The $200 Allen wrench, $600 hammer and $900 toilet seat are expensive for a very good reason. Mil Spec, shorthand for Military Specification.
Let’s say we want to add a little bracket to a helicopter. Just a 1” x 1” x 4” piece of angle aluminum that’s 1/8th of an inch thick. Simple? Hell no!
After we draw a picture of what it looks like and where it goes, the Army must approve it.
First the piece of angle; Who made the aluminum and when; who cut off the piece we are using and when; who/when heat treated it; who/when tested the results of heat treat; who/when alodized it with what chemicals, from what batch, made by whom/when, under what contract was the alodine transferred to the aplicator. All the same info for the primer and again for the paint.
Then we come to who/when, under what contract, drilled the holes; who/when inspected the piece; who/when applied the sealant (and the same info for the sealant as the paint); who/when riveted it (and the whole history of the rivets); who/when inspected it for the company and same for the Army.
Now take this reams of information, organize it in a specified manner, and keep it forever.
Boeing has a record of every part I machined in 1966 and what ship it was used on.
That’s why everything is so damn expensive, the paperwork.
Just to buy a copy of the Mil Specs would cost thousands and thousands of $.
