Start by doing some small pieces and you will be surprised at how that will get you up and running again. My main problem is that I have other interests like gardening and woodwork and at the moment been spending more time getting the veg patch planted and flower beds sorted for all the plants I have raised from seed.

Good afternoon, Andrew,

Might that frustration still be lurking in your sub-conscious? Of course, it is YOUR workshop but might a visiting fellow Model Engineer helping you get your Wyvern running properly help to assuage your frustration?

Are you a 'loner' or are you in contact with fellow enthusiasts (apart from this forum, that is ).

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Andy I am in a similar position, Really enthusiastic until Covid hit and due to me and wife both being classed as vulnerable we kept hidden away only going out when absolutely necessary, now I find that I have no enthusiasm for the workshop and as loco needs hydraulic and steam test I cannot run the loco, cannot even be bothered to raise steam at home to check it over, also used to be fairly keen caravanner but since Covid van has not left the drive, we have booked a pitch in West Country for a week but I have lost all confidence for towing, never used to bother me but now I dread it. Don’t know what’s causing it but I know a lot of people are experiencing similar problems.

Hi Andy

Valve timing, compression, spark timing and fuel. Any one of those will stop it

Fix the Wyvern and slay that particular dragon.

Dave,

Exactly my thoughts but I declined to put up the first reply.

Andrew,

It seems like the valve issue may be the first issue to attend to. It may be the only one.

I am like quite a few others on here. I’ve not done much in the workshop lately.

Health issues in our household have severely limited time available. To be honest, things started to go wrong in 2018, then covid seclusion followed, and now recurrent illness to contend with. Allied with getting older by the day (just like everyone else, of course ) doesn’t make things any easier…

I can sympathize with many of the sentiments above.

I don't make models of things, but I do make things. This week's challenge is to fix the linkage between the switch on the instrument panel and the magneto/coil changeover switch on the bulkhead of my vintage Alvis. I have a deadline to meet before rallying next weekend.

The point which I want to make is that you could offer to fix things for family and friends. For me, once you have agreed to do something for somebody else, you have no excuse – you have to get on and do it.

HTH.

If I don't know what to do and everything appears uninteresting I tend to visit Wiki and end up opening all sorts of pages to different things

Ended up stuck on Roman history until about 3am the other night, (what a bunch of hooligans)

I can well understand losing interest. All my adult life I have enjoyed Making/repairing things, vintage motorcycles and cars, old houses all held an interest for me. Just prior to the first lockdown I had completed a vintage bike build for a friend then I had a stroke which impacted on my lifestyle more than a little bit. Interest returned during second lockdown but then I had surgery for cancer followed by radiation treatment. No workshop activity for me and a malaise set in for a while, I would go out to the workshop intent on doing something but maybe just clean and oil the lathe and mill and go back in the house. This went on for a time and I became very slow at doing anything at all. Upshot of this was being diagnosed with Parkinson's, my wife now wants to move house to the town and get a bungalow or apartment but I know once I give up the workshop my life will be over. Recently taking on a few jobs for friends has really helped me.

What is working for me is focussing on improvements to how I do things. Eg making tools, & storage solutions to improve my efficiency, these projects don’t take long maybe a day or two so I get a quick return for my efforts.

Several years ago I lost my "love" for my vintage cars, I have three. I advertised them at a high price, no offers.

I took up model engineering and started to teach myself metal casting. I had some very good casts, but trying to cast a small cylinder head was driving me crazy. I packed it in after a few weeks of failures.

I needed to channel my energies elsewhere. I had bought two 3D printers to make casting patterns, so I thought I would make four one tenth scale models of one of my vintage cars, one for me and one for each of my sisters. I have hit a few snags along the way but they are coming along nicely. Two of my sisters are coming to stay with me today, they don't know about the cars, yet!

A brother in law is also coming to stay. He will help me move one of my vintage cars into the house garage, and move the vintage car in the house garage into the other one. I now want to get one on the road as soon as I can. I want to drive them again. In the meantime, I have given my casting failures a lot of thought and I think I know where I went wrong. I want to take up casting again.

I am also planning to make more 3D printed model cars. Maybe not of my car, but a diorama of someone finding a vintage car and restoring it.

I now love vintage cars again, I just needed a bit of time. I want to get back to casting. Taking a casting from the sand and holding something that just a few minutes earlier was molten metal is a real joy. Plus, a new enjoyment. Making 3D printed models.

Do you have any grandchildren/friends children you could make simple Mamod style steam engines for? Making something to give to someone who will appreciate your work is always a good motivator.