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 with mostly manufacturing industry design and process experience. My hobbies have always revolved around my "do it yourself" workshop capabilities. First it was model trains, then hot rod and amateur race cars and finally in my retirement years back to model trains and tool building. I never ha "Pin It")
I thought I did an introduction already; but this old head sometimes forgets. I'm Ed Weldon, age 78. I'm a retired graduate mechanical engineer (NJIT 1962) with mostly manufacturing industry design and process experience. My hobbies have always revolved around my "do it yourself" workshop capabilities. First it was model trains, then hot rod and amateur race cars and finally in my retirement years back to model trains and tool building. I never have built pretty things. Just stuff that either works or doesn't, which leads to a second one that does work and may not look anything like the first. My first machining job was turning down the axles and making small parts out of steel nails and 22LR brass using a 1/4" electric drill for an HOn3 scale scratch built model locomotive.
In 1958 I bought a turn of the century(19th to 20th) cone head Leblond 12 " engine lathe with a face plate, 4 jaw and an enormous flat belt 1/2 hp 115 volt repulsion start motor. Brought it home in the cavernous trunk of my Mom's old Buick. I also bought my first gas welding setup that year. The end result was a Chrysler hemi powered 48 Ford, a good commuter car for college as long as I was gentle on the gas pedal.
That stuff slowed from time to time for career and family and got rolling again when I retired in 2002. I mostly buy used tools and have a pretty extensive shop; likely more than I need now I'm slowing down with age. Current projects are getting an old 6mm jeweler's lathe up and running, setting up 3 Taig lathes for model work, one conventional, one vertical as a mill/drill and the really interesting one, a horizontal Taig headstock and bed converted into a gear hobbing machine for tiny model train locomotive gears.
Like I mentioned before I don't make "pretty". In spite of the extent of my workshop resources I am not a highly skillled machinist. And much as I admire the various conventional tools other members make and display here I simply don't have the inclination to make something from scratch that I can buy cheaper like on eBay or at estate sales and can repair/repurpose. I much prefer creative solutions to beautiful workmanship.
Of late I've been trying to recover from the never-ending winter cold so my workshop and I miss each other a whole lot. I'm sorry that my current situation is such that I have not posted here yet. I probably have some useful commentary to offer on the forum pages until I can get out in the shop and take some photos. But if my participation turns out to be insufficient I'll accept your decision and go elseware.
Ed Weldon, Los Gatos, CA
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