Model Engineering

I suppose having model engineering as a hobby was inevitable.  My father was a model engineer most of his life, so I was born into a home where a workshop was the integral part of family life.  Until recently my workshop activities have been an adjunct to other hobbies - DIY and amateur radio.  In the case of the latter chassis bashing was the order of the day as construction formed a large part of the hobby.

DIY is so much easier with a well equipped workshop, there is very little I won't have a go at.  My present workshop I designed and built, together with the assistance of a friend.  The construction comprises building blocks under a tiled roof and measures 13m x 5m externally.  I have a tiny kitchen where I and my wife can make a cup of coffee and a small shower room where we can clean up after dirty jobs in the garden.

As a qualified electrical engineer it was no trouble to install a completely new set of electrics, including to the adjacent car port and two adjacent sheds.  Then we have a combination gas boiler for both central heating and hot water, my father, long since retired, was a fully qualified gas and water engineer.

I am now following in my father's footsteps having recently joined the Society of Model and Experimental Engineers (SMEE), the oldest model engineering society in the country having been inaugurated in the late 1890s.

In my youth I made a couple of simple reciprocating steam engines.  My current project is the restoration of a 13 inch Holbrook toolroom lathe, it is nearly finished but still have to connect up the electrics and the drive to the headstock.  I then have to make a new cross slide as the existing one has a split and is unusable.  The only other missing items are the change wheels these too will have to be made as spares are no longer available.

The lathe shown in the picture at the top left is my latest acquisition, a Smart & Brown Model A.  I remember using one of these in my teens when I was killing time waiting for a place at a training school.  It is a tool room quality machine and very complete.  If you want to know more keep a watch out in Model Engineer or Model Engineer's Workshop, when I shall have a lot more to say about the purchase.

The links in the sidebar include materials and tool suppliers amongst others.