Live Stream 1980: Netizens Teach Me How to Make a Rocket by Hand

Li Jianguo stood in the corner.

He rubbed his calloused hands and glanced at Lin Xi, who was standing silently with her head down beside him.

He swallowed hard and straightened his back.

"Report, that probe... was installed by this kid."

"He said he learned something like bypass monitoring at school..."

Everyone looked at Lin Xi.

It was a scrutiny, a surprise, and even more so, the relief of surviving a catastrophe.

Lin Xi raised her head, her face still bearing that harmless, simple smile.

But the hand hidden in the sleeve was clenched into a fist.

It became.

However, he noticed that Zhang, the deputy chief engineer, did not show any joy on his face; instead, his brows were furrowed even more.

"It's a good thing they found out," Old Zhang said.

"But...do you have any spare sealing rings in the current spare parts inventory?"

The head of the supplies department opened the ledger, his face grim:

"Reporting to General Manager Zhang, the warehouse currently has no..."

"The manufacturer is in Shenyang. It will take at least seven days to reproduce and ship it over."

Seven days.

The air in the room froze again.

The order from above was a firm one: launch on January 23rd, leaving only a two-day window.

If you miss this window of opportunity, you'll have to wait until spring.

"In other words," Old Zhang's voice was desolate and hoarse.

"We've identified the cause of the illness, but we don't have the medication."

Just then, Li Jianguo suddenly spoke up.

"Who says it has to be an original part?"

The old man pulled a pair of calipers out of his pocket and measured them against the discarded sealing ring.

His eyes gleamed with the madness of an eighth-grade worker.

"As long as the ingredients are right, I can make this thing by hand!"

The entire audience was stunned.

Hand-made aerospace-grade sealing rings?

Rubber is elastic, and the cutting tool will deform when it is applied. How can we ensure accuracy?

Even a Level 8 worker, representing the pinnacle of skill, wouldn't be able to handle it, right?!

"But Old Li," the head of the supplies department said with a wry smile.

"Even if you could make it, you don't have the materials."

"That kind of imported fluororubber was used up back in the Red Star 1 era."

The light in Li Jianguo's eyes dimmed.

Even the most skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice.

Just then, Lin Xi stepped forward and said:

"Master," Lin Xi said, her eyes clear as she looked at Li Jianguo.

"Do you remember cleaning out the warehouse six months ago?"

"You pointed to a piece of scrap material left over from Red Star No. 1 and said, 'This is a good thing, it's a pity to throw it away,' and asked me to register it."

"I stored it separately in the warehouse at the time."

This was an emergency plan that Lin Xi and netizens came up with last night, specifically for the current situation.

Netizens searched through all the information, and Lin Xi spent two hours digging through the base's scrap yard before finally finding it.

But at this moment, he must attribute this achievement to Li Jianguo's foresight, or to a tacit understanding of "master-disciple succession".

The old man's eyes were frighteningly bright. He suddenly slapped Lin Xi on the shoulder, almost breaking him apart.

"Good lad! You got your memory just like me!"

Li Jianguo laughed loudly, took off his military overcoat, and threw it hard on the ground.

"You guys in the workshop, come with me!"

"Nobody's getting any sleep tonight! We're going to fight God for these 24 hours!"

Watching Li Jianguo's proud and imposing figure, Lin Xi exhaled a puff of white breath.

He knew that the real battle was just beginning beside the lathe.

......

Evening, in the machine repair workshop.

Several high-powered tungsten iodine lamps illuminated the workbench as brightly as day.

The air was filled with the slightly sweet smell of coolant and the burnt smell of metal rubbing together.

All the lathes stopped, and dozens of eyes were fixed on the lathe in the center of the workshop.

That was the most precise "precise gem" in the entire base, and Li Jianguo was personally overseeing its operation at that moment.

Li Jianguo stood in front of the lathe, his face calm and composed.

"0.02 mm fluctuation, calibration complete."

The old man's voice, as he reported the data, remained completely still.

With a gentle twist of the chuck wrench in his hand, the rubber block was locked in place.

Lin Xi stood to the side, holding a cooling bottle in her hand, her palms sweaty.

If it's steel or iron, you can carve it however you like.

But this is rubber!

Soft! Elastic!

It retracts when the cutting tool goes up, and springs back when the cutting tool retracts.

