MEW, ME, RCM&E and Model Boats under new ownership.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I always think of it as Hobby Engineers' Workshop or Amateur Engineers' Workshop… but the name is mainly just a link to ME and a lot of heritage/.tradition.

I doubt it actually puts many people off, it's the content that counts.

I'm afraid everyone will be devastated and disappointed by issue 315, it's going to have a Myford on the cover…

🤣🤣

Neil

[BazParticipant @baz89810]

Considering the amount of motorcycling titles Morton’s publish MEW could quite possibly be renamed Bikers Workshop,, that would leave ME and EIM, both of which seem to be struggling, so either merge the two into one decent magazine or leave one magazine for model engineering and have the other for modern technology, CNC, 3D printing etc that way all the luddites will be happy reading about turning handles and backlash and those interested in things operated by a computer wont be pi..img everybody off talking about G code etc. Maybe we will get a decent exhibition out of Morton’s, possibly a merger of EIM and ME, something which I believe should have happened years ago.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi Neil, well I'm not a Myford fan per se, but I do have a Myford M type of the Drummond fashion, although I haven't used it yet, bought it off a workmate some years ago as he was short of money to take himself and his family to Australia for a holiday where his wife's uncle lived.

Regards Nick.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

ME Workshop might not quite work, because M.E. is a debilitating chronic illness. Short for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Used to be called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in less enlightened times.

Back Shed Heroes sounds better to me. Modeled on Mortons' Back Street Heroes bike mag.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 06/04/2022 11:28:07:

I'm afraid everyone will be devastated and disappointed by issue 315, it's going to have a Myford on the cover…

🤣🤣

Neil

You might be looking for a new moderator next week.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Might get lucky and find it's a photo of Martin's CNC converted Myford and raise you one

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by JasonB on 06/04/2022 11:56:39:

Might get lucky and find it's a photo of Martin's CNC converted Myford and raise you one

Good one. Awaiting with baited breath.

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Just remember that for historical reasons, if Myford had not been around, many present modellers would not have had a suitable machine to work with. Bit different now of course.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by KWIL on 06/04/2022 14:01:53:

Just remember that for historical reasons, if Myford had not been around, many present modellers would not have had a suitable machine to work with. Bit different now of course.

The article in 315 is rather special – very much in the tradition of J A Radford and George H Thomas, both of whom found many ways to improve their Myford's. For example, it includes pattern making and castings, a high standard of work and good writing that should engage and interest all readers, not just Myford fans.

Neil

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Two magazines but only one pocket, and one that is getting shallower by the day. I could not afford both and after issue 300 I let my subscription lapse in December ! With times getting hard, how many more will give up ? Noel

[derek hall 1Participant @derekhall1]

I used to subscribe many years ago to ME, but let it lapse 20 odd years ago, I did take up an offer last year for a digital subscription but I am disappointed that it is almost completely dominated by endless loco construction series.

EIM, a magazine I also occasionally look at in the local newsagents to see if there is anything other than loco construction articles and there is generally even less of interest for me in that magazine.

MEW is becoming more dominated by CNC, electronics, CAD 3d printers and programming, none of which I am interested in to be honest.

I totally understand that you can only publish submitted articles and you cannot be something for everyone. It is difficult to please everyone.

The term "luddite", being used in this forum does seem to appear derogatory to those of us who wish to continue with manual machining – most of which are one offs…

Not sure what would be gained by joining EIM and ME, they have different publishers and wouldn't we just get a slightly larger magazine with even more locomotive construction series……?

Regards to all

Derek

[Jeff DaymanParticipant @jeffdayman43397]

Neil – you have a PM – cheers

[AlanWParticipant @alanw96569]

Posted by Graham Titman on 04/04/2022 18:34:24:

Hi Neil what will happen about the archive and for subscribers being able to access the archive and back issues will that stay the same?

Is this why the digital archive conversion of MEW is STILL stuck at issue 180?

[Bob WorsleyParticipant @bobworsley31976]

Remember the past. The New Model Engineer in the mid-50's, lasted less than a year? If it hadn't been for Edgar Westbury and LBSC then ME would have closed before the war.

Is CAD such a wonderful thing? Look at the drawings in the 50's and 60's. then at the start of CAD in the late 80's. Rubbish. Multi colour, lines so thick you needed the drawing to be five times the real size otherwise it all merged into a mess. It was a good way of filling a page for which there wasn't anything else to say, shortage of space, pah.

Going outside your area of competence. Thinking here of the influx of electronics in the 80's, by people who didn't know what they were doing. Look at Martin Cleeve, pillar tool chap, Tubal Cain, Jeynes corner etc for quality. Then these circuits where they couldn't do a circuit diagram, had lines joining at a crossover. Couldn't design, how many speed controllers without any pull down resistors on the transistor bases?

