Table of contents for May 2025 in Model Engineer & Workshop

As promised, this issue contains a brief article on my experience of a metal 3D printed part, and I see that this month’s Club News also features a model with parts made this way. Is using metal 3D printed parts ‘cheating’? For most of us, workshop activity is generally done for pleasure, so the concept of cheating doesn’t really apply – we can use whatever techniques or aids we wish. As far as model engineering is concerned, in the past it wasn’t unusual to make patterns for parts of tools or models and get them produced by a local foundry; I don’t think that was ever classed as ‘cheating’. The skills to produce an accurate 3D model in a CAD program are very different from those needed to make a…

Wideblue Showcases Space-tech Expertise in London Product design consultancy, Wideblue, based in Glasgow, recently showcased an ambitious project to develop an optical communications system with very low size, weight and power for High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS). HAPS are lightweight, unmanned aerial vehicles offering prolonged flight at altitudes into the stratosphere, see the photo of the SkyDragon HAP. They can be deployed quickly and provide persistent coverage over large areas. Applications include disaster relief, remote sensing/monitoring and providing telecommunication services to remote areas. Optical communications are key to enabling communications between the HAPS and other platforms/ground stations as the radio frequency spectrum is becoming too crowded and bandwidth requirements are becoming ever higher. The project uses the latest breakthroughs in micro-LED light sources and single photon detectors pioneered by the…

I’ve never been a fan of standing in cold water, but there’s a site high up in the hills near here which is popular with gold panning enthusiasts who spend lots of time in the river seeking their fortune. There’s a bit more to it, of course, and the successful gold prospector not only needs to know where to look but can speed up the process of separating gold from dirt by using the right tools and equipment. I have a friend who manufactures and sells equipment for just that purpose; although I have never been gold panning, I am inclined to take an interest in the processes involved in making these items and often discuss the various challenges in design and manufacture which arise. Sometimes, I learn something new,…

You might consider me a wealthy gentleman when I mention we own 25 houses in addition to the one we actually live in. But no, these are a collection of vintage dolls’ houses that span the decades from 1930 to 1960 - a time that saw growing popularity in this type of toy. Most were bought ready made from the likes of Triang and Amersham, while others were scratch-built by doting fathers from Hobbies plans using whatever materials were available. A good example is our Hobbies Special Model 186 made in 1933 using Venesta plywood salvaged from tea chests - the same tea chests that formed the walls of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s hut from which he launched his failed attempt in 1911 to reach the South Pole, photos 1…

At the top end of the governor is the collection of parts, figs 36 and 37, that will (if I can ever get them to function properly) control the speed of the engine. At the time of writing the governor spins around, looks the part and can be set to cause the valve gear to trip but only sits at the full extent of its travel. Further work will have to wait until the rest of the details of the engine are finished. Small governors are always going to be difficult to get to work realistically due to some very non-linear scaling effects. The governor head is machined on the end of a stub of rectangular bar. In photo 219 you can see that I had thinned this to the…

These articles by Geometer (Ian Bradley) were written about half a century ago. While they contain much good advice, they also contain references to things that may be out of date or describe practices or materials that we would not use today either because much better ways are available of for safety reasons. These articles are offered for their historic interest and because they may inspire more modern approaches as well as reminding us how our hobby was practised in the past. TO ENSURE horizontal accuracy in hand drilling, some types of han d and breast drills are provided with small built-in spirit levels. Thus, using such a machine horizontally, keeping the bubble central will maintain the line of the hole horizontal, and looking at the drill from above, it…

When I was in York for Railfest 2004 I spotted a windmill in the distance, out to the West. What with one thing and another (idleness, asthenia) I didn’t visit until mid-February 2025. Perched as it is on a slight eminence, fully two metres above the surrounding land, Holgate mill is a preserved, working mill, grinding and selling wholemeal flour. It is still driven by the wind, although it has an electric backup for when demand exceeds supply. In 1770, when built, did the local residents complain about the ‘visual intrusion’ as their modern counterparts do? If they did, they were rightly ignored. We need to eat before we consider the beauty of our surroundings. If you, dear Reader, are blessed with the sort of outlook that regards pylons and…

