I’m Archie and new to the world of mechanical engineering. I have been retired a few years now – my past life was electrical engineering – and thought I needed a new challenge. It’s turning out to be very challenging indeed but great fun. The first thing I thought I would get is a lathe and was lucky enough to see one advertised on the ME classified page. I say lucky because I live in Edinburgh and the lathe was in Glasgow. It’s a 1958/60 vintage Myford Super 7 on an Industrial stand and is in very good mechanical condition. I’ve turned my summerhouse from a junk store to a workshop, created a concrete plinth for my lathe and have spent last winter dismantling cleaning, painting and rebuilding my pride and joy. I’ve recently been trying my hand at tool making – I think it is a skill still to be acquired, but I’m working on it – and been reading up on jigs. I have been doing lots of reading and found the Workshop Practice Series really helpful along with Ian Bradley’s ‘Myford Series 7 Manual’. My plan is to complete the projects in Harold Halls ‘Lathework a Complete Course’ – so that should keep me busy over this winter.

Other interests: I play bagpipes in a local pipe band – Haddington Pipe Band – and I’m a member of The Astronomical Society of Edinburgh. I have a small observatory (shed with a roll off roof) at the bottom of my garden so I’m hoping to make some useful bits for my telescope when I’ve completed my apprenticeship.

Hi George – pics are now up there – enjoy.

Archie