Discussion on the Future Direction of Model Engineer and Workshop

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

The home shop machinist seems to have been taken. (i also subscribe to it).

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

I used to take this excellent magazine, which had a proper title:

Yes, a real magazine, quite highbrow, and not a joke.

[JasonB]

On JasonB Said:

I have known of this for a couple of days and will add my thoughts later.

In the mean time it would be useful if any respondants could say if they subscribe to one or both titles, if they have let their subscription slip or if they just use the forum and don’t subscribe.

Mortons messing up again?
The last few days I have only visited the forum briefly and whilst I noticed this thread starting I only read the first few posts. Tonight I started reading from the beginning and did not get far before I realised that it has all the hallmarks of another Mortons fiasco.

Jason requests respondants (AKA participants?) to tell Mortons (via this thread) whether they subscribe to ME, MEW or ME and MEW. whether their subscription/s have slipped, or they just use the forum.

Its not clear (but it might become so when I read the rest of the thread) how this information posted into this thread will be collated or disected and what purpose it will serve. As I see it, it would be an completely pointless exercise purely because Mortons are already in possession of who does and who does not subscribe, they also know the details of forum users.

I have only purchased the odd issue of ME but have subscribed to MEW almost since its inception and have kept up my subscription (despite only a few of the recent issues containing much that interested me) but I felt that as I was using the forum, I should support it.

As it happens I decided to cancel and issue 346 was the last one I received. I will now wait for the new combined mag to appear in the newsagents and take out subscription if I like what I see.

I’ve left it too late tonight to read the rest of this thread, will catch up tomorrow.

Ian P

 

[LukerParticipant @luker]

A number of posters have mentioned that they are not interested in construction series. I understand the point of view of not being interested in building a specific model; but conveying novel methods in a construction series makes new ideas more palatable, simply because, it’s been proven, and clearly works. Having said that, I personally don’t like step for step construction series. Anything longer than 16 parts for an engine is pushing things a little. For the readers that glossed over some of my construction series you would have missed…

How to make any round sealing fitting seal perfectly, including clacks, safety valves etc. New methods for constructing live steam injectors, a new alloy that outperforms LG, methods for 3D printing and using those patterns for casting. Various casting methods suitable for the home workshop; including home-made noculants etc. Makers plates (name plates and even motorcycle badges) etched using a cell phone charger. New methods and materials for construction of live steam boilers. You would have also missed different methods for designing live steam engines using modern engineering techniques, which differ considerably from the old school designers.

Contributors that have the necessary skills, time and expertise to design and innovate in this hobby and then still take the time to do a write-up should be cherished. Considering the pittance that gets paid for articles submitted; if they decide to move onto something more rewarding, it will be very difficult to get them back.

Neil; best of luck with the new publication, I wish only success!

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

My reason for asking was so that I and possibly Neil and other forum members would know what the posters were talking about. Often you see a comment I gave up my subscription but they don’t even say if it was ME or MEW. It will also affect peoples opinions of what is in the mag if they have not read one for the last 10years. Also I would say that more weight should be given to those that currently subscribe as I feel more are likely to continue with a mag that has content they want that others taking out a subscription on the chance it has improoved enough for them to want to do so.

Mortons did not cross my mind when I asked and I doubt they will have much say over content.

Not sure if we can even use it as an excuse to blame Mortons, to me they picked up a couple of titles that were loosing money as they would not have been sold off if the old publishers were making good money from them. The merger is an attempt to keep the titles going rather than loose them both.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

The cynic in me wonders how many of the abandoners have ever actually written even letters – which can offer small but useful additions to articles –  to either magazine.

We do though have to consider that glossy magazines for any hobby are not cheap, although a subscription is cheaper than shop prices, and this can be an important consideration for many people… and not just we of the Worshipful Company of Bus-pass Holders & Drummond Treadlers, either.

I have dropped membership and with it, automatically its learned journal, of one technical association largely because I could no longer justify it despite my interest, especially as I was not an active contributor to its field or the journal, anyway. I am considering not renewing my subscription to another glossy. These are outside of model-engineering, but there is anyway only so much anyone can do or afford for our hobbies and I want to put more into model-engineering – my main hobby since my teens.

So I will continue my subscription to ME and look forwards to seeing how it turns out.

….

As for the future, the question of whether periodicals will inevitably all move to Internet publication (You-Tube as someone suggested? I sincerely hope not!) is by no means clear-cut. When instruments like the ‘Kindle’ and tablet PCs arrived, “everyone” who supposedly knows, forecast the end of real books; but if anything the book trade has flourished, with its greater danger being the loss of public libraries not rise of electronics. The newsagents’ shelves are still stuffed with brightly-coloured magazines, from “celebrity” tittle-tattle to genuine special-interests, and even if titles come and go the overall shelf acreage seems steady. So I don’t foresee the “end” of real paper and ink any time soon, even if commercial pressures kill or introduce individual magazines. The printing itself cares not for the title etc. That’s just images. What counts is sales, but in turn they reflect numbers of people holding the title’s interests.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Given the state of the current ‘GripTru’ discussion … I would suggest that the launch-issue of the new magazine might usefully contain a definitive guide, as some sort of benchmark statement.

