Is this usual?

Many moons ago I embarked on my first steam loco, Emma Victoria, back in 2011 I think when the build series commenced in ME. Still on it, not done any for months, not lost interest but got overtaken by many other things. I find when i have left it off for a while I can't just nip into the workshop do do the odd hour, need a day to recap where I got to and what the next steps are. Am I unusual in this?

Bill D.

Hello Bill, no, you are not unusual. I try to remember to make notes and take photographs of progress when, for instance, going on holiday, not having access to the model because it's in an exhibition etc and then, with luck, I can quickly continue from where I left off...... doesn't always work though!

Brian

Edited By Brian H on 07/11/2019 19:57:29

No and if you force yourself into it you will get frustrated and lose interest in the project .

Remember it is a Hobby not a job so you can take all the time you want and what i generally do is make little assemblies and store them together in a labelled container along with any notation i think i need to keep with it like what the parts are , part numbers on the drawing , any other parts that need to be made to complete that assembly and if any parts need painting or finishing . Once all the parts for that assembly are done they all go in that same box and get labelled as finished and what drawings they came from then put away until i need them .

I find this system makes keeping track of the work i have done and final assembly a breeze .

I find with long projects such as my corliss mill engine, that I need to break off and do a bit of toolmaking periodically.

I am currently in a broken off phase and making some collet blocks so I can use the Pultra 1770 10mm collets in the jig borer vice.

Phil

I always find that stopping when the item being made is not fully finished works well for me. For instance when making something in the lathe and needing to stop for a few days/weeks I will leave the parting off or finish cut and stick a post it on the chuck. When I return I begin where I left off, by the time that piece is finished my brain is back in gear and I continue as normal. I must say that if I am doing a big project I usually have a clipboard with a list of the major tasks which I tick off as I go.

Bill

I have more than one project on the go at any time and swap between them. Like XD351 I box every thing when I stop on a project. I also like to loosely assemble as much as possible.

I feel that keeping a diary of the work done and taking photographs is invaluable. In the olden days this meant having a note book and a few pictures. Now, with computers, one uses a spread sheet and can take thousands of photographs for nothing. My simple spread sheet has a few columns; Date, Part, Part number, Action, Comment and Photograph file name. This is a daily record of work and tries to record everything particularly minor disasters, required tools etc.

JA

Not at all. Been on crutches for over twelve months and am finding it very difficult to motivate to get down to the workshop to get parts painted and final assembly.

One thing that I do to help with the motivation is to try and finish in the workshop with a component that is set up ready for machining when I start the next session. Obviously I will check over everything before switching on, but this approach has always helped me as I know I can start a session without having to spend a lot of time thinking about what I'm going to do. Always useful with advancing years and a failing memory.

Phil