I have learnt that there are always other ways to make something with tools you didn't know you needed of didn't need in another case.

David

Ingenious and engineer both have the same linguistic root.

Designers often have a poor understanding of manufacturing methods, costs and possibilities.

There is always something else to figure out and sometimes sleeping on a problem will solve it.

Martin C

I have learned that there is NO limit imposed on the final size of a scrap box, like a Hill-Billy house, it can and does continue to grow !

Also, it is easier to misread a rule, so as to produce undersize, than to produce oversize, thus producing even more scrap.

I have learned that model engineering (and other hobbies) require, as has been mentioned, puzzles and problems to be solved and new skills to be learned.

And the more I learn the more I realise I don't know… being stuck on the first rung of the ladder isn't such a bad place to be

Overall, indulging in hobbies leads to the mind fully concentrating on the task at hand causing the outside world to fade into the distance…it is very refreshing.

Ches

It certainly teaches you/enhances patience and perseverance, both handy skills outside the shed too.

The question posed was what has Model Engineering taught you, I would like to expand that a little into what it gives you.

For me one of the most satisfying aspects is the creativity, that satisfaction that comes with looking on an item that did not exist at the dawn of the day but now solidly presents itself to your gaze at the end of it. The realisation that it was you that caused it to come into being speaks to the very essence of what it means to be human. The fact that in some small maybe insignificant way the world is different because of your efforts gives feeds your sense of worth and significance and ultimately makes you happier and more contented.

No one would pretend that the creation of a couple of bolts, or maybe a buffer beam is world changing in a historic sense but the making of each small part has a definite and positive effect on us and is something that lasts.

For most of us Model Engineering is to a great extent an isolated occupation with lots of time spent alone in our sheds and workshops. And yet, even when we are working away with not a soul in sight, there seems to be an almost tangible connection to fellow model engineers both past and present. This can come from remembering advice, tools we have been given, books we have read and even from the designs and drawings of the things we make. When we do meet with like minded practitioners of the hobby, either through a club or society or through online forums, we discover we are already connected to the group and in some sense already belong.

On a directly personal level, I went through a very low period in my life where pretty much everything had fallen apart and I felt quite worthless. A wonderful chap offered to let me use his workshop to make a clock and the combination of its construction and the conversations and budding friendship I made with him changed the way I thought about myself and actually turned my life around.

So I would claim that Model Engineering can provide wellbeing on a mental, social and maybe even spiritual level.

regards Martin

I have to agree with Ches, that while I love to build things, concentrating on the task at hand has the added benefit of closing out the swirl of other things that goes on in the world, and gives some much needed peace of mind.

And also I can relate to what Martin said, where I had a similar experience with reaching perhaps the lowest point ever in my life. Learning to build models gave me a positive outlet to recover.

I found a couple of books from the 1920's about model builders, and they made their own patterns, and then had the parts cast in iron. I became obsessed with casting my own iron parts, and even though I was told across the board that I would never achieve that in a hobby setting, I did achieve it, and can pour up to 90 lbs of gray iron, and make some flawless gray iron castings of anything I want to make.

I love the feel/mass of iron, and the way it machines and taps. And the old saying is "it wears like iron".

So what I learned is that one can do a lot more in this hobby than many/most/all would let on.

And the fear of damaging a rare or expensive casting is gone.  If I damage or break a casting, I just make another one, and I can make an exact copy of any casting, or recreate almost any old engine.

The "iron club" is a phenomenal thing, and I hope to see many more hobby folks get into it.

When you couple 3D modeling and 3D printing/pattern making, then the sky becomes the limit on what someone can build.

These are exciting times for the hobby for sure.

Pat J

Edit:

I was also told that any iron castings I made would be full of defects, such as blow holes, hard spots, inclusions, etc.  This also was false.  Perfect iron castings that are easily machinable can be made on a hobby level.  There is no excuse for poor quality iron castings from any source.

Edited By PatJ on 08/01/2023 13:11:25

Edited By PatJ on 08/01/2023 13:18:03

That it's more satisfying to achieve what you're aiming for by finding another way of using a common tool, than by buying or making a specialist one.

I was gonna say "finding a new way of using…", but often we must reasonably assume that uncounted numbers of other engineers will've thunk the same thought before…

An Other, The trouble is with this hobby is that there nis 10ways of doing the same thing, it depends on your kit and skill level, keep at it, nice models by the way

Hi, Bernard,

I totally agree with you that there are multiple ways to do things – but somehow it seems that no matter which way one chooses, someone will tell you its wrong, or otherwise criticize it – there are many threads on this forum alone to testify to that.

I have no problem with constructive criticism, either, but nowadays it always seems to be used to 'score a point' – better to keep quiet and enjoy what I do, I think.

Drawbar MT4:
Something I learned from here is not to overtighten the drawbar on MT4 for your mill and then has to hammer it down to change out for another MT4 toolholder. So from this I went a step further and machined a handwheel innerside of an old circular saw about the size of a Singer Knitting machine handwheel, so I can press a socket in it, to hand tighten the drawbar with it, no spanner.

It works like a dream, no slip so far easy remova, just one tapl. I just remove the handwheel each time no problem.