I would suggest that the way forward is to have constructional or instructional articles. Looking back over decades there is no value whatever in reviews of exhibitions, open days and similar. Also reduce the size of the magazine back to the early 60's, less waffle, also less 'continued on page 99'. Also reduce the adverts to only 1/8 page each, if you want more then hopefully there will be boring things like contact details, missing in many cases, where is an 07… mobile phone number? This will reduce the cost of the magazine to print and post, keeping the minimum print run to a lower number. On line archiving simply won't work, and not been here long enough to prove it, paper works. Merge ME with EIM, EIM had some good articles but rather short of pages per issue so a series went on for years. Go back to the 40's with LBSC and look at his articles.

There is the Boat Anchor Archive for electronics, want a similar one for drawings, mostly just scans from decades past, but could be paid for.

No doubt it all wants a huge shake up, another LBSC, got a lot of time for him after reading 30 years of his writings.

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

Bob's suggestions would instantly make me cancel my subscription, and not bother even looking at the magazine on the newsagent's shelf. Although reducing the adverts like that would mean that the magazine could no longer be produced.

I do page through ME when I see it, and rarely find anything to convince me to buy a copy.

Things have changed; all those pages of densely written text can be replaced by a couple of intelligently annotated photos.

Do we really need constructional articles repeating the same things for each new project? Especially when a forum build thread does it much better.

Does anybody really make the projects exactly as described? How do they acquire the same random junk to build them?

[Bob WorsleyParticipant @bobworsley31976]

Why?

A small advert is just as effective as a full page one, tht you see every issue and never read. If they are all the same then it will be accepted.

As LBSC realised, there are beginners, real beginners, out there and they need text, if you don't know what a screwed thrupple on the Boying valve gear is then a photo is useless. As always, if you don't know enough to ask a question then the old LBSC way works. Martin Evans did a series on beginners back in the 80's I think, and I didn't understand him. Look at the Model Steam Locomotive Construction book and see if you understand it, then ask someone in the teens or twenties who has had 15 years of education. The magazine is aiming at people over 50 in the most case, kids gone, got money, never held a file in their hand before.

I think that an ideal first project would be a Weir steam pump, LBSC has described several. It is small, cheap, looks good when working, won't take 5 years to build, will run from air and also a boiler comprising a 1/4" pipe with water in it and a gas lighter.

As for drawings, someone struggling with opening AutoCad – the professional choice? – on a different computer, sheet of paper works.

[David-Clark 1Participant @david-clark1]

One aspect of the change of ownership is the plans service. Will it transfer to the new owners or stay where it is?

Also what about older incorporated magazines like English Mechanics and magazines like Model6 Railways and Model Railway News?

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Derogatory or not, I class myself as a Luddite.

Lacking the understanding of electronics, but prepared use the end product, as on here, VFD, Digital calliper, etc.

I actually enjoy handwheel twiddling. I can see the nd product emerging (As you can with CNC ) but feel more that "I have made that".

Getting RSI to make it is less thrilling for me.

I am sure that here are cases where twiddling can deliver the end result, sooner, and possibly more accurately than CNC. In these cases for one offs, matching the new part to someting already existing.

For high volume production, CNC will be the way to go.

But we are hobbyists, in the main, not mass producers.

That should produce some high blood pressures and flak!

But each to their own. Mostly, we do it for pleasure.

Howard

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Posted by David-Clark 1 on 09/04/2022 10:50:46:

One aspect of the change of ownership is the plans service. Will it transfer to the new owners or stay where it is?

Plans service was sold off about 5yrs ago to Sarik, seem to be doing a decent job of keeping it going

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

I have never understood some peoples dedication to LBSC, he was a man of his time and his time has long gone. Whereas GHT will live for ever.

[Kiwi BlokeParticipant @kiwibloke62605]

I hope the new owners don't disrupt the magazine distribution team. Beth and her team have been fantastically helpful during the pandamic, and have ensured that I have a complete run of ME and MEW, despite the postal services failing to deliver several issues. Many thanks and a large bouquet to Beth et al!

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

Hi Neil i have just noticed that my subscription has been payed and it seems to have been to the old account is that a problem or will it be transferred to the new owners.

David George

[JAParticipant @ja]

Posted by David George 1 on 10/04/2022 12:37:21:

Hi Neil i have just noticed that my subscription has been payed and it seems to have been to the old account is that a problem or will it be transferred to the new owners.

David George

I paid my subscriptions over the phone to the Rite Time subscription office on Friday without any problems.

JA

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