NAME> Fitch Williams

POSTS TO RCM AS> Fitch Williams

E-MAIL>  frwillia@ptw.com

WEB PAGE> none currently

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BIOGRAPHY
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My name really is Fitch Williams, I post under that name 
to RCM with my real E-mail address frwillia@ptw.com and 
also once in a while to the blacksmithing news group.  

I was born in 1942 in Traverse City, Michigan.  I've been 
married to a wonderful lady, Nedra, since June 22, 1968.  
Nedra's Dad had a basement full of power tools.  She thinks 
this is normal.  Trust me, I do nothing to change her mind!  
We have three children Melissa, Daniel, and Tiphaine 
(pronounced Tiffany).  The christmas picture shows Nedra 
(wife), Tiphaine (youngest daughter), Melissa (oldest daughter), 
and Chanel (Melissa's 5th child and our youngest grand child).

I've been involved with metal work since I can remember, and 
with the 9" SB in the picture since it was new and I was 8 years 
old.  Been using that lathe for 50+ years off and on.  There is 
also a picture of my shop taken from the garage door.

Dad, a lawyer, moved to a farm when I was in 7th grade because 
he didn't want his kids to become "drug store cowboys".  On the 
farm I learned to fix frozen pipes, torch weld and hardface, 
make large machined pieces on a small lathe, operated machinery, 
get the crop in the barn, and generally "how things work".

I spent 3 years in the Army as an Electronics Technician.  
Probably as a result, I'm an electrical engineer.  We moved 
to California and I have been in Aerospace since June 1969.  
I worked for Rockwell International from June of 1969 until 
we were bought by Boeing, and now for Boeing.  I am a Boeing 
Associate Technical Fellow specializing in power systems 
design, integration and test, with a real passion for failure 
investigations, root cause determination and analysis, and 
corrective action definition.  I've been working on the Space 
Station power system since 1987.

My contribution to RCM is mostly related to rotary converters 
and passing on tidbits I've learned in the home shop over the 
years.  If you have questions about rotary converters, I will 
try to answer them.  I have schematics for about every imaginable 
size and can generate more at a moments notice on request.  

My hobbies besides machining and participating in RCM are riding 
horses (especially the little Icelandic gelding in the picture - 
Glampi is his name), reading books, lots of books, spending time 
with my kids when they are home, and of course spending time with 
the 7 grandchildren when I can.  

My toy collection includes a couple of tractors, the little 
excavator in the picture, and a welding trailer.