x2 on Ray's classes. I got to sit in on one of his classes while waiting to pick up an OLD machine from him to do some parts fabrication. Really nice guy and a MASSIVE amount of knowledge.
x2 on what Cathy said as well.
Get a cheap old clunker (that you will not care about) and do a complete take apart and rebuild. you'll know plenty by the time you are done.
Also, when working on a machine, ask yourself "what does THIS do, how does/should it work?" Rather than just "does this work?" the difference is pretty amazing as to what you begin to understand.
Last edited by SteveH; 11-24-2015 at 10:09 AM.