Possible new ideas for Model Engineers' Workshop

Another vote for! I admire the glossy glass like finish some chaps and manufacturers have on their machinery. Totally beyond me at present. Perhaps I need more patience, but starting with the best (correct) materials could help.

Frank

"Change the name of the magazine to Home Shop Machinist...

(Or basically take the "model" out of the title)."

Why does this old chestnut crop up from time to time? Do some folk feel that belittled to be thought of as modellers?

For those that do one definition of "model" is exemplary So how about Exemplary Engineers Workshop - but somehow that doesn't quite have the same ring to it ...

We all know what MEW is and that it has links to ME ... just read and enjoy.

As my old Father -in - Law used to say :-

" I don't care what you call me - so long as it's not late for my supper"

Norman

How about a review - one per issue - of the advertisers and their products, highlighting any specialities etc?

Cheers, Tim

That's pretty much what 'On the Wire' tries to do, sometimes general news from the trade etc. sometimes an in-depth review.

Neil

Edited By XD 351 on 12/09/2016 05:53:57

How about a series of single page reference or fact sheets to keep on the wall of the workshop. Basic formulae for example, different steels, sine bars, indexable tips, tapping drill sizes... There are some good reference books out there that cover these things, but I rarely use more than one or two pages, and only a few knew of those. Each sheet could be designed to be photocopied, and have an accompanying article explaining the detail, logic and why you need to know.

Top of my list for those, or a normal article, would be the mysterious world of glues adhesives and the dreaded Loctite number. When I did my basic machining stuff at school we were taught that glue belonged to wood-working and other 'craft' ( said as an insult). Coming back to serious metal work now I find adhesives have changed beyond recognition, and Loctite numbers are thrown about like Hogwarts spells. It just scares me, with the impression that a slight slip will turn my master machine into a pointless ornament.

Matthew (owner of a mini lathe that I am comfortable with, and a new mill that still needs housetraining).

A short reprint of an article on making springs using a woodscrew as a jig was well received. I don't want to use too many reprints though - better is people build an old tool using new techniques.

The 'Setting Up A Workshop' special tries to provide some of that guidance. It's very difficult to get into comparisons though, you need to have all the machines side by side. I've been able to do that for digital verniers and it has produced interesting results, but not practical to do it for, say, milling machines.

The alternative of just comparing basic specs tends to be a bit boring, only repeats what is on the web and opens many cans of worms. For example, different sellers rate the power of their machines differently and one American mini-lathe seller give a between centres figure that has an extra inch achieved by hanging the back of the tailstock off the bed (it's in the small print).

Neil

Please see my response to John Stevenson, on this thread: **LINK**

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=120519&p=2

'One-Box' CNC

MichaelG.

The problem with reviews and comparisons is that they depend greatly on the subjectivity of the person writing the article - what one person thinks is a major flaw may be regarded as perfectly acceptable by others. It may even leave the magazine or the writer open to defamation claims too.

As an example, recently on another forum there was a discussion on offsetting the compound to cut threads and a particular model of lathe was condemned as being a poor design because the holes in the T slot were placed in such a way as to make this difficult. This was agreed with by several respondents until someone pointed out that if an alternative technique was used (plunge cutting) it was not an issue. The hub-bub subsided...

My biggest concern with model engineering is actually CNC - so much can be done with a CNC lathe or mill (or even 3D printer) that a lot of the jigs, fixtures and special tools that used to be made for doing 'interesting work' are discontinued or have been forgotten. A Volstro milling head for example or manual helical milling - another technique that is vanishing. I'm told that hands on gear cutting is now not included in some mechanical trades courses - it is done using an instructional video. There were a plethora of special cutter holders for lathes (especially for threading) that are now curiosities because of carbide inserts and canned cycles.

I would like to see some short articles talking about techniques and equipment that were used before CNC or are a non-CNC alternative that may have application in a home workshop. For one off work some of these techniques are still valid. I think even knowing what that odd looking thing at a car boot sale is and how it is used is worth knowing, as it may provide inspiration to get around a problem in the future.

Michael

Edited By Michael Green 2 on 15/09/2016 13:03:48

I take it you've never actually used a CNC machine tool? I make as much, or more, jigging for my CNC mill as I do for the manual mills. And jigging for the CNC mill requires more thinking ahead than that for manual milling. If you accidentally have a clamp in the way with a manual mill you can stop and do something about. The same is true of a CNC mill, except you only find out after the crash.

Regarding hands on gear cutting, why teach something that almost nobody is going to use, at least commercially? A couple of years ago at a show I talked to a young man who worked for Mercedes high performance transmission group, ie, motor racing and Mercedes AMG. I started quizzing him about the details of gear design, and he said "oh we don't deal with that, we let the gear supplier sort it out".

Having said the above I am about to submit a short article to MEW that highlights a pre-CNC industrial technique.

Andrew

Not sure what using a CNC machine tool has to do with vanishing tools and techniques but for the record in my day job I have programmed robots and PLCs, installed/ maintained CNC machinery and direct those that do program them. Enough of that.

The point that I was trying to make is that when you have a CNC machine, it's easy to tell it that you want a particular profile or radius in a location and the machine will do what it is told. However, for example how do you cut an interrupted R600 radius on a (small to medium) manual machine? - it must be able to be done as it has been done before.

Most hobby machinists have basic manual machines - a lot of the time a CNC machine is generally a build project in itself. Only a few have professional or semi-professional type machines with tool change and integrated 4th/ 5th axis and all the bells and whistles that I see in the workplace. A lot of the old techniques that commercially are redundant because of CNC are still relevant to a hobby machinist because they have not got that technology on tap.

I despair of some of the engineering trainees we get because some don't even know what a drill press is. There seems to be a view that you draw something up, send it out to a subbie and it comes back perfect. No thought about whether the design is good, easily/ cheaply made or even necessary. I don't have thousands of dollars/ pounds to get a specialist to make up change gears for my machines so I had to learn how to cut them myself. Magazines like MEW and HSM (Home Shop Machinist - a US publication) are probably one of the few current reliable sources for documenting 'old' techniques.

It is getting so weird that a few years back I was in the situation where I was doing things on my manual machines at home because the fitters at work did not have the skills/ equipment to do it there and CNC equipped subcontractors would have charged an arm and a leg for 15 minutes work. (It's weird because I am not trade trained and work mainly in an office - I just seem to be the person who solves the problems)

So at the risk of repeating myself, I would like to see some short articles talking about techniques and equipment that were used before CNC or are a non-CNC alternative that may have application in a home workshop.

Michael

Oddly enough in a post about setting up a vee slot to align with a saw slot there was a mention of Hicky (icky) balls and as I'm not a toolmaker i know nothing of them so some explanation would be nice , it could also be an article on toolmakers buttons and how to use them .

CNC v Manual - i usually stay out of that argument as I don't own any CNC equipment, that being said i think both should have a regular monthly place in MEW and i think Neil has got the balance pretty much right .

I kind of like the cartoon like muddles and the stubb mandrel piece so maybe you could add a did you know or on this day in history section with interesting facts or useful formulae .