In 1980, before the advent of CNC machine tools, attempting to machine a sealing groove with a thread-like precision on this machine was no less difficult than carving a dragon on tofu with an axe.

"Buzz—"

The motor roared, and the spindle began to rotate.

The black rubber block transformed into a blurry shadow.

Li Jianguo shook the large slide with his right hand, made slight adjustments to the middle slide with his left hand, and focused his eyes on the point where the blade tip made contact with the rubber.

Invite.

"Sizzle—"

A very thin black thread of glue splattered out.

Lin Xi's heart was in her throat.

He turned on close-up mode in the live stream, and tens of thousands of netizens watched this "hand-made" live stream that transcended time and space with bated breath.

[This old man's hand is incredibly steady! The feed rate looks like it's only 0.1 millimeters!]

Is this the true value of an eighth-grade fitter? A human CNC machine tool!

[Machining expert: Oh no! Look at the blade tip! The rubber is heating up and expanding!]

[Long 5mm screw - retired version: Rubber has poor thermal conductivity, cutting heat cannot dissipate, and the dimensions are changing! It must be cooled down immediately!]

Lin Xi's pupils contracted.

Rubber has extremely poor thermal conductivity, so the heat generated by the friction of the cutting tool accumulates entirely on the cutting surface.

Thermal expansion and contraction mean that the car will shrink once it cools down!

This piece of material is only enough for two runs.

If it's ruined, it's a dead end.

"Master! It's hot!" Lin Xi shouted.

A vein throbbed on Li Jianguo's forehead, and beads of sweat rolled down his wrinkles.

He knew it was hot, of course, but he dared not stop!

This cut is too rough; if it stops, it will leave a mark, and all the previous work will be wasted!

"Sprinkle water!" the old man roared, his voice hoarse.

Lin Xi lifted the cooling pot, but her movement froze in mid-air.

This is oily coolant!

Fluororubber swells when it comes into contact with oil!

If this pot is poured on, it will explode right now, without even waiting for launch.

What should I do?

The live stream chat was flooded with comments.

[Chemical Engineering Expert: Use Alcohol! Alcohol evaporates quickly and absorbs heat, and it doesn't corrode fluororubber!]

[Handmade Geng's cousin: Where can you find so much industrial alcohol these days?]

[Old Chinese Medicine Practitioner: Baijiu! High-proof baijiu! The base definitely has it!]

Liquor!

A sudden idea flashed through Lin Xi's mind, and she turned and rushed towards the corner of the wall.

He remembered that his master always kept a life-saving "burning liquor" hidden in his old, worn-out military coat.

Sure enough, a flat glass bottle was pulled out.

"Master, may I borrow your wine?"

Lin Xi unscrewed the cover and stepped back to the lathe.

The strong aroma of alcohol instantly masked the smell of engine oil.

"Sizzle—"

The cool liquor was poured onto the scalding hot tip of the knife.

As white mist rose, the chilling heat was instantly dispelled.

Li Jianguo paused for half a second, and a slight smile actually appeared on his tense lips.

"Good lad! You know your stuff!"

With the protection of the liquor, the old man's techniques became even more unrestrained.

His hands danced across the handwheel, advancing, retracting, and grooving the blade with fluid movements that exuded a wild, untamed beauty unique to the industrial age.

This isn't lathe work, it's practically dancing on a knife's edge!

Half an hour later, the bus service ended.

The rubber block turned into a ring.

But the real ordeal has only just begun – the fine wheel.

A tolerance of ±0.02 millimeters is equivalent to one-third of a human hair.

Even a slight tremor in your hand or a heavy breath can ruin everything.

Li Jianguo stopped the machine tool and picked up the vernier caliper to take a measurement.

"There is still 0.5 millimeters of margin."

He put down the ruler, picked up the finely sharpened lathe tool, and his hand trembled slightly.

That was a muscle spasm caused by prolonged periods of high stress.

He vigorously wiped the sweat from his palms on his trouser leg, picked up the remaining bottle of liquor, and took a large gulp.

"Cough cough cough..."

The spicy flavor went down his throat, and the old man's eyes sharpened like knives once more.

Just as he was about to board the plane, Lin Xi stepped in front of him and blocked his way.

"Master, change the knife! This knife is dull!"