Hi all.

I don't think I've written an introduction yet, though I've made a few posts in the forums, so here's a brief intro so you might know little more about who I am.

I'm 43 and I live in County Durham in North East England. I work for a local Fire Service as their Equipment Technician, and before that I was an operational Firefighter, a Vehicle Mechanic, and various other things. As a child I took mechanical things to bits, played with Lego, Airfix, Meccanno, Hornby trains and so on. Pretty standard stuff. Later on I got into Tamiya R/C buggies and then model aircraft, followed by motorbikes (and girls of course)… so I've always had an interest in things mechanical. Since having our two boys I have been looking for a hobby that keeps me closer to home, (and in the warm and dry) so I am just starting out in model engineering. I'm enjoying it very much.

I love steam engines, railways, ships, aircraft, industrial history, civil engineering, architechture, science, good design and simplicity. I hate cars and I loathe driving. I tolerate computers.

I have a hobby room in a converted attic room, and the door to that place is where the modern world ends. It is my escape from the pressures of modern life, so in there it's quiet, calm, and decidedly low tech. There is nothing with a digital readout, no internet, no phone, no circuit boards, no electronic gadgets, just a bench I built myself, an anglepoise light, my little lathe, my tools, and a small but growing collection of things I've built. My aim is that when I enter my hobby room it's like stepping back 70 + years in time. I have some good quality hand tools, an ancient Adept lathe, and I'm slowly building my tools and my experience on small projects and learning basic skills. I'd like a bigger lathe soon… I still play with Meccanno, Airfix kits, model railways and little steam engines. Happy days.

Thanks all. Nice to hear your comments. Part of my enjoyment is 'handicapping' myself so that making things are a challenge like the impecunious model engineers of old had to face, such as using the Adept. I particularly admire the spirit shown by those who lived through the austerity years, making something from nothing. (By the way, if anyone has the dimensions of the Adept drive plate I'd like to know as I need to make one).

cheers chaps.