MichaelG.

Ref. https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/topic/griptru-chuck-adjust/

 

[Ian Johnson 1Participant @ianjohnson1]

I subscribe to MEW, and an occasional contributor, I’ve got a few months until the end of the subscription,  and I’m looking forward to the combined magazine, hopefully it will have more content, not just big photos. Advertisers will also benefit from not having to choose which mag to advertise in.

Long drawn out build series get tedious very quickly, so my solution would be to ask the contibutor to compose big chunks of the build and publish them as a download.

Similar to binge watching a TV series.  A fee can be charged to download the file and the author will get paid. Leaving more room in the magazine for more varied content.

IanJ

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

Why have we two threads ruining with the same/siomilar title???

[bernard towers]

On bernard towers Said:

Why have we two threads ruining with the same/siomilar title???

.

Q.E.D.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, in my opinion, changing the name from Model to Home Workshop or anything else similar, would possibly kill the magazine off altogether. The title Model Engineer is well established throughout many countries, and moving away from that established well known name, could be its final downfall. Maybe it could be called Model Engineer & Home workshop, which might make it more in line with the old title of Model Engineer & Electrician, and that would hold onto its roots as well as a move forward. I think changing it to Model Engineer & workshop, may put some newcomers off, if they don’t actually have a workshop. Maybe the new combination could also have some “Novice” or Beginners Corner pages, where things could be explained in greater detail that they haven’t got the knowledge to understand some of the various techniques, that most of us probably know.

As I have been thinking of late, that I would give up on the Model Engineer Magazine, this combined magazine is welcome, as I’m running out of space to store them, and I was going to quite EMI. but they beat me to it, thankfully, and I got a little refund from my subs to them.

Regards Nick.

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Can someone give me dates when ME was called “Model Engineer and Electrician” ? Noel.

[Nigel Graham 2]

On Nigel Graham 2 Said:

The cynic in me wonders how many of the abandoners have ever actually written even letters – which can offer small but useful additions to articles –  to either magazine.

.

I have openly stated I am not renewing my subscription. This was a decision made some while ago and something which Neil had been made aware of long before this announcement, (which I first read on the Modelengineering web site). I have chosen to pursue a completely different hobby sphere. As an author of some 50+ articles I have contributed to MEW over the years. As well as HSM and EiM. My very first article was with ME back in 1976.

My last article which I sent in to Neil was FOC, but Neil has decided to pass these fees on to charity. Similarly my last articles to HSM have also been semi FOC. (One article paid for a subscription for a friend).

Thus before bold statements are made it would pay to do some ground work.

Regards

Gray,

[Ian HewsonParticipant @ianhewson99641]

As a so called “abandoner”, yes I have written letters in the past and sent an article that was lost by a previous editor.

Whether or not one chooses to write to a commercial enterprise is beside the point, if it hasn’t the content then I will not purchase it.

It is not up to me to keep a business, because that is what it is, afloat, it is only my hobby, not a life style.

Ian

[Model Engineer EditorModerator @modelengineereditor]

Hi Noel,

Model Engineer started as ‘Model Engineer and Amateur Electrician’ and continued with some variation of ‘electrician’ in the title (‘Amateur Electrician’, ‘Practical Electrician’ or just ‘Electrician’) until issue 886 (April 18th 1918). Thereafter, the title was just ‘Model Engineer’ but with occasional sub-titles (like ‘Light Machinery Review’). Oddly, though, the published indexes still contained the word ‘Electrician’ in the title for years afterwards.

Martin

[Mike HurleyParticipant @mikehurley60381]

I think a change like this had to come eventually. As has been noted a few times in this thread, the editor / publisher will have an uphill task trying to please everyone.

I wonder if they are aware of the age groups they will be aiming at? I honestly think the majority of the younger generation is already  ‘lost’ to magazines such as this, because few will have the attention span to follow long series builds as in the ME, and for much of the ‘newcomer’ content, or MEW’s content I feel a quick look at YouTube satisfies their needs (even if it’s wrong, misleading or plain dangerous).

There will always be exceptions of course , as there are sure to be some skilled younger folk out there, but, alas I think a minority now as far as good practical skills are concerned.

