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Moder Meccano

This topic has 11 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 31 January 2024 at 13:13 by Michael Gilligan.

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29 January 2024 at 15:46 #710676
Bill Dawes
Participant
@billdawes
Having bought my 7 year old grandson a Meccano set for Christmas he said he needed some help which I was of course keen to offer, he is I should add an absolute wizzard with lego, even stuff well over the supposed age range.

My first impression was disappointment that it was mostly plastic. Having been some 70 years since I had my beloved Meccano set I was certain that the fixings would now be metric, M4 or something like that, tried those and none fitted, same with BA, surprised to find out that they are apparently 5/32″ Whit.

Are metal components still available, I saw plenty of them at the Midlands ME exhibition last year.

Maybe we will see a revival of steel in view of current campaign to reduce use of plastics.

Bill D.
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29 January 2024 at 19:38 #710722
Bazyle
Participant
@bazyle
There were some useful links on a topic a couple of weeks ago on Meccano. Find the search option on the main forum page.
Introduce your grandson to hand drilling with some strips of plastic (offcuts of black plastic gutter from a skip) which you have marked out at the half inch spacing and pre-drilled with a smaller drill say 3mm. Have him deburr with a rose countersink mounted in a handle so that he has to put some time and effort into it.

Then he can proudly build his own parts into his next model.
29 January 2024 at 19:47 #710725
Mike Hurley
Participant
@mikehurley60381
Metal Meccano was super for prototyping all manner of things & have many happy memories from my childhood. Did you happen to see the last Repair Shop Christmas special? One great humourus item was a joke mechanical cake that moved and had various mechanisms to amuse – built many years ago by someone’s uncle and I was very impressed by the complex array of Meccano gears, drive chains etc packed in so cleverly. I doubt many people would be able to create such complex automata these days without servos and micro processor controllers.

If you didn’t catch it, it’s on the internet – well worth a few minutes viewing. Regards Mike
30 January 2024 at 16:13 #710832
old mart
Participant
@oldmart
There will be quantities of older Meccano available on ebay,if you don’t mind giving him secondhand stuff. Back in about 1957, I was at a jumble sale with my mother and she bought me a suitcase full of Meccano which still had some paint on it. She was very strong and lugged it home about a mile.
30 January 2024 at 16:28 #710835
Grindstone Cowboy
Participant
@grindstonecowboy
Not sure of the age of my Meccano – it was my father’s so I’d guess he had it early 30s but it may not have been new then, and it’s all silver, no other colours like I’ve seen everywhere else.

Rob
30 January 2024 at 19:50 #710877
Howard Lewis
Participant
@howardlewis46836
Wish that I had never got rid of my Meccano (Effectively more than a No 10 plus various motors), but son was not interested.

It was a splendid way of learning, without realising it; and exercising inventiveness and ingenuity.
30 January 2024 at 20:21 #710889
V8Eng
Participant
@v8eng
Metal parts can be still be obtained, suppliers and clubs readily available in the uk and a quick search will find them.

As others have said eBay can be a source.
31 January 2024 at 10:35 #710971
Graham Meek
Participant
@grahammeek88282
On 30 January 2024 at 19:50 Howard Lewis Said:

Wish that I had never got rid of my Meccano (Effectively more than a No 10 plus various motors), but son was not interested.

It was a splendid way of learning, without realising it; and exercising inventiveness and ingenuity.

Hi Howard,

You are not alone there, I did exactly the same, but recently I have had a hankering to go back. Parts and sets being readily available on Ebay I am slowly regaining my No10 outfit.

I know I would not be where I am today if it was not for Meccano. Who would have thought it would have spawned the Myford Dials, and various screw cutting clutches.

Regards

Gray,
31 January 2024 at 11:24 #710981
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
Like so many things … the modern Meccano is a shabby pastiche of the original idea.

Product Improvement (sic) has led to cheaper, flimsier, manufacturing and ever-decreasing value-for-money as a purchase.

Well-intentioned purchases by nostalgic grand-parents inevitably lead to disappointment, because ‘creative play’ has changed out of all recognition.

Against those hard facts … A question:

Is there a market for a genuinely better product … interchangeable with the classic Meccano, but made from [say] laser-cut Stainless Steel ?

The range could become increasingly sophisticated, but should always remain ‘backward compatible’

MichaelG.
31 January 2024 at 12:08 #710985
Graham Meek
Participant
@grahammeek88282
Hi Michael,

I agree with your comments entirely, but I think todays children are not being taught to think creatively. From what I have heard from my Granddaughter it is more a selection of tick boxes for the correct answer these days.

I well remember how we were taught the value of Pi. We went into maths class one day to find on our desks were a selection of tins and a piece of string. We were asked to get a relationship between the circumference and the diameter, as a fraction. A little later on we were asked what our answers were. 22 over 7 was the largest number of answers.

It was a similar experience when we learnt Log tables and slide rules which we made from cardboard.

Today well it is on the calculator or the computer. Yes it is probably to a higher decimal point, but where is the fun in the finding it out for yourself.

By the way I have an idea for a CV joint for the Meccano System. Based on the traditional Universal coupling dimensions, but more affordable than the Meccano UJ, as I can make these.

Regards

Gray,
31 January 2024 at 12:31 #711003
Howard Lewis
Participant
@howardlewis46836
The marvellous thing about Meccano was that each set contained an almost infinite number of toys that one could make. A lorry would be followed by a crane, and then a roundabout, or whatever came to mind, and the problem soving that was entailed.

As Gray says, creative thinking is not encouraged, innovarors and inventors are viewed with suspicion.

And yet we applaud “Thinking outside the box”, presumably because so few now do!

Howard
31 January 2024 at 13:13 #711009
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
On 31 January 2024 at 12:08 Graham Meek Said:

… By the way I have an idea for a CV joint for the Meccano System. Based on the traditional Universal coupling dimensions, but more affordable than the Meccano UJ …

That sounds very promising, Gray … Will you be in a position to share the constructional details, either here or in MEW ?

I, for one, would certainly welcome it !

… the list of possible uses is rising exponentially

MichaelG.

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Ref. __ https://www.meccanoindex.co.uk/Drawings/Pdisp.php?

Nmbr=341&Co=G&id=1684670682
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