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Member postings for Neil Wyatt

Here is a list of all the postings Neil Wyatt has made in our forums. Click on a thread name to jump to the thread.

Thread: History of the magazine.
25/08/2023 20:02:24

I've found some evidence that Howard was editor when Martin Evans (the first) was on the staff, and was the person who cut 'Curly's stay short. Dicky Laidlaw-Dickinson apparently was involved in getting LBSC back.

25/08/2023 17:30:10

Maskelyne's death was marked with the comment 'one time editor of Model Railway News and former technical editor to Model Engineer' and his obituary in issue 3075 of ME also fails to mention him as editing ME while citing editorship of MRN.

Similarly, the lavish tributes to ET Westbury I have seen make no mention of an editorial role (I haven't read them all though!)

After the passing of Marshall, perhaps there was no sole 'editor'; perhaps the ship was steered without direct involvement in the content by Managing Editor* EFH Cosh over the team of technical and feature editors. I wonder who wrote 'Smoke Rings' in those years? Maskelyne, ETW or a joint effort?

Cosh only ever wrote one article under his own name, on the Aircraft section of the ME Exhibition in 1948.

Presumably, Garcke replaced Cosh as Managing Editor and brought in Howard for the 'New Model Engineer'.

Neil

me personalities.jpg

25/08/2023 16:51:51
Posted by Redsetter on 25/08/2023 14:15:52:

Another name which comes to mind is Dick Laidlaw-Dickson - not sure if he was ever editor, but certainly involved in the late 1960s.

Slightly off-topic, but in view of LBSC's well-known antipathy to Martin Evans, you have to hand it to Martin for visiting LBSC, and persuading him back into the fold. Considerable tact and diplomacy must have been required - oh, to have been a fly on the wall !

Falling out with LBSC was not something to take on lightly!

Neil

25/08/2023 16:50:04
Posted by Brian Baker 1 on 25/08/2023 12:51:37:

Greetings Neil, the one recently most easily forgotten was a Mr Porter who di the job for about a year in the 1980's I think.

Regards

Brian B

Thanks Brian,

Les Porter was '77 to '79.

Neil

25/08/2023 12:10:56

Westbury had more pen-names than you can shake a stick at. There are other clues, not least the writing style and the slightly deprecating way 'Vulcan' refers to Westbury.

The anonymous period may well have been a division of labour.

Neil

25/08/2023 11:41:50

As part of the 125th Anniversary of Model Engineer, Martin and I have been trying to pin down the various editors of Model Engineer.

You would think this should just be on record in the magazine's archive? It possibly is, but where is that archive, scattered over different publishers...

Or it would be somewhere on the web? Try finding it!

So look through back issues. Easier said than done, but that what we've tried.

The difficulty is that after Percival Marshall passed on in 1948 there was 'collective' editorship for several months, the editor then becomes anonymous. Possibly ET Westbury and JN Maskelyne took the helm in those days?

For about a year in 1954/55 editors were listed but with no 'main editor' though ETW and Maskelyne were almost certainly at the helm.

A new period started in September 1955 with the announcement of sweeping changes and the 'New Model Engineer' and the editorship becomes anonymous again. A couple of months later, the editor starts using the sign off 'Vulcan'.

I believe that Vulcan was Westbury. Following Vulcan the first Martin Evans takes the helm in the mid 60s, with a change to MAP being the publisher, and the history is easy to track from there.

The questions we have for the forum are:

Can anyone throw more light on the identities of the editors between Percival Marshall and Martin Evans.

Has 'Vulcan' been proven to be Westbury?

Thanks,

Neil

Thread: Locktite allowance
21/08/2023 23:31:08

In 2014 I posted

"My reading of the guidance can be summed up in a few rules of thumb:

  • Loctite's primary purpose is for bonding round shafts in circular holes.
  • If the joint has some mechanical strength already (i.e. press fit) it will be stronger.
  • Loctite will gap fill up to 0.3mm, but the joint gets stronger down to 0.005mm
  • For optimal strength he joint gap should be no more than the thickness of a sheet of paper but it cannot be too small.
  • For accurate alignment, an interference fit is best
  • The joint surfaces should be abraded with emery to maximise adhesion and ensure adhesive is carried into the joint

This would suggest the 'cotton reel' is unnecessary, but if it reduces the force require or permits rotational adjustment before setting a shallow 'cotton reel' to allow hand assembly while maintaining alignment is a good idea."

The thread with links to a 'white paper' on best practice is here:

www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=101084&p=1

Neil

Thread: What did you do today? 2023
21/08/2023 23:24:19
Posted by Dalboy on 15/08/2023 19:48:14:

While making the Farm boy I needed something to support a piece which overhung the vice so I knocked this little beastie up. Sorry slightly out of focus

milling jack (1).jpg

Something like that would make a great reader's tip or 1-page article for MEW you know

Neil

Thread: Readers Tips for MEW
15/08/2023 22:16:55

I'm low on readers' tips!

Enter yours ASAP to be in with a good chance of it appearing in the next few issues!

Send to meweditor@mortons.co.uk

Thanks

Neil

Thread: Call for Free Readers' Classified Ads for MEW
15/08/2023 22:15:38

Reminder... get your readers ads in for MEW/Model Engineer as soon as possible, but ideally by the 29 August please!

