Starting out a young enthusiast

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

And a bit of further advice – read. Read anything and everything about model engineering. People are always giving away old back issues of ME or MEW. Doesn't matter how old, the principles don't change. Even reading the adverts is useful.

Rob

[Tim StevensParticipant @timstevens64731]

It might be helpful to give him an old clock and suggest he takes it apart and rebuild it. Best to use a weight-driven version, so no springs to unwind suddenly and never be seen again. A major advantage might be that work can be done in a bedroom, without power tools and without supervision, so he can make mistakes without too many grown-ups ever knowing. I've got the ideal candidate in my shed, so others – even in Lincoln – will have too.

Regards, Tim

[Dr. MC BlackParticipant @dr-mcblack73214]

Posted by Tom Sheppard on 26/02/2021 17:20:20:

A Myford will come in at a good thousand pounds these days but a Chinese mini lathe will be around half of that new and £300-350 used.

A used Taig/Peatol lathe will be a lot less than that!

They do come up on Ebay from time to rime.

And, if secured to a baseboard, can be put away in a cupboard.

MC

[Les AustinParticipant @lesaustin97176]

Agreed.

I’m currently part way through building Ellie the steam tram, and using a Taig (Peatol) lathe bought second hand some years ago. It seems to cope with everything required, and may be of use to Vivienne for crafting/jewellery work as well as small engineering for her son.

Certainly there will be a steep learning curve for both, but we all started at the bottom of that curve, and with help got to wherever we are now.

Good luck Vivienne, and Son!

Les (ex- motor mechanic, ex-clergyman!)

[Roger BestParticipant @rogerbest89007]

Posted by Vivienne Moss on 14/02/2021 19:48:03:

Hi everyone!

I'm a mum here seeking some guidance for how to help my son into building his own steam locos.

He's just turned 11. Has been steam mad since he 1st saw Thomas, and this interest has turned passion (he's a keen playing of train sim World and train sim)

I have enquired about him helping at our local heritage steam line but as expected insurance prevents this until he's older so I'm wondering if model engineeringay be a path to follow?

 

Can anyone suggest a good starting kit with good instructions? (That won't instantly bankrupt me)

He's reasonably bright (has thrown together the kego technic kand rover defender with no issues and no help) but both myself and his father ate creative and mechanically minded so happy to help and guide him where and when needed.

Thank you all!

Viv

Without a doubt the Wilesco kit is a great start, a Mamod kit is even simpler and more idiot proof but less flash. There are few build threads on the Unofficial Mamod Forum and lots of modified examples.

I like quick results, just like an 11 year old, so I like toy engines too, I can't recommend the fun of running one enough. If the exercise is successful then move on and up to more elaborate things.

various Wilesco kits

 

Edited By Roger Best on 29/03/2021 18:20:59

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

As a schoolboy we built something like this in our metalwork class, the can we used had a pop of lid so no great pressure was developed before the lid popped off. The turbine was made from a tinplate disc which simply had a ring of small holes drilled and then a cut made from the perimeter to each hole, the blades were then twisted to make a fan that could be blown by a jet of steam from the tin can boiler. The steam was directed by a small tube soldered into the lid. The end of the tube was squashed round a wire that was removed to leave a small jet. A U shaped support for the turbine disc was also soldered to the lid. The spindle for the fan is a short length of rod about 3mm diameter with a conical point on each end to run in holes in the U shaped bracket. The spindle is simply soldered in the centre of the turbine fan. The picture shows the general idea.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

It is a shame that schools do not seem to teach the same things that they used to. I went to a secondary modern which had metalwork, woodwork and technical drawing, all of which I learned.

[Jon LawesParticipant @jonlawes51698]

Posted by old mart on 30/03/2021 12:12:46:

It is a shame that schools do not seem to teach the same things that they used to. I went to a secondary modern which had metalwork, woodwork and technical drawing, all of which I learned.

They teach those things at my kids school, albeit CAD rather than technical drawing. I guess it rather depends on the school. That means we get the chance to pass on our skills.

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

My daughter left school several years ago when she moved to sixth-form college, but I still keep in contact with the place. As a Technology College it had up to date metal and wood working facilities, but these are being taken out and more computers are being installed because they are moving from CDT or Design Technology or whatever it is called this week to 'Engineering' which means a single CNC machine and a few 3d printers are being installed.

Not quite certain if that is to the benefit of the pupils or not. OK they are more likely to meet a CNC machine in the real world, but if they spend all of their time on a computer and the finished article pops out of a CNC mill like a coke can out of a coke machine, are they not missing out on what is actually happening?

