Political views within the forums

JasonB,

making the statement that” People make and modify firearms in their workshops “ may well be misconstrued by the politicians who would like to curtail our workshop activities, they are particularly sensitive about firearms in general, if they think that we make them in our workshops we could probably expect draconian restrictions in future.

Dave W

You also need to bear in mind we have an international membership and some contries have different views to what can be done in the home workshop. For example one equivalent to Warco have a range of "gunsmith" lathes! Also home blade smithing has a large following even with it's own TV programs.

No, we just censor postings in breach of the terms and conditions.

Plus, this website also caters for all forms of hobby engineering.

Finally, it's astronomy not astrology, and anyone with access to plenty of back issues of Model Engineer will discover that the magazine has a long history of covering astronomical topics (as well as most of the other topics you mention).

Neil

Also, gunsmithing is a perfectly legal occupation/hobby in the UK, if you abide by the rigorous licensing etc.

I would remove posts that might inform or encourage the illegal modification or manufacture of firearms, but many of the skills of gunsmiths (such as engraving and treating metals and making small components) have far wider application and are of no use to the crims who just want something to fire a bullet, not a piece of craftsmanship.

Neil

"Irritable Old Gits", was an astronomical topic

Sorry i always get astrology and astronomy mixed up - why ? I don't know !

Strange thing is i'm posting in a thread that was started to complain about another thread and its content !

Maybe i'm becoming an irritable old git and might just have to have an alcoholic beverage and contemplate that for a while !

LOL !

LOL 2.0 !

Suprisingly my wife enjoys that TV show - mostly the turning of a hunk of old metal into a shiney object. She now even appreciates my wandering into the shed with a bit of rusty hot roll and coming back with a finished item ( so long as it looks nice - function is irrelevant to her)

pgk

'Model Engineering' is a clever title for our hobby because it covers so much ground.

Model can mean:

• 'a three-dimensional representation of a person or thing or of a proposed structure, typically on a smaller scale than the original' or
• 'a person or thing regarded as an excellent example of a specified quality'.

Engineering also has two definitions:

• The branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines, and structures, or
• The action of working artfully to bring something about.

Within those permutations pretty much anything goes.

'Engineer' is even more vague. In the USA it includes locomotive drivers. No better in the UK, almost any technical job from 'bloke with tape measure' to Isambard Kingdom Brunel can be an 'Engineer'. Not easy to define what a real engineer is. The professional associations insist on a degree level qualification involving maths. I'm not so sure, because really good engineers are creative. To me, it's the ability to design rather than copy or apply rules of thumb that sets the engineer apart from the artisan. (Nothing wrong with artisans, they're the ones who build, use and maintain technology, which requires a different skill set.)

The only item on XD351's list I would reject is Astrology. Even then I suspect it's a typo - Astronomy is definitely legitimate in my book.

Once the door is opened on creativity, another group of subjects become valid. I'm usually content with functional brutalism. Others find joy in doing a good job mending and restoring things. Hats off to crafts-persons making aesthetically pleasing items like clocks, pens, miniatures, well-made tools and other objects of desire.

Finally, the social and educational aspect of the hobby. Understanding what the other guy is up to, and how he does it, can be useful. Buying new vs second-hand, identifying materials, problem solving, separating fact from opinion, risk management,  etc. Above all, none of it should be dull. Ideally all posts should end with a joke. Shame I don't know any...

Dave

PS Definitions from the Oxford Living Dictionary

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 15/07/2018 10:06:38

On the subject of defining what is an engineer.

If a machine stops working for no apparent reason -

An apprentice knows you need to hit it with a hammer.

A tradesman knows where to hit it

An engineer knows why you need to hit it.

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As it's Sunday morning, and I don't think I've yet managed to irritate Jason ...

May I mention that 'engineer' is even broader than you list ?

MichaelG.

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ferinstance:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_engineering

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_engineering_(political_science)

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 15/07/2018 10:19:37

My daughter likes it too. (The programme is 'Forged in Fire', currently showing on Freeview Blaze in the UK.)

It has quite a following:

John Gomes liked the show. He liked it so much that he decided to forge a sword in his own backyard. It took firefighters the better part of six hours to quell a fire caused by his attempt. The fire burned through almost 30 buildings, leaving as many people displaced in Cohoes, New York.

Gomes' public defender said "this is just a terrible, unfortunate accident, but it's not a crime." Still, he was charged with fourth degree arson and reckless endangerment. The lesson here? Don't try this at home.

I was surprised that the weapons they make appear to be legal in the USA. Seems they're not. At the end of each programme the knives & swords are surrendered. For legal reasons they're classified as film props and they aren't street legal.

Dave

And with one of the Judges catch phrases being "It will Kill" you wonder why it is allowed to be screened over here? Some of what they produce on the show makes a Zombie knife look like it was meant for butter. Look on the bright side the postal ban may bring a few more people into metal working as the last time I look it was OK to post an anvil and big hammer!

There was also the one a couple of years ago on the gunsmiths called American Guns that showed quite a bit of the machining and engraving going on that was quite interestingh, I think the boss is now doing time for tax evasion.

I remember that show too and its predecessor red jacket ( boss is also behind bars but for a different reason )which was more like a spin off of american chopper .

"Model Engineering' is a clever title for our hobby because it covers so much ground."

It has to be, if it did not, it would mean that circulation numbers of our favourite magazines would render then economically unviable.

I'm struggling to find a plausable reason to include the link to this video I saw on TV recently, but I suppose from politics comes all the health & safety laws... or not.

Yes, it means we never read things like 'that's not model engineering' when someone posts parts they've made that aren't for toy trains, or whatever other narrow definition everyone has for their interest.

I just read 3 pages of this trying to find any relevance to model engineering - so why is it here?

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Think of it as a midden ... It's serving to keep the rubbish in one place.

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 16/07/2018 08:51:33