Duplicate Articles?

I received the lastest copy of Model Engineer in the post today. I see that a new series is starting on using the lathe for beginners. Does this mean competition between ME and MEW? Are the respective authors going to slog it out in the ring, two falls, two submissions or a knockout deciding the winner?

The ME article is illustrated using a Myford. So are the competing series going head to head on old iron versus new far eastern?

On a slightly more serious note, since I take both magazines, it means that more pages overall are not really of interest. So if I drop one which one should I choose?

Andrew

Hello Andrew,

"So, if I drop one, which one should I choose"

For one who is usually so decisive I find that a curious question to ask and rather difficult to answer. I take MEW exclusively having dropped ME many years ago when I finally appreciated that my interests did not lie with model steam locomotives.

Only you can decide really but if I may suggest, taking account of the scale of equipment you have in your workshop, I think the choice is obvious. Tornado beware!

Regards Brian

I've taken three "ME" magazines over the years but have been thinking recently that the 'other' (third) one seems to have gone down hill a fair bit (since its change of ownership?). Nice large photos of rallies and models , all very nice but not essential reading (for me at least) - but not so much in the way of new designs and good technical articles. Compared with ME and MEW I think it is the weaker of the three and may get dropped from my subscription list come the New Year....

Regards,

IanT

I have not renewed my sub to ME as seems to have no interest for me.

I would have thought that the lathe series should be in MEW. Also a beginner is unlikely to have the funds to buy a Myford but could probably afford at least a second-hand asian in good condition and may well have chucks, etc.

How about a short/long series about building a coal-fired vertical boiler with a horizontal engine about 25mm-30mm bore rather than repeating articles which are available in EIM? I would then sub to ME.

I agree with IanT about reports on rallies and photos of engines - most of which are available on the internet

There is a series about building an oscillating engine and simple boiler in MIW so it would be nice to have a design for something that requires some workshop skills to build.

What do others think on these points?

richard 2.

For clarity, the two series are not duplicates, they are totally independent and although they address the same basic subject matter I'm sure they will be as different as any two series by different authors on a similar topic.

Both ME and MEW have had a lot of feedback requesting more content for beginners, and new blood is important for the future health of the hobby - without new recruits no new articles and ideas, no mags, no shows and ultimately no specialised dealers.

I think the overlap of readership between ME and MEW is less than 20% - one reason why many advertisers appear in both magazines!

As editor I never expect every article to be of interest to every reader, I just try and get enough variety to make sure every reader will find a few things really interesting and most of the rest engaging enough to feel like a good, worthwhile read. ME takes a similar approach but clearly aims for a slightly different audience.

Don't forget we added eight pages of editorial to MEW a couple of years ago so even with four pages of a beginner article you still get more than you used to*.

Neil

*Which is one reason why I am always on the look out for new authors and good articles so I can keep the variety in the magazine.

Standards have slipped since the good old days! For Two shillings and sixpence the MAP editorial team in 1966 consisted of:

• D J Laidlaw-Dickenson (Editorial Director)
• Vic Smeed (Managing Editor)
• Martin Evans (Editor, previously Technical Editor)
• Edgar T Westbury (Technical Consultant)
• W J (Bill) Hughes (Technical Consultant)

And they still made mistakes!

I don't mind the odd overlapping articles - comparing similar material often helps me understand the subject better.

Dave

I've never come across a 'third' magazine. What is it? Why the reluctance to name it?

It's a similar situation where people refer to 'fleabay' or 'that well-known auction site'. Why not just come out with it's proper name?

Very strange....

Brian

Engineering in Miniature comes to mind

Fine if you want to pay £20 an issue...

Is it true you Edit MEW part-time on your own Neil, and that Diane / Martin are 'it' for Model Engineering? If so productivity has clearly improved! Also, is Martin Evans in 2017 the same Martin Evans as the 1966 editor?

I'd willingly pay £20 per issue if it was delivered by a nubile maiden, remarkably perverse. On second thoughts better not, these days beer is best...

Dave

Only if they've got a ouija board, the 1966 Martin Evans passed away some years ago. Diane and Neil can only print what they have submitted to them. I've noticed a marked reduction in club members who make their own locos over the past years, the first wave of MEs are now shuffling off this mortal coil and so there are lots of decent locos for sale. Wouldn't suit me but there you go.

Shuffling off this mortal coil wouldn't suit me either - I'm hoping to be a nuisance on the forum for ages before I go.

Building a Workshop Ouija Board for getting the advice of Engineers gone to a better place is a brilliant idea - those old guys really knew their stuff. Wiring an Arduino to some ectoplasm would do the trick. No problem getting the parts - you can buy anything on ebay these days...

Dave

Well, Ectoplasm is about £9.99 a bottle on Ebay.

**LINK**

I'll leave the wiring to others!

Looks like a load of carp to me...

I wager JasonB already has, no wonder he could make so many engines.

Michael W

Might have to put it on a 'Perch', the passed on ones probably find getting down to ground level none too easy

Edited By V8Eng on 21/11/2017 19:15:13

I can imagine me expensively building an Ouija Board to talk to Brunel and it only receiving the opinions of a recently deceased fish-finger.

I have dropped EIM as they don't bother to remind me that my subscription is ending so it runs out. This time I am not renewing as it has gone downhill also. I am delighted to see Graham Meek's article on the ML-7 screwcutting clutch in MEW as he usually publishes his excellent stuff in EIM.

Every time I get annoyed with magazine content I remind myself that the editors can only publish what they get. I have no interest in 3D printing, CNC machining, and get very annoyed with articles on irrelevant stuff like workshop storage or lighting. But interests change too. I used to hate the dominance of articles on Myford lathes and accessories, thinking them to be over-priced, under-performing, obsolete little machines. Now I have an ML-7, as it fell into my lap for peanuts, I have gone back through the magazines and read everything on them. I'd hate to actually have to use it as my lathe though.

I think beginners would do better with books, u-tube and assistance from friends/club members, and I am surprised Neil gets many requests for these articles.

The best books are rather out of date (Sparey's is a good example). You Tube is fine when you have the right video for what you want to do, but even with the help of google finding the exact thing you want can be hit and miss at the best of times. As for friends and clubs, most new recruits are lone hands and some feel intimidated by clubs, especially if they have no interest in locos.

Magazines and forums seem to be the preferred source of information for most new recruits; I suspect the fact we offer both, linked together, is one reason why ME and MEW are still hale and hearty.

Neil

To Neil Wyatt please ... WOW !!! MAP from Model Aeronautical Press Ltd , 38 Clarendon Road , Watford , Herts ... that was a long time ago ... Vic Smeed was also the editor of another magazine called MODEL MAKER in the 1960`s I believe ... that time was definitely BC ... before colour pages ( apart from the cover ) and before computers.

Just looking at this thread in particular, please can you tell me why so many parts of the contributions show up in duplicate or even in triplicate ? Is it inevitable when one computer system talks to another ? Or do others prefer to have the same words repeated within the same thread ?

martin