Member postings for RevStew

BTW, I live in a 5 bedroom house in a former pit village, with an outhouse (damp) a garage (dingy and damp) and a 'modelling' room (spare bedroom, dingy but dry) , my (female) partner, two small, very traditional boys, an ever increasing number of arachnids, both alive and deceased, and some mice, who kindly chewed the foam rubber tyres off my latest model aeroplane.

The house ain't mine...

What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on there?! Good grief!

I do like the Gingery lathe idea. I'd considered that a while ago, and I got the (I think it was the Sparey) book too.

Part of the appeal is the crucible bit, even if only to make the neighbours think 'what dreadful alchemy, may I ask, is that daft sod up to now.'

I love the idea of boot strapping machines. The lathe, until the advent of 3D printing, was the first machine I believe, that was capable of making itself.

I digress. ME and MEW. Two magazines I'd love to subscribe to, but I just can't bring myself to do it. What a damn shame.

I count myself amongst the struggling number. I am pleased as punch this month as by selling some model engines, and some old equipment, I've scraped together enough to get the much dreamed of lathe. I've been foaming at the mouth for one for years.

ME and MEW as they stand just leave me cold, they don't speak to me, which is why I spend my money on ancient back issues, and I devour them.

Just finished reading ME from Feb 14th 1946, and Percival Marshall's comment in 'Smoke Rings' called 'making a start' nearly brought a tear to my eye. Over the page, and the first article? Building a model ship...From paper...

Maybe that simplicity can be re-gained. I wonder how many Model Engineers spend a lot of time just maintaining their machines? (a hobby in itself I guess). Many of my contemporaries are in either in debt, relying on benefits to top up their wages, or in a mortgage so big and onerous it's virtually slavery. Quite a few would love to make models, but are put off by even the £600 for a Mini Lathe, and that's just the lathe, never mind tooling. How about a magazine that you can roll and put in your pocket, read it on the train, in the bath, on the bog at work! one that guides you gently through the building of simple models, expands your knowledge of hand tools. More and more I talk to people who've just had enough of their smart phones, they're wanting to make something 'old school.'

Talking of schools, when i was there in the 80's there was a full metalwork department, with machines to die for. The schools don't have that now. It's not that the young 'uns aren't interested, it's that they don't even realise it all exists! Mechanical stuff comes from China doesn't it dad?

Even the older guys (and some younger ones) are being spat out of the workplace, lonely, bored, and without challenges, which is why the 'men's shed' movement is growing so fast. There's people out there willing to learn, and ready with their hands, but they haven't got a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of.

BTW I don't even think of 3D printing as model engineering any more than I think of printing an A4 copy of a Canaletto as art.

I thank you all for your replies so far, an interesting range of viewpoints as always. I just feel there is something..missing...that's all. I think as a magazine for model engineers it has strayed to far from it's roots. It's less about models, and more about engineering for it's own sake. Pockets are likely to become more stretched as the baby boomers, now in their 70's, gradually die off, and are replaced by their generally less wealthy, more time-poor sons and daughters. In an era when print media is becoming more rarified, having two magazines with broadly similar subject matter is surely courting doom?

Many of the governments promised new build houses going up have no garages, they are lucky to have a postage stamp of garden on which to place a shed, and the rooms are tiny and paper thin, so I think the future readership won't be the upper classes. They're too few. It won't be the middle classes, as they'll be mortgaged to the hilt on properties the baby boomers got fat off. No time for model engineering when you're working flat out and stressed to bits. It will be the working classes, on a kitchen table, with a small portable lathe and a few hand tools. Again.

ME and MEW, are going to need to rein themselves in a bit and re-join the real world or they'll be caught with their pants down like the high street was.

Perhaps I'm being a young fogey...it's just that the idea of a subscription to a single magazine, written for the common man who doesn't have a workshop with Myford and a Bridgeport, about lovely model ships, small engines, and how to file some gears by hand, is just really appealing.

I open ME now and I'm sorry, but it's a picture-heavy mess with articles written by the well-heeled, that you need a degree in engineering to understand. I'm more of a garden shed tinkerer. Where's MY magazine?

Edited By RevStew on 13/08/2018 18:07:04

Edited By RevStew on 13/08/2018 18:09:10

My old copies of Model Engineer from the 40's and 50's are easy to read, chock full of models that the common man can afford to make, and feature many interesting articles that educate and inform. There's a foreword in each issue by a giant of the model engineering world, and the articles include regular features by unforgettable characters who basically wrote the book on their particular subject. They managed to get all this in one magazine, not two.

My question is this. Which of the two magazines, ME, or MEW, comes the closest to trying (and obviously failing) to emulate this high point?

Hi All.

As the Chinese Mini-Lathe seems to be todays cheaper machine of choice for the model engineer, how does it compare with the machines our forefathers owned? I'm thinking as an example of perhaps the round bed Drummond, or something of that ilk, that Mr Average used in the 30's or 40's. Is it a lot better than they were? If those chaps lived now would they be impressed with a Mini Lathe? And could we share a joke that Myfords are still out of reach to the proletariat?

Stew.

Edited By RevStew on 13/08/2018 17:11:50

Nice little basic machines the Adepts, and useful for proper hobbies as they used to be, before everyone was told they needed a 5 grand Nottingham dust collector.

