Please may I join your Forum?

[Oven ManParticipant @ovenman]

Hello, my name is Peter and I live in Chesterfield in Derbyshire. I think I am more a hobby engineer than a model engineer but having followed the exploits of Ron Laden from the very beginning he has inspired me to have a go at building a simple model steam engine. I am building an engine based on the E-Z engine from homemodelenginemachinist.com. I enjoy making tooling and bits and pieces for my machines and it is surprising just how useful a lathe is to support all sorts of other interests. I acquired for a nominal sum a lathe and a pillar drill about 30 years ago when my employer was having a factory clear out. I knew nothing about them then but quite fancied learning. Doing a bit of investigation when I got them home I discovered I was to be the proud owner of a Myford Super 7 and a Fobco Star bench pillar drill. The Super 7 is 1959 vintage and I guess the drill is a similar age. They are both in remarkably good condition for 60+ years old! When I fully retired recently these were joined by a Chester V20 milling machine. Another current project is motorising the Z axis on the V20 with a stepper motor and Arduino. Similar to the article in the latest MEW but easier because the manual handle is on the side and the motor connects to the top of the leadscrew.

My background is electrical engineering and electronics though I have spent most of my working life around industrial electric ovens and furnaces. Having gleaned so much from this forum, hopefully I can contribute some thoughts on temperature related matters.

Best regards Peter G1UGL

[Oven ManParticipant @ovenman]

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

Hi Peter welcome to the forum. I don't live to far from you in Sutton in Ashfield and worked till recently in Chesterfield. You may have loads of information especially about making ovens for heat treatment etc and I am sure you have other skills as well. If you need any information just put a question out on here and you will get help.

David

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

Welcome along Peter.

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

Hello Peter and welcome to the forum. I'm just down the road from you in Mansfield. As you probably already know, if you have any questions at all you have but to ask.

Brian

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

Peter,

Welcome to the forum.

I too consider myself to be (much) more of a hobby engineer than a model engineer, indeed I have no interest in building models, but plenty of interest in simply learning how to use the tools on any job that might come my way – self-education by experimentation.

Simply, he says? With a hollow laugh! Is anything in the world of engineering simple? There is always something new to learn!

Anyway, welcome (again), and enjoy.

Peter G. Shaw

[Henry BrownParticipant @henrybrown95529]

Welcome Peter, a few radio hams on here!

73, de G0EMS.

[peak4Participant @peak4]

Hello from Buxton; I retired over here a couple of years ago from Sheffield;
Spent many happy hours working at the BT exchange in Chesterfield.
Bill

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

Hi Peter and welcome to the forum, out of interest who did you work for ?

H

[Oven ManParticipant @ovenman]

Thank you so much for the warm welcome.

Harry, I worked for a company called Carbolite Furnaces. When I joined them in 1968 they were based in an old mill by the side of the river Derwent at Bamford in the Hope Valley. It was a magic place! We had a fully operational stationary steam engine to play with. The company preserved it when all the cotton related equipment was removed. We used to run it on the last friday of every month and people came from far and wide to see it. We had steam turbine and big DC generators as well but these were not operational. And of course we also had to water turbines driving a 30kW alternator, it provided us with enough electricity during the 3 day week saga back in the early 70s. The company moved to a custom built factory in 1993 and the mill was turned into posh apartments. As far as I know the steam engine is still there but no longer operational, I was told they were struggling to find someone to look after it. I joined the company while I decided what I actually wanted to do and left 51 years later!

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Welcome Oven Man. Sounds like you had an interesting career. There is just something about steam power.

Steve.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the forum; it turns out I've got one of your products:

Very useful it's been too.

Andrew

[Oven ManParticipant @ovenman]

Andrew, Yes indeed. looks like a late 1970s model. You can tell the age from the serial no. – month and year then a sequential number for that year. We've still got the records of almost all the units we have ever made since about 1960.

Peter

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Welcome to the Forum, from another hobby engineer, rather than a Model one!

As an aside, G0EMS sounds like an early QSL! Or are RSGB going round the alphabet a second time?

In the fifties, our art master was a "ham" with the call sign G3NA

Howard, a long lapsed RS

[Anonymous]

Posted by Oven Man on 18/02/2020 22:25:31:

Andrew, Yes indeed. looks like a late 1970s model. You can tell the age from the serial no. – month and year then a sequential number for that year.

Thanks for that; furnace number looks to be 9/82/1050, so just into the 80s.

Andrew

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