigh very heavy on my mind. We’ve got Marines’ lives at stake here so we have to make sure we put out a quality product.”

Torres said whatever the job may be, an active, up-to-date modern Machine Shop is crucial to the success of PPB.

“When they need a part manufactured, or they need a tool created to install that part, they come to us. The Machine Shop is one of the main forces aboard base and is needed to complete projects from every assembly line at the Plant,” Torres concluded.

Editor's note: The original story can be viewed on the Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow website.