Table of contents for Issue 4753 in Model Engineer

Martin Evans can be contacted on the mobile number or email below and would be delighted to receive your contributions, in the form of items of correspondence, comment or articles. 07710-192953 MEeditor@mortons.co.uk Rebirth of a Club The Saffron Walden and District Society of Model Engineers (swdsme.co.uk) was founded in 1982, over 40 years ago, and for many years occupied a site at Audley End House, by courtesy of Robin Neville, Lord Braybrooke. This was a symbiotic relationship as, in return for use of the site, the club helped out with the maintenance and running of Lord Braybrooke's 10¼ inch gauge railway that runs through the nearby woods. Visitors could take a ride on the 'big' railway and then another ride on the 'small' 7¼/5 inch gauge railway next door. This…

My name is Freya and I am now 10. I joined the Young Engineers in 2022 so I was 9 when I started and Nelly was my first project. I looked on the computer and found several helicopters. I picked out a simple one and saw how they are made and then copied one to make Nelly. Patrick won't work out what we have to do. He makes us work it out for ourselves but he does help. He said that Nelly would be far too heavy to fly but I still made the rotor on the tail and the propeller on the top spin using radio controls. Patrick found some pieces of pink hard plastic foam and we decided to cut the body from this. It is very easy…

POSTBAG Views and opinions expressed in letters published in Postbag should not be assumed to be in accordance with those of the Editor, other contributors, or Mortons Media Group Ltd. Correspondence for Postbag should be sent to: Martin R. Evans, The Editor, Model Engineer, Mortons Media Group Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR F. 01507 371066 E. MEeditor@mortons.co.uk Publication is at the discretion of the Editor. The content of letters may be edited to suit the magazine style and space available.Correspondents should note that production schedules normally involve a minimum lead time of six weeks for material submitted for publication. In the interests of security, correspondents' details are not published unless specific instructions to do so are given. Responses to published letters are forwarded as appropriate. Club…

Unfortunately for the Royal Enfield Sales gurus, their latest creation - the Model 201, designed in 1913/14 - was offered to a public, somewhat preoccupied by other matters, in early 1915 - oh dear! This was a dreadful pity because the 201 was way ahead of its time. Royal Enfield offered all chain drive - two speeds-a free engine - AND a kickstart. Royal Enfield, like almost all engineering manufacturers, were heavily involved in war production and faced difficulties in buying materials and components so they were in trouble by 1915. They were then forced by the Government to cease civilian motorcycle production completely in 1916. Royal Enfield made motorcycles for the military but specialised in sidecar outfits. The open sidecar carried a Lewis machine gun and ammunition. The combination,…

It has been brought to my notice that 16swg CR4 steel plate is no longer available, even though I have specified it in a lot of my laser cut parts. It is only a few thou short but it may mean that some of the slots may not be such a good fit for the tabs. It is such a convenient thickness being 1/16th inch. I have had some parts which are almost 6 thou undersize. I am hoping that at least if the pieces in your kit are cut out of one sheet, then at least they will be uniform. The other slight problem is that the overall thickness means that your frames may be a little undersize. We now come to the smokebox saddle and I can't help…

Rotational motion We have just dealt with linear motion but the same principles apply to rotational motion, the equations being similar in form. With linear motion, for a constant mass, we can express a force in terms of mass times acceleration: For a point particle the corresponding equation for rotational motion is: Where τ is torque, I is the moment of inertia of the particle about the axis and α is the angular acceleration. When examining rotational motion we cannot use the mass of an object as a measure of inertia, i.e., its resistance to acceleration. The inertia of a rotating body is expressed in terms of the moment of inertia, the determination of which we shall look at later. Projectiles As mentioned earlier, velocity is a vector quantity, i.e.,…

Pen and Sword,2024 ISBN 978-1-39904-979-5 184pp, hardback, £25 A welcome and different book about ocean liners. Many other titles concentrate on the first class accomodation in luxury liners though that provision was never the whole story of trans-Atlantic and other ocean travel. Anthony Burton describes the history of ocean shipping from the sail age through the development of steam ships to the cruise liners of today. Unlike some other authors he gives attention to engineeering developments, shipbuilding improvements and the role of American shipping firms in trans-Atlantic service developments. The author makes it clear that Brunel's Great Western and Great Britain were revolutionary in developing ships for long distance steamship services. Until they appeared no-one seriously thought steam could cross the Atlantic but Brunel's vessels inspired other makers. Unusually, coaling…