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 30/03/2021 14:44:59

[Dr. MC BlackParticipant @dr-mcblack73214]

Posted by old mart on 30/03/2021 12:12:46:

It is a shame that schools do not seem to teach the same things that they used to. I went to a secondary modern which had metalwork, woodwork and technical drawing, all of which I learned.

They don’t have cookery, sewing or stuff like that either.

in fact, schools teach very little to prepare children for the “real world”.

When I was a schoolmaster, I told the children that they should pay attention to one particular day’s lesson because it could save their lives.

Readers may disagree but that lesson was how to wire a 13A plug.

Much more useful than knowing who won the first battle Barnet (and who came second), for example.

[Chris CrewParticipant @chriscrew66644]

Well, I suppose on one level that makes sense but we are not really supposed to wire 13amp plugs these days, that is why all new appliances now come with a moulded plug attached. I know we all do have to do it from time to time and hopefully the majority of us do it competently but I would put money on it that there will be some horror stories out there caused, for instance, by poor colour vision. An appliance will still work with the earth and neutral reversed because the neutral is earthed at the sub-station but any imbalance in the distribution could produce potentially fatal currents that could not be dissipated.

The domestic wiring regulations preclude any unqualified person, as I understand it, from doing much electrical work within our own properties, save perhaps taking a spur off a ring main or wiring a lamp. There two ways of looking at this. I am not a 'qualified' electrician, whatever that is supposed to mean but I have worked on and around electrical installations for most of my life, from 50V DC very high current equipment through to 415V AC three-phase distributions and consider myself more than well 'qualified' to undertake most installation tasks to the highest standard, although I could not 'certify' the work as being 'safe'. However, what may still be termed Part P regulations prevent me from doing much in my domestic environment unless I had the work independently tested and certificated.

I have to say that I probably agree with all the restrictions because, although I consider my workshop to be cabled and wired to a very high standard with an auxiliary consumer unit for double protection and all conductors contained in trunking and conduit etc. (all done prior to Part P so perfectly legitimate) I have visited some workshops that appear to be no more than electrical accidents waiting to happen. And this by men who I have considered way above me skill-wise. Bits of cable either twisted together and wrapped in insulation tape or strip connectors hanging over machines etc. or trailing extension sockets all over the place. Just for the sake of a few pounds being spent on doing the job properly and safely.

I know this could be a controversial subject for those who consider their workshop environment sacrosanct.

Edited By Chris Crew on 30/03/2021 20:11:43

[Jon LawesParticipant @jonlawes51698]

Their school also teaches them about finances, pitfalls with finance and such. Why oh why oh why can't they teach them something useful instead, like Latin, playing the recorder or how oxbow lakes are formed.

[Chris CrewParticipant @chriscrew66644]

I suspect that the teachers at the school I attended in the early 1960's  didn't have the best interests of their pupils at the forefront of their minds. I would hope that things are very different now.

Edited By Chris Crew on 30/03/2021 22:35:59

Edited By Chris Crew on 30/03/2021 23:13:38

[Dr. MC BlackParticipant @dr-mcblack73214]

Posted by Chris Crew on 30/03/2021 20:08:07:

Well, I suppose on one level that makes sense but we are not really supposed to wire 13amp plugs these days, that is why all new appliances now come with a moulded plug attached. I know we all do have to do it from time to time and hopefully the majority of us do it competently but I would put money on it that there will be some horror stories out there caused, for instance, by poor colour vision.

Edited By Chris Crew on 30/03/2021 20:11:43

This was in the 80s before moulded plugs were supplied on appliance.

The new colour scheme is intended to reduce the chance of wires being connected incorrectly.

I have found that moulded plugs have overheated in the past and had to replace them with MK Safety Plugs or MK Super Plugs.

I was teaching, at the time, some boys who needed to remove Shoes and Socks if counting above ten. I hoped that if they learned one thing from my (Physics) classes, it was how to wire a 13A plug.

[Dr. MC BlackParticipant @dr-mcblack73214]

Posted by Jon Lawes on 30/03/2021 21:23:46:

Their school also teaches them about finances, pitfalls with finance and such. Why oh why oh why can't they teach them something useful instead, like Latin, playing the recorder or how oxbow lakes are formed.

In retrospect (and hindsight is the most exact of all disciplines), I wish that I had been taught Latin (the language, a boy told me, spoken by dead Romans).

[Davey JParticipant @daveyj]

Good afternoon Vivienne, I have sent you an email about model engineer magazines. Cheers David

[Davey JParticipant @daveyj]

Morning Vivienne, I have sent you a personal message about ME magazines.

Cheers, David

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

Davey,

Vivienne may not be visiting anymore.

[Author]

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