Hello from a new joiner

Hi there, my name is Duncan Munro and I've just started posting here. I did know about the website being a subscriber to MEW, however I hadn't dipped into the forum until another poster brought it to my attention.

I've had an interest in model engineering for about 15 years now, as it's that long since I bought my ML7. With no knowledge of engineering, or indeed how to use a lathe, I've relied heavily on books from G Thomas, Radford, Chaddock et al to fuel my "apprenticeship" plus the generosity of those on other forums and groups who have helped by answering my frequent questions.

What have I made? Very little as it turns out! Real life seems to leave very little time for my hobbies, so things tend to be done in bursts. I have however made a number of tools for use in the workshop, culminating in the construction of a Quorn tool and cutter grinder which I could now not survive without.

My current hobby horse is 3D printing - this started with the construction of a homemade Prusa Mendel iteration 2 in August 2013 followed by the purchase of a Flashforge Creator Pro in July 2015. It's getting used for printing fixtures, packing pieces and prototype items. Getting things wrong in plastic is much more fun than getting them wrong in metal

I do a little bit of metal casting and will be employing the 3D printer to make patterns that will be encased in investment plaster then melted out in the style of lost wax casting. It will probably all go terribly wrong, but if you don't try...

Regards,
Duncan

Welcome Duncan

You say that in 15 years you have made very little - and then you go to say that you have made a Quorn !!

I'll wager that there are more of these started than finished. My own attempts at a Stent progress very slowly and - who knows - maybe it will be operational one day. ............ WOW !!! - a pig just flew over!

I hope you enjoy the forum - there are always answers to any questions you may have - and some may even be useful! 😈 

I'm pretty far from anywhere and I certainly get a sense of "belonging" through these posts.

Norman

Edited By NJH on 29/02/2016 22:46:42

There is a widely held belief that just owning the castings for a Quorn qualifies you as a fully fledged model engineer and yet you casually state that you have built the thing!

A dark horse this one!

Regards and welcome.

David.

Norman and David, thank you for the warm welcome

Re: the Quorn, I bought the castings in 2006 although they sat there for an appreciable amount of time doing nothing. I saw a statistic somewhere (and this is probably an awful misquote from memory) but it was something like 60% of people who buy the Quorn castings die without doing anything with them!

That shocked me into action; I worked out that my productivity was pretty low but would would go down even more after death

Anyway, I did make it during 2007 with the exception of the spiralling head which I don't have a massive need for so that's another job on the "to do" list. I did, however, make a square toolbit holder and an ER25 collet holder for it which do get regular use. SInce the construction of the Quorn I've also converted it to a poly-V belt as the frustration of the band-a-belt regularly snapping was too much to bear.

I did find it a challenge to make, but I can honestly say I learnt a lot from it and found the exercise very enjoyable. Some pics and details of the build here **LINK**

Regards,
Duncan

Well done, Duncan

Quote of the Day: " I worked out that my productivity was pretty low but would go down even more after death."

Welcome ... and thanks for posting the link.

MichaelG.

Well isn't that a coincidence? I came across the Duncans amps website on Saturday whilst looking for info on an Avo CT160. It's a small world!

Regards.

David.

Welcome aboard Duncan,

.Making a Quorn is pretty good progress for fifteen years - most people 'age;' the castings for at least that long before starting

Neil

And here was me thinking that a new woodworker had subscribed to the forum!

Silly me - joiner = carpenter!

Duncan Munro:

As you probably know, GHT had the Quorn castings; I have a feeling that he never finished making it.

Welcome Duncan... 'done nothing for 15 years'... then pop out a Quorn TC grinder... now that's some going

George.