Simple – Stop posting twaddle.

If you can't see it, measure it, or make it, then don't post it.

.

1. Stay on-topic
2. Provide a decent search facility

MichaelG.

Who decides who the experts are? Just go on no. of posts, or prizes won, or just people you already know, or what? This is a serious question by the way.

The "right choice" for a person depends on their own ability and equipment and the right answer matches that, sometimes, people quote things which aren't wrong, but they don't apply to the particular scenario or rule set.

The inability to edit post's is poor too, on other forums, the OP can take 2 or 3 of the first posts "for future" and compile/update his or her findings in there following completion of solving of the problem, so the first follow up thread, contains what they found to have done the trick for that scenario.

Industry has accepted standards and this is helped through the machinery they use being relatively standard as well

Hobbyists have a huge variation in both tooling and facilities which makes accepted procedures etc more difficult

The Yahoo sites were probably the best solution because they could address an individual hobby machine and deal with its particular foibles

Agreed completely. it doesn't have to be a photo – a bit of preamble helps as well "when i made my first loco…" or "when I was setting up my lathe…" gives a bit of background to help judge the validity of the rest of the answer.

Rod

This forum is no different to many in that standard members have a set time in which to edit their post after which they cannot gain access again.

As for posting feedback on what worked for them in a lot of cases you are lucky to get a thankyou, thats if they even show their face again as many just seem to post the once and are not seen again.

J

Seeing the same question posted duplicating previous posts does tend to illicit sometimes terse/teachy responses…
We are but human.
If we start to “qualify” responders then we might get no replies to a given post.

One thought..anyone using the Internet in any form be it forums or youtube or someones personal website..has to do the “b.s” detect and the “would that work for me/my equipment” decision. …
Good luck

I think that for all the beginners questions I've asked, I have done a fairly thorough search of this forum and the web before asking. But, it is a credit to the members of this forum how many times they are asked the same question that has been asked many times before and largely they still respond helpfully.

Gary

Well I've been doing (what I think of as) Hobbyist Engineering for about 20 years now and I still don't consider myself an "Expert" . There are clearly people here who are though, probably because they do/did some form of engineering for a living, whereas I never did.

What I do have is quite a bit of 'experience' and a fair range of machine tools collected (accumulated?) over a long time. Nearly all of it is pretty old, well past it's prime and none of it cost too much. So if I see a question that is in an area where I have some of that experience, then I will generally chip in. Normally this is in relation to the machinery I have or the type/size of models that I make. But I also think herein lies the problem.

Everyone has different expectations (quality, budget, time) and levels of experience within their own spheres of interest. If you build 7.25" locomotives (or restore cars, repair clocks etc.) then your expectations and experiences will be very different from mine ( I build in Gauge 3). As I've mentioned, my machine tools are pretty old and need, shall we say, a high level of sympathy but I've learned to live within their limits. In this respect, I can probably claim more 'experience' than those with newer/better machinery when the question specifically involves some kind of older machinery & their related problems.

My tooling of course also effects how I approach my modelling and I prefer many "obsolete" work methods (to some newer ones) either because they suit my machine capabilities or sometimes simply because they are more affordable (e.g. cheap!). I accept that they might not always be the absolute best/most modern way but the key thing here is that they meet my particular needs and equipment.

I will admit that I do occasionally get a bit peeved when people are dismissive of these methods and/or older machines, probably because their actual experience lies elsewhere in different or newer types of machinery, larger or much smaller sizes of work or perhaps industrial practice. It may well be that they are perfectly correct, that their way is the best/fastest/most efficient and I'm certainly interested in hearing about these alternatives. But there may be good reasons that I can't (or won't) use them and it might well be that others here share my needs in this respect..

So whilst there are clearly some here who really are "experts" within their own fields, they may not have as much 'experience' in some things as others (who are undoubtedly less expert). I feel this is often where any conflict/confusion in the advice being offered arises.

There's no particular solution to this issue, although once in the (distant) past when I saw something that I thought was particularly misleading, I will admit I contacted the OP directly and told him so (and explained why). Generally though, most of the advice given here is very well intentioned and (I'm sure) also generally helpful to the OP.

Regards,

IanT

Similar to IanT, when I post a reply, it is almost always due to either personal knowledge and experience, ie how many Warco 220/Mashstroy C218T lathes are there out there, or as a recommendation of where to find relevant information, ie books etc.

Again like IanT, I have been doing this for 20+ years, and it is still all experimentation so when I say, for example, that I use a modified parting off tool to Len Mason's design it is because I have built it and it works for me.

I'm no expert, far from it but I have learned that there is no such thing as a silly dumb question if you do not know the answer or do not know how to find the answer (and that is probably the most important point – knowing where to find the answer).

I certainly remember my early days, and having to ask, would you believe, a ME colleague at work what a milling machine was! I am now the not-so-proud owner of a pile of Chinese junk masquerading as a milling machine.

And yes, I completely agree with Laurence B, we are all still learning, it is just that some are further up the curve than others (me in particular). Mind you, these days I keep being surprised at just how much I have learned over the last 20+ years.

So let's all be tolerant of people asking the silly dumb questions, I was once (still am) one of them.

Regards,

Peter G. Shaw

In my experience, the better responses come not from 'experts' especially not self-promoted experts, but from people with two characteristics:

1. A good practical knowledge of the topic backed by some understanding of relevant science etc – and

2. The ability to stand in the shoes of the beginner when explaining a solution, adding notes to explain technicalities, and without being patronising either.

After reading a few posts, I think I get a good impression of those among you who fit into both these classes.

Cheers, Tim Stevens – self taught (but a teacher for 20 years, too)