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Andrew Kolundzic10/05/2014 20:28:00
1 forum posts

Hi,

I have toyed with the idea of model engineering for a long time now and would welcome any suggestions and comments good or bad from any members wishing to post on this thread.

I am 53 years old and a complete novice, as green as grass as the saying goes. I don't really know at this stage what I would like to make although I do like the steam engines and military models that I have seen. Although I don't consider myself stupid I don't own a lathe and have no idea how to operate one but funnily enough I nearly bought a Myford 7 recently.

I have a number of questions to ask but not all on this thread, one for example is if a chose a topic are there plans/drawings available and instructions even, another question would be what sort of tools/machines would I need?

Please can anyone suggest the best course of action as to how to get started, Thanks for your help.

Andy

fizzy11/05/2014 11:00:59
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1860 forum posts
121 photos

been covered many times , start small and simple. You realy need to decide what you want to build before anything else

Russell Eberhardt11/05/2014 11:40:44
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2785 forum posts
87 photos

As you mention steam engines how about having a read of this book ? The engine in my avatar on the left was built following one of his books (a bit more advanced) and the instructions he gave are very clear and easy to follow.

Russell.

Bazyle11/05/2014 11:42:05
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6956 forum posts
229 photos

Hello Andy. Where abouts are you roughly? We may be able to guide you towards a club or local exhibition where you can get more one to one interaction to discuss the possibilities. You should also get some copies of Model Engineer and Model engineers Workshop to see the adverts and get a flavour of the technical terms and language used.

When you have a specific question put up a thread with a concise title so people can zero in on the topic if they have something to say. You will also find a search facility on the front page tf this site that can get you a lot of information as most questions have been asked before.

There are also lots of websites to go through. For starters Harold's will keep you busy for a while.

maurice bennie11/05/2014 11:56:47
164 forum posts
1 photos

Hi Andy I found to my cost that "You can turn little things on a big lathe, but not big things on a small one"

You must choose roughly what you wish to make ,and only you can do that . Between a watch makers and something like a Harrison 300 .For what its worth I have a Chester DB8VS which I am happy with.

Best wishes and good luck Maurice.

Ady111/05/2014 12:16:41
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6137 forum posts
893 photos

Good luck

**LINK**

You can search this place through google with

chicken and egg situation site:http://www.model-engineer.co.uk

Change "chicken and egg situation" to "newbie" or "learner" "help" "starting out"or whatever you think of

 

Edited By Ady1 on 11/05/2014 12:28:38

OH CHUFF!11/05/2014 12:46:58
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15 forum posts
2 photos

Or try this site **LINK**

Clive Hartland11/05/2014 13:10:31
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2929 forum posts
41 photos

Andy, you say that you are not quite sure what you want to do in modelling? You also doubt your dexterity in being able to operate a lathe etc. Perhaps you may want to start in a slightly different direction to improve your dexterity and interest. Have a look at 'Scalescenes' to see if your interest may lie there. Also look at 'Fiddlersgreen'. Both these sites offer paper card modelling for railside models and paper aeroplanes. Just a thought.

Clive

GaryM11/05/2014 21:14:49
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314 forum posts
44 photos

Hi Andrew,

I'm in my fifties and started in model engineering just over two years ago and haven't regretted one minute of it. If you decide it's for you then you'll wish you'd started years ago.

This site is quite good for ideas **LINK**

I'm not retired yet so don't get that much workshop time but I first made the little oscillating engine in my avatar and album. I'd almost finished my second project, a Stuart S50, when I broke my ankle so much frustration at the moment.

Best of luck.

Gary

Ady112/05/2014 00:52:25
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6137 forum posts
893 photos

Yup. Binned my TV years ago because of this hobby.

But life is still too short for all the things you wanna do....

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