In reality, what would such wear affect? Say you're making a small steam engine, is the piston not going to fit or something? How precise to you need to be as hobbyists rather than professionals. And do super precise toolroom lathes never wear?

I have to say that as a newcomer to model engineering, this thread has been very enlightening. I've looked at any amount of old lathes on Ebay, and now I'm thinking 'Do I really want to enter this minefield?' as most of them will likely have at least the issues that the OP has, and probably many more. I would like to rebuild an old machine at some stage, but I'll need a newer or new machine to do it with I think...

I have to admire the OP's tenacity in checking exactly what the wear is on his machine, but I think the time may have come to either suck it up, or splash the cash. If you ditch the old Myford, then by all means leave it somewhere I can find it!

Good look whatever the outcome, and do show us either the results of the re-grind, or the new lathe.

Edited By RevStew on 11/08/2018 09:54:39

Oddly enough I stumbled across the 'Dark Lady' thread earlier on this evening. Nice design. Very tempting. I like it.

There's the C1 too, which is a bit more portable. I don't see it advertised very much though. There's also the Peatol, but I think it may be a little on the small side, although I hear it's capable of work that belies it's size.

I need something that is capable of making the tooling to make the clock, if you know what I mean. I'm after something that will last me until retirement. I'm 44 now, so that's a good 20 years, possibly less if I can sort it. Once retired my intention is to get a bigger machine and make a live steam locomotive. That's the pipe dream anyway. It gets me through the working day...

Well, some funds have become available for lathe purchase once again. The Adept is sold, and once more thoughts turn to clocks and other projects. Seriously looking at a new Chinese mini lathe, but wondering if it would be the best thing for clock making? It has the ability to handle heavier projects, which I also have an interest in, but I also have the offer of an Emco Unimat 3 for about half the money, which is smaller of course. Penny for your thoughts?

My first love. Rebecca. Nothing beats that feeling where your heart beats out of your chest when you see her. After that probably a Spitfire at full tilt, and then a cold pint after a long walk!

A company I deal with at work, 'Supply Plus' near Cambridge manufactures great quality traditional ladders for the Fire Brigades under the old Bayley and AS brands amongst others. They export worldwide. I visited the factory last year and they have some ancient machines still doing a good job every day. It was very pleasing to see apprentices bent over a lathe in blue coats, and each having a proper wooden tool chest too. Top quality gear, made in Britain.

Edited By RevStew on 03/08/2018 14:29:40

Bought a small Record/Irwin vice the other day. The jaws and the anvil had been powder coated, and the jaws were out of true in every dimension. It took me about 3 hours with a file to get it scraped back and trued up. I just took the view that it was a rough casting, and just cracked on and finished the job.

My old boss used to have a saying. 'Stew' he'd say, 'It is EXACTLY what it is son'. And then he'd walk off. Can't argue with that can you.

Depends what your idea of model engineering is. A lot of retired baby boomers out there with more money than sense. Plenty can be done, and has been done without a lathe or milling machine. Get some copies of 1940's ME magazines for example, and see what the real model engineers did.

Gents.

Your replies to my question have been most kind and encouraging. I was initially inspired by reading through my collection of model engineer magazines from the 40's when people had a go with very little, often on the kitchen table while on 'fire-watch' or other war duties. Some of the things they turned out were amazing.

I have built a sturdy bench, fitted a genuine anglepoise light I got from a skip, and my Adept, the non 'super' type, is in good condition, and is unmodified. The 4 jaw chuck was a bonus, and it has little wear. The Adept also has a spare mandrel with a little jacobs chuck on a morse taper. I would like a modern chuck or a collet chuck, but beggars can't be choosers. It spins, and it's all I've got.

I was going to purchase a Sherline or a Taig, but car repairs on my ageing Golf kicked in, and before I knew it I was in Sieg CO territory, and then I needed 4 tyres, so with a heavy heart I dusted off the Adept, which was at that point an ornament.

There was a chap in one of my ME magazines that turned an Adept into a horological standard lathe, but he had more mechanical skills than me.

I have a difficult job, so the idea of spending an hour or so on an evening at my bench constructing something that will last and give pleasure is very appealing. So poverty clock making it shall be. I had ideas of constructing a 'simple' diesel engine for one of my free flight models, but I will put that on hold until I can afford a good lathe.

Can anyone suggest a list of some hand tools that might be worth finding? Or is there anything I can make or get for my lathe that would be useful? I still don't know if I would be better selling the Adept and putting the money towards a Sieg CO. It would at least have a lead screw and cross slide etc.

Hello all.

I'd like to make a start in clock making and repairing as a hobby, but I don't own a lathe.. Well I have a basic 'Adept' in good condition with a 4 jaw chuck, and an old set of turns, without the mandrels... so it doesn't amount to much.

Is it possible to do anything with this gear besides sell it and use the cash to go towards a secondhand watchmakers lathe? I did have an amount built up but this has had to go on car repairs.

I have a room at my disposal and a bench, with good lighting and a small but growing selection of hand tools, with a small metal tool box, but I'd like to make a start on something, despite my limitations.

I have an interest in various types of escapement, and I have a few books on watch and clock repairs. That's it so far.

My other interests are model railways and free flight model aircraft, both rubber powered and using small diesel and glow engines. Old fashioned hobbies really.

Any advice gratefully received.