My visit to the Borrowash track site of the Erewash Valley Model Engineering Society coincided with their 50th Anniversary so it was a good time to meet the members and enjoy the occasion with them; they had really pulled out all the stops to mark this excellent achievement. The track site is located in a very discreet area of an existing housing estate and as such the members here have a few restrictions imposed on their operations but, nevertheless, they have created a fine site with a very good track layout (photo 1). On arrival my wife and I were given a really warm welcome and introduction to many of the members; it was if I had known them all my life and we quickly felt part of the club.…

The trials (and tribulations not over) After now over three years of mostly enjoyable and satisfying work I am looking justifiably (well I think so) proudly at something I had designed and made, unpainted but ready to run. Just how wrong can you be? The truism of pride coming before a fall was roaring down the tracks at me and I was blissfully unawares. Leufortin 1 goes up on blocks, fuel goes in, system primed by pulling starter with finger over exhaust, air filter oiled, fully charged batteries for receiver, servo checks completed and fully charged glow plug heater fitted. Pull the cord and it will start. No! This engine would not start. Glow plug checked. Looked fine with bright white/orange glow from filament. Turned locomotive over and drained all…

October 2 Bradford MES Meeting: 'Bits and Pieces', 19:30, St James' Church, Baildon, BD17 6HH. Contact: Russ Coppin, 07815 048999. 2 Leeds SMEE Talk– Derek Rayner, 'South African Steam Safaris', Darrington Golf Club, 19:00. Contact: Judith Bellamy, jabellamy29@gmail.com 3 Cardiff MES An evening with Tony Bird. Contact: secretary@cardiffmes.co.uk 3 Sutton MEC Bits and Pieces evening 20:00. Contact: Paul Harding, 0208 254 9749 4 Rochdale SMEE Models Competition Night. Castleton Community Centre, 19:00. See www.facebook.com/RochdaleModelEngineers 6 Bradford MES Public Running Day. Members from 11:30, public from 13:30, whatever the weather, Northcliff. Contact: Russ Coppin, 07815 048999. 6 Guildford MES Small Model Steam Engine Group, 14:00-17:00. See www.gmes.org.uk 10 Cardiff MES Bring and buy. Contact: secretary@cardiffmes.co.uk 13 Cardiff MES Open Day at Heath Park, Cardiff. Contact: secretary@cardiffmes.co.uk 13 Sutton MEC Track Day…

With interior walls finished and exterior landscaping complete, we return to the story for the final time as the author readies his shed for its intended purpose. Oh, happy day! I beg your pardon? Spatter, Barstock, Castors and Rust; it sounds like a firm of accountants you'd be wise to avoid, doesn't it? But rest assured, bemused Reader, for with the shed complete and a paved access route enabling it to be filled with workshop, this is simply my perverse way of introducing four parting tips before I wrap up this series of Butterside Down and head downstairs to plan my next project which may one day appear in these pages. Time will tell. Anyway, since it's first on the list let's begin with spatter; a messy subject familiar to…

We can all remember buying our first lathe - the cost, availability and suitability for what was the intended use. I have to go back 60 years in the era of NSU Wankel engines and a rotary idea of my own that I wanted to build. Previously, I had gained a degree in civil engineering from Manchester University. Part of the course was a one-week secondment to the then-called Manchester Technical College (now part of the university). During the week, we were instructed in machine shop work and briefly handled a milling machine, lathe and gear cutter. So purchasing a lathe three years later I felt unphased by its use. After all, I had some training and I reasoned - how hard could it be? I needed for my purpose…

Model Engineers Laser Practicalities There's a lot of useful guidance in the Rob Roy book and I recommend it. There are also, now, plenty of other 'how to do it' books, too, but I have some of my own ways - for better or worse, as you will see. I will primarily (but not exclusively) be using imperial units as per both the original and Rob Roy. When scaling down a GWR general arrangement drawing dimensioned in feet and inches using a factor of 16 you'll not be surprised to hear that many of the dimensions come out reasonably well in fractional inches units. Raw material will be mentioned in whatever size is most available from our suppliers and I note that imperial sized bar is still commonplace but sheet…

CLUB NEWS My electric locomotive, Deborah, and its driving trailer are now more or less complete, having been fitted with a sprung, quick-release chair (NOT an ejection seat!), horn, brake, emergency stop feature, front axle restraint and some marble slabs to aid traction. I have encountered a phrase in the model community, that the last 5% of a project takes 95% of the time, and I wholeheartedly agree. In this case, the model was built without any plans or drawings but it just 'growed', as in auxesis, like Topsy. Materials were obtained aus gefunden, or to put it another way objets trouvés, over a period of about 5 years, in between writing this column, following my amateur radio pursuit and enjoying my retirement. I do enjoy the occasional recommendation to…