Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon
Low tech machines kind of break the mold here, where it seems one uses Mechanic for repairs/maintenance and Machinist to actually make them. That feels a bit off when considering Machinist doesn't have required specialization. Part of me feels like Machinist works for simple machines as-is, and also allows you to build anything for which you have the appropriate Mechanic skill (probably using the lower skill... or maybe the lower of (Lower Skill +2) and (Higher Skill)). Maybe that should be a general trend for other things? Someone with Armory (Melee Weapons) knows how to repair and maintain swords; someone who also has Machinist knows how to make them.
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Machinist is a somewhat problematic skill, but for non-trivial TL5-7 machines, its distinction from Mechanic is clear.
Mechanic straightens things that are bent, removes corrosion, and so on, but many repairs need replacement parts. Mechanic doesn't, in itself, give you the skills to make replacement parts.
Machinist is about using machine tools to make parts. At these TLs, machine tools can make parts that are
very hard to make with hand tools and can do so rapidly and precisely. A machinist needs proper information about what to make, in terms of "blueprints" - documentation, including diagrams, about just what to make, what materials to use, and how to test the parts once made. But the machine tools aren't particularly specialised. A machinist can make gun-lock parts, bicycle parts, car parts and aeroplane parts with the same machine tools. The materials will be different, as will the testing standards, but given documentation. they can be made in the same machine shop.
Of course, some things are much
easier with specialised tools. Looking at that list of things ... you can rifle a gun barrel on an ordinary lathe, but it's easier with a specialised one; bicycle frame tubing is best bought from a steel-works, trying to make it yourself is hard; car body panels can be made on a small scale, but it's very expensive compared to having the correct large presses; aircraft propellers and gas-turbine blades both need specialised machine tools.
In the absence of
GURPS Production Engineering, Machinist has to be used with a bit of care but is not terrible. The thing I'd change is to allow Mechanic to be used for "simple machines" provided you have it for something on a similar scale of size to the simple machine.