Mike

[Arthur Jones 2Participant @arthurjones2]

Hi all, and especially Neil,

There’s been some discussion on whether people are actually subscribers or just forum-readers.  Just to be clear regarding my post yesterday, I subscribe to both to ME and MEW (for several years now), having previously had problems with supply via my local newsagent over the years since re-engaging with model engineering in around 2013-14.  Before subscribing, I mainly bought ME over the counter but occasionally also MEW especially when the two titles were “bundled” together.  As I indicated, I’d been wondering whether to drop MEW but the decision has now effectively been made for me, and I certainly intend to keep going with ME&W unless it changes direction drastically.  But I have not (yet) contributed anything (though I have a possible article to write).

Sorry for not making my situation clear, and good luck to Neil in ploughing through the correspondence when he returns to reading it!

On a separate matter, Graham Meek’s excellent and ingenious contributions will be greatly missed by me.  Thanks for your hard work over many years, Gray.

Kind regards

Arthur

[OldironParticipant @oldiron]

I am a forum only user. I find that as I get older with failing eyes it is difficult to pick up a magazine for more than a couple of minutes. With the forum I can at least zoom the page to make reading easier. I am no longer making models but just use my workshop for “can you just” jobs and household maintenance.   I think the larger format of MEW magazine will suit subscribers better with larger photos etc.

[mgnbukParticipant @mgnbuk]

I have previously subscribed to both titles, first ME & then MEW from about Issue 2.

Also subscribed to both American publications HSM and MW, but EiM never had much attraction – picked up a few back issues & not enough interest to consider subscribing.

Dropped ME first. After MEW came along and ME content became more locomotive oriented there was not enough interesting content to make it worth the cost. The American mags went next – expensive to get to the UK and the content became less interesting over time – it was a multi-page article about machining a small simple model of a church from brass bits that was the final straw. Last to go was MEW around the mid-220 issue number. Tried again in the 300s but still not enough content to keep me on board.

Started again with both titles after the Mortons take-over – but only because Mortons have all their titles on the Readly platform that I subscribe to for various content and both ME and MEW came on there (with back issues up to when Mortons took over). And I can’t say much has changed. If anything ME has become less interesting, more loco-centric and heavily padde out with content of dubious relevance – I don’t usually find anything to stop to read flicking through it issue after issue. EiM was also on Readly and that was the same until it’s demise. Model Railway Engineer and Railway Engineering in Miniature would seem to have been more approriate titles given the overall tone and direction of both in recent years.

One suggestion would be to try and decide what the new combined magazine is – general interest or a glorfied club magazine. ME and EiM came across more as club magazines of the type I edited for a couple of years for a national one-make motrocycle club. Of interest to the membership, but not really more widely.

Hobby magazines that rely upon reader subitted articles are going to be a challenge for an editor to try to assemble into a something with a consistent outlook or focus – at least the likes of matorcycle magazines have press bikes to test or new model launches for something different each issue along the magazine’s themed lines and to keep staff journalists employed.

Print media seems to be struggling to maintain relevance in the modern world – too many alternative ways of getting a “fix” of relevant content now and mostly at no cost to the user. I used to really look forward to my Dad bringing me the latest issue of Airfix Magazine in the early ’70s, as that was pretty well the only game in town then. But now ? In previous visits to the US I was struck not only by by the breadth of coverage of specialist magazines on the news stands at airports but also by the quality of the publications on offer, but earlier this year I was stuck by the opposite. Very few publications and, in some sectors, no publications at all. There used to be 3 or 4 very good American motorcycle magazines, now there are non. The UK seems to be following along the same lines – last year there were 3 airgun related titles & now there is one (one closed with no notice  & 2 amalgamated). And in the latest issue of “the one” the full time editor appears to have been dispensed with in favour of a “guest” – how much longer before that goes ?

I don’t know what to suggest, beyond trying to offer a varied breadth of subjects and being a bit more ruthless at culling “padding” (some of the particularly “bad” columns in that regard have already been covered) that just appears to be there to fill pages.

Good luck ! Hobby related print media has been a large & mostly enjoyable part of my life for over 50 years now & I would be very sad to see it disappear.

Nigel B.

 

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Thank you Martin. I knew the original title, I have the first 3 years from 1898 but was not aware that the word Electrician had been used without some sort of prefix, and my collection picks up again about 1919 after the change to Model Engineer. Happy Christmas. Noel.

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Some random thoughts:

There are clearly plenty of people doing home engineering because the various suppliers seem to be making a living selling tools to them.

So, what are they making?  Several Youtubers have made Hemingway kits, even in the US.  Speak to Kirk, what are his best sellers?  Articles about making these with modern (Chinese) machines showing how to do the difficult bits might be attractive to readers.  Speak to Sarik.  What engineering specific plans are their best sellers (if any).  Again some of the old models could be remade using current ME tools.  What castings do Reeves and Blackgates sell?  This should give an indication of the sort of thing that people are making.