Send to meweditor@mortons.co.uk

Thanks

Neil

Thread: I need custard.
14/08/2023 10:27:14

Thanks for brightening up my morning ...

🤣

Thread: Gluten Intolerance
02/08/2023 11:01:24
Posted by Michael Gilligan on 21/07/2023 06:38:57:
Posted by DMB on 20/07/2023 21:53:17:

.

[…]
Not supposed to eat grapefruit, a favourite, as it allegedly interferes with medication. […]

.

That’s a classic case of something I mentioned recently … advice being given on the basis of research that the advisor doesn’t properly understand.

Grapefruit does ‘interfere’ with some medication, and that interference is typically in the nature of “supercharging” the performance of the drug … BUT … the research was based on people who were drinking grapefruit juice in large quantity.

MichaelG.

.

Edit: __ current advice from a well-informed soirce:

**LINK**

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 21/07/2023 06:48:27

I understand grapefuit enhances the effect of some drugs and inhibits others.

Neil

02/08/2023 10:58:14
Posted by John Doe 2 on 22/07/2023 10:15:43:

I make my own bread, well I use a Panasonic SD - 253 bread maker, which is brilliant.

You put all the ingredients in, set the machine, and it mixes, rests, kneads, rests, kneads again, then cooks the loaf. It does all this completely automatically, with no attention required from you after you have switched the machine on. You can set a timer so that your bread is ready in the morning when you come down for breakfast - to the smell of delicious freshly cooked bread.

And you can use whatever flour and other ingredients you want. I add olives usually, and I find that using olive oil instead of margarine produces a loaf with a much better consistency and softer texture.

I also don't put any sugar in, which most shop bought bread has.

.

Edited By John Doe 2 on 22/07/2023 10:18:24

I don't use any shortening or sugar in my bread, just traditional flour, salt, yeast, water. Takes longer, tastes better.

Thread: First Issue of Model Engineer
01/08/2023 10:44:39

Sorted now, thanks to @Nick Farr

28/07/2023 18:58:05

It's a long time since I saw a copy of the first issue of Model Engineer.

The publisher's copies are all tightly bound, making copying difficult. Can anyone who has a copy of the first issue send me a PDF scan of it, or even just the cover and Percival Marshall's first editorial?

Many thanks,

Neil

Thread: MEW on BBC Radio
14/07/2023 12:38:17
Matt Shaw got in touch after making a mention of MEW on BBC local radio last week, this is the link
It's on for about 20 days, the mention is at around 1 hour 8 minutes.

Neil
Thread: Any dieticians out there - what are calories?
13/07/2023 10:58:35
Posted by Martin Kyte on 13/07/2023 10:47:22:

Come on guys we are all supposed to be practical people. If your mass is increasing you are either consuming too much (Carbs/Sugars) or you are not burning enough energy. We are our own calorimeter. The packaging info is just there to help.
To go back to BMI could I suggest Bulk Machining Index where the more weight you put on the less you get done in the workshop.

regards Martin

This is true, but I find food labelling does help me choose healthier options. It's amazing what fat/sugar is packed into some products and how many calories are in starchy foods.

P.S. last night I made myself Stilton and broccoli soup with a very large amount of Stilton in it... in case anyone thinks I am a disciplined eater!

13/07/2023 10:55:41

A practical consideration.

Much effort can be expounded working out what proportion of a calorie in food actually can become body fat compared to how much drops out the other end and how much is burnt in daily metabolism.

The figures aren't actually very useful; the rule of thumb that something under 2,000 kcal a day is what’s needed to maintain a healthy body weight for an average person living an average lifestyle allows for this. You might say "33% of the energy in food I eat is wasted" but that doesn't mean you can eat 3,000 kcal and expect to lose weight!

If you eat a strange diet (say unchewed peanuts or pure lard), are exceptionally tall, small, very active or bed-bound, then obviously it's going to be less helpful.

For what it's worth, I find that at 700 kcal a day I lose about 8 ounces weight a day, but this drops off as I near a sensible weight for my height.

Neil

Thread: First efforts at 3D printing
12/07/2023 20:31:29

Good luck john.

You may need to modify the design to achieve success, but that's one of the benefits of 3D printing.

My tip is don't try and replicate a metal design, but think about how 3D printing works and the properties of plastics and use these to your advantage e.g. it's cheap and easy to produce large hollow (or mostly hollow) sections to achieve stiffness that would be expensive and impractical in steel.

Neil

Thread: Cheap refillable Gas Lighters
12/07/2023 20:26:22
Posted by Michael Gilligan on 12/07/2023 18:55:40:
Posted by JasonB on 12/07/2023 18:25:21:

Can you not just get a bigger lighter?

.

Not really … it’s to make a micro-burner for very small-scale glass working.

It’s the flame that is important, it just seems easier to adapt the tank than to remove and re-house the burner assembly.

MichaelG.

Experience shows that those lighters tend to overheat and fail after about a minute. They don't explode, the apparatus at the top falls apart.

You can buy mini brazing torches under the guise of cooks' blowtorches at very modest prices. Man can be set to have a very small flame, has piezo lighting and widely adjustable gas/air mix.

Neil

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