Hello All,

Hello All,

Just to say hello and looking forward to tapping into this vast 'Knowledge base' and perhaps chipping in with my two pennies worth every now and then.

Writing this post I have just realised that I have been in engineering 47 years both as employment and as a leisure pursuit. Though an experienced machinist I consider myself a novice in my main interest of clocks. The current project is a John Wilding 8 day weight driven clock. I have made plates and pillars main shaft barrel and pendulum. I also have an interest in general machining, making jigs and fixtures to help a project along.

Apologies if a similar post appears twice, I clicked on code of conduct and my draft thread disappeared!

Welcome along Trevor, I did my 50 years in engineering but am still learning and picking up hints here.

Hello Trevor,

Sorry for the late welcome.

Neil

Hi Neil,

No Worries about a late welcome. Just pleased to see model engineering still thriving. In Craftsmen of my generation the boundaries of engineering work and leisure were often blurred. If you did not have lathe in the shed at home projects were often done as 'Government Work' in the lunch hour away from the Foreman's eyes.

Trevor

I don't believe that the foremen were oblivious of the 'Home Office' jobs - after all, they hadn't always been foremen. As long as the 'Home Office' jobs were pursued with discretion they were classed as training exercises.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Hi Swarf, Mostly,

I think you were probably correct. I was a bit of skill in judging how far to push your luck! The bigger the project the harder it was.

Years ago I had a colleague making a Go- Cart for his son , The chassis was a team effort, welders, fitters and machinists being called in to help. It only just fitted under the bench, hidden by a dust sheet.

Trevor

I think everyone wants a "homer" done, I have done loads for for people from the top down, that is probably why a blind eye is turned because if they stop you doing a homer how can they ever ask for one?

Mike

They were called 'foreigners' where I started work and my first foray into model engineering was to use the Boxford lathe that we had in the aircraft parts inspection department to make a cannon using the plans in " The Anatomy of Nelsons Ships". I used one of the heat treatment ovens to produce a dark blued finish and the wooden parts were made from an offcut of the wood used to make high end kitchen units in another part of the factory.

Brian

I believe they were also called "rabbits" because when the foreman appears they go back in their holes.

This is true ega, "Rabbets"  was the term used in the RN

Mick

 

I am still getting these A things with a squiggle over the top in some of my posts and I don't know why

🤔 Mick

Might be because the poster is using a touch screen rather than a proper keyboard. On an Android tablet a short tap on the 'keyboard' selects ordinary characters whilst a slightly longer tap gets an accented character. Whatever is causing it, It's not your fault!

Dave

trying to get the squiggles by design is the real problem with a "Querty" key board......hahaha......

clogs

The cheekyist homer I remember was a trailer, it was completely finished and at the time you could get a scrap ticket for a trailer load of wood so fill it with wood for £1 and drive out the gate.

Mike