It had been my firm belief that the screwcutting clutch for the Maximat Super 11 was going to be my last screwcutting clutch design (Model Engineers’ Workshop 304 - 306). Having decided in early 2022 to downsize to smaller equipment, however, the race was on to get my Compact 5 in a condition which would suit my future needs. I am not going to describe the operation or construction of the clutch in detail as this has been covered by my earlier articles. The best description of its use and function is in MEW 261 - 263, where I discussed my version for Myford ML7 and S7 lathes. This article covers specific changes to suit the Compact 5. In brief, the clutch is operated by two stops on an actuating…

We have £30 in gift vouchers courtesy of engineering suppliers Chester Machine Tools for each month’s ‘Top Tip’. Email your workshop tips to meweditor@mortons.co.uk marking them ‘Readers Tips’, and you could be a winner. Try to keep your tip to no more than 400 words and a picture or drawing. Don’t forget to include your address! Every month we’ll choose a winner for the Tip of the Month and they will win £30 in gift vouchers from Chester Machine Tools. Visit www.chesterhobbystore.com to plan how to spend yours! Quick And Easy Clamping Screw This tip from John Barber is a short cut to making a good-looking clamping screw, he wins this month’s Chester voucher. I needed to make a new clamping screw for a small vice I was restoring. I…

2025 EVERY SUNDAY Warrington MES Running day. Contact: contact@wdmes.org.uk APRIL 16 LEEDS SMEE Nigel Bennett - ‘Invicta’. Contact: Judith Bellamy, jabellamy29@gmail.com 18 ROCHDALE SMEE Nattering in the hut (Community Centre closed). See www.facebook.com/RochdaleModelEngineers 20, 21 CARDIFF MES Public running day, Heath Park Cardiff. www.heathparkminiaturerailway.co.uk 24 GUILDFORD MES Public open day, Stoke Park. Contact: Mike Sleigh, pr@gmes.org.uk or see www.gmes.org.uk MAY 2 ROCHDALE SMEE Models running night. Springfield Park, 17:00 onwards. See www.facebook.com/RochdaleModelEngineers 7 LEEDS SMEE John McGoldrick - Leeds Museums. Contact: Judith Bellamy, jabellamy29@gmail.com 10 BROMSGROVE SME Open Day All gauges are welcomed 5”, 3.5“, 2.5”, G.1 and 16 mm. Contact Doug Collins 07585 524836 16 ROCHDALE SMEE Alf Molyneux - Travels with Fred Dibnah’. Castleton Community Centre, 19:00. See www.facebook.com/RochdaleModelEngineers 18 GUILDFORD MES Public open day, Stoke Park. Contact:…

Next to consider are the brakes. On Rob Roy and here also, these are optional and can be left off to save some time, but I needed to know where all the bits go so that I could design other parts around them. On the model they will only be used for parking, of course, not stopping the train. On the original only the driving and rear coupled wheels are braked, which reduces the parts count a bit, and the brake hangers are made from flat plate and so are ideal for laser cutting. The main problem to be overcome when designing the model is that on the full size engine the pull rods and load equalisation mechanism are directly under the ash pan which would prevent dropping the fire…

My model Ransomes Threshing machine was featured in Model Engineer issues 4542 to 4562. It stood up well in regular use for demonstrations and proved very reliable. A couple of minor operational problems reared their ugly heads, both related to straw and it getting to places that straw shouldn’t be. This was aggravated by the shortage of wheat to thresh, meaning that the straw had to be recycled (many times). As a result, the straw was beaten into a fibrous mess, which has a tendency to mat together. On, then, to the issues. Firstly, I found that the mouth of the upper shoe (where the grain, chaff and cavings drop down to the cavings riddle) was getting clogged with straw. It took a while to work out how the straw…

Shorn of anecdote, the facts that emerge from the accounts of the Newcastle locomotive can be summarised. Chistopher Blackett, the putative customer for the locomotive, was part of a collateral line of descent from the Blackett coal and lead dynasty which had risen to eminence in the Newcastle trade after the Restoration. The main family coal holdings were on the south side of the Tyne, in Gateshead, at Winlaton and the Stella Grand Lease. Christopher Blackett’s interests however were north of the river, at Wylam, the furthest western limit of the coalfield. The main pits were Wylam Hough, Peggy and Anne which began working in 1748, all mined under the river itself. The nearest point accessible to river keels was Lemington, five miles downstream and a wooden waggonway was laid…