My experience of the ME club scene is somewhat limited but I found little interest in making locomotives or doing any machining (with the notable exception of you, Baz).  The gentlemen in the club were all very pleasant, mostly old and were railway enthusiasts rather than engineers.  The engine generally used on public running days was a 5″ 9F but that was a kit build.  I bought my castings for a Jenny Lind in 1987 and they are still castings!

I got into ME at a relatively early 25 years of age or so.  My heyday period was Tubal Cain and George Thomas in Model Engineer.  They explained the difficult bits with clarity and good reasoning.  TC’s and GHT’s books are still well thought of but are all compilations of articles originally published (mostly) in Model Engineer.  Similar work, again using modern affordable machinery, could gain a new audience.  TC in particular designed small engines and told us how to build them with useful explanations of techniques -the sort of thing that Jason does so admirably.

I suspect that tool making is still popular.  While many of the tools that I made over the last 40 years are available now from China, some are still only cost effective if made in the home workshop; cutter grinders being an obvious example but other things from the Hemingway catalogue are also not available ready made from ARC and their competitors.

CNC is a problem.  Milling machines that are robust enough for our purposes are no longer being sold to the general public – probably because they are too expensive and the after sales support is too onerous.  Home built machines however surely have a place in Model Engineer.  Jason, again, shows what can be done and this could encourage others to have a go if the equipment becomes available.  Perhaps there could be “The Model Engineer & Workshop CNC Mill” adapted using one of the UK suppliers of standard bits with support provided by the Forum.

One argument against what I have written above is that it has all been done before.  That is true.  But new readers will not have done it before and, anyway, that is the nature of publishing a magazine – it is all cyclical.  Possibly the editor could suggest topics to some of the more regular contributors – not exactly commissions but a gentle hint of what might be acceptable.

I used to subscribe to Model Engineer.  When MEW was introduced I ceased ME but eventually came to like MEW.  I tried an electronic subscription to ME recently but let it lapse after six months because it still did not attract my attention sufficiently to the justify the cost.  I liked the mix of the pre MEW Model Engineer and welcome the return to a single publication.

Neil, I wish you luck with the new project and will help in any way I can.

Merry Christmas,

Rod

 

[Ian Hewson]

On Ian Hewson Said:

As a so called “abandoner” …

Whether or not one chooses to write to a commercial enterprise is beside the point, if it hasn’t the content then I will not purchase it.

It is not up to me to keep a business, because that is what it is, afloat, it is only my hobby, not a life style.

Ian

Whilst Ian’s view is valid, I think this isn’t a straightforward business/customer contract.  Model Engineering has a symbiotic relationship with commerce.

It is very much in our interest that firms like Morton’s, ArcEuro, Warco, Amadeal, Noggin End and others survive and prosper.  Ditto semi-commercial entities like Clubs, especially those providing tracks and facilities.  Money has to change hands.

ME and MEW result from an overlapping pro/am cooperative.  Mortons Media Group profit (I hope) by selling magazines and hosting this forum, but the content is provided by Model Engineers, for Model Engineers.   Mortons make a few bob, whilst enabling Model Engineers who have both the skills needed to make stuff and then write it up to share with the rest of us!  Plus useful advertising.   The results are pretty good, certainly compared with amateur newsletters.   Only a BF would expect perfection from the arrangement, but on average it delivers, and the value is knowledge, not financial.

Entirely up to Ian how he spends his money, but Model Engineering will die if everybody follows his lead.

Dave

[Nicholas Farr]

On Nicholas Farr Said:

<snip>

Maybe it could be called Model Engineer & Home workshop, which might make it more in line with the old title of Model Engineer & Electrician, and that would hold onto its roots as well as a move forward.

<snip>.

Good suggestion Nick

Russell

[norm nortonParticipant @normnorton75434]

Yes to ‘Model Engineer and Home Workshop” as a name.

I have been a ME subscriber for many years. At one stage also to MEW and EiM but they did get cancelled.

I have had my loco re-build series published in ME a few years ago, and for me model steam is the core interest. I also like to read about other modelling activity whether that be clocks, aircraft, boats, lathes, CNC and tooling. I think a continual feed of the key technologies of measurement, steam engine parts (valves, etc.), electric power, materials, etc. will have broad interest.

Yes, some of the current ME content has become poor, without naming subjects. It lacks a sense of peer-review but with it becoming once-a-month, and a new broom, I will be interested to see any changes, and keep subscribing for a few years yet.

Norm

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

As I’ve said before, the name is important.  Think who we are trying to attract and imagine them standing in front of the magazine racks in Smith’s.  Anything with “Model” in the title will be hidden with a whole lot of mags on everything from model boats to airfix kits, and not near the front either.  What we need to do is get the Maker community reading the mag and see that they can really expand their capabilities.  They probably won’t buy it in Smith’s either, I don’t know what channels Morton’s use.

 

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