For the next three days, Liu Li's life was simple, consisting of only two points: the workshop and the dormitory, and her activities consisted of only two things—memorizing the regulations and practicing driving without a car.
Afraid of confusing the operating steps Master Wang had explained, she meticulously copied them into her notebook, her handwriting so forceful it seemed to see through the paper. On her way to and from get off work, she silently recited the steps, her fingers gesturing the direction of the handle in the air; at night, lying on her hard bed, she would close her eyes and still "replay" the process in her mind, going over and over every step from the pre-boot check to each operation. Seeing her dedication, her roommate Zhang Shulan even tiptoed around while washing up.
When Master Wang did spot checks, he was even stricter than when inspecting precision gauge blocks. He not only required her to memorize the operating procedures perfectly, but also to explain the underlying mechanical principles and the serious problems that would result from violating the procedures. Even if there was the slightest ambiguity, Master Wang wouldn't scold her; he would just stare at her with eyes that could see right through her, until she had thoroughly understood and memorized the knowledge points before he would let her go.
Practicing on the lathe without a load was even more grueling. With the power off, she gripped the heavy handwheel repeatedly, feeling the meshing of the gears, practicing making the carriage move steadily and evenly, while her eyes raced to the small divisions on the dial. "Lathe work is 70% preparation and 30% operation," Master Wang said, standing beside her with his hands behind his back, watching her wrists tremble slightly. "If your hands aren't steady and your mind isn't calm, even the best lathe won't produce good work."
On the fourth day, just as Liu Li was about to continue practicing driving without a car, Master Wang walked to the switch box, snapped the switch shut, and pressed the green start button.
"Buzz—"
The motor started turning, and the belt gradually accelerated the spindle. A deep roar filled the air, and the whole lathe seemed to come alive, with a slight and even vibration coming from the bed.
"No operation practice today." Master Wang's voice was mixed with the sound of the machine. "You stand here, put your hands on the saddle, and feel it."
"Feelings?" Liu Li was stunned.
“Yes, feel it.” Master Wang nodded, his eyes fixed on the spinning chuck. “Listen to its sound, feel its vibration. A good lathe makes a deep, steady sound when it turns, like an old ox panting; if it makes a sharp sound and vibrates chaotically, then it’s ‘sick,’ and you have to stop immediately to find the problem.”
He paused, looked at Liu Li who looked confused, and said something she remembered for many years: "In this line of work, if you want to do it well and become an expert, the first thing you need to train is not your hands, but your 'calmness'. If you are restless and impatient, you can't hear what the machine is telling you, and you can't feel the strength to bite through iron. At most, you can only be a crank operator, and you can't become a real lathe operator."
Although Liu Li didn't fully understand, she did as instructed. She closed her eyes, placed her palms on the cool bed saddle, and calmed her mind. At first, she only heard a rumbling sound, but after it quieted down, the sound gradually became layered—the sound of belts rubbing against pulleys, the rhythm of gears meshing, the wind generated by the main shaft... even the vibration in her hands made her feel which was the main vibration and which was the minor tremor.
He stood there for almost an hour, his legs were numb, before Master Wang finally spoke: "Have you calmed down yet?"
Liu Li opened her eyes, and the panic and agitation in her heart seemed to be taken away by the roar. Her eyes brightened, and she nodded.
Master Wang pressed the stop button, and the roaring sound stopped abruptly, though his ears felt a little disoriented. He picked up a 40mm thick No. 45 steel bar, clamped it firmly onto the three-jaw chuck with a chuck wrench, and then selected a gleaming external turning tool, adjusted the tip height, and mounted it on the tool holder.
"Today, I'll be turning your first cut." He slowed down the speed and pointed to the handwheel. "You turn it, keep the feed rate small and the speed consistent. Keep your eyes on the tip of the cutter and listen carefully to the sound."
Liu Li's heart raced, and blood rushed to her head. She took a deep breath, gripped the longitudinal feed handwheel, and slowly turned it clockwise. The slide box, along with the blade holder, moved towards the rotating steel bar, her eyes never leaving the gleaming blade tip.
Closer, even closer!
"hiss--"
The tip of the knife lightly touched the steel bar, and after a soft sound, silvery-gray iron filings slid out like ribbons from the tip of the knife, curling up and falling into the iron filings groove with a soft "rustling" sound.
The hissing sound of cutting, even and dense, sounded better to her than anything else.
She did it! Her first incision!
A surge of warmth welled up inside her, washing away all her tension. She gripped the wheel tightly, neither going too fast nor too slow, her eyes fixed on the flowing metal shavings, feeling the steady force in her hands. All the regulations she had memorized, the empty runs she had practiced, and the pressure she had endured seemed to find their place in these metal shavings.
Master Wang stood by, watching the gleaming, evenly distributed iron filings. He noticed the sweat on Liu Li's forehead, yet her eyes shone brightly. Her usually taut face softened slightly. "Keep it up," he said, just those three words, nothing more.
Liu Li knew that this was just the beginning; the cylindrical surfaces produced by the machine were far from precise, and the real challenges lay ahead. But she had finally taken control of this massive steel machine and truly engaged with metal cutting.
That wisp of silvery-gray iron filings was her entry ticket earned with sweat. But she also had her doubts: what if the requirements in the future were not just "getting the car out," but also "driving it precisely and accurately"? Would she still be able to get by so easily? A new hurdle was already waiting for her.
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