Newbie from south africa

[otto breytenbachParticipant @ottobreytenbach25458]

Hi there, very interested in model engineering just not sure where to start, Got handed a couple of MEW magazines that led me here.

[Andrew CrowParticipant @andrewcrow91475]

Hello Otto, welcome to the forum, the first thing you probably need to do is decide what you would like to make which to some extent will determine what equipment you will need. If you want to build a 5 inch gauge South African Railways Beyer Garrett you will need some pretty hefty machine tools. However, if your building in Gauge 1, bench top machines would suffice.

Whatever you decide on, practice by making some simple tooling first to get the hang of things before trying to machine expensive castings etc.

There are plenty of people on this site to offer advice on making most things.

Andy.

[Joseph Noci 1Participant @josephnoci1]

Welcome to the Forum ! Where are you located in SA Otto? I spend my days between Swakopmund and Cape Town..In CT at the moment.

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Welcome to the forum Otto. As Andrew has said, it depends on what you want to make and what gear you have along with what you know. This latter point is where we come in, there is a vast fund of knowledge here and we will try to help where we can. Don’t be too ambitious to start with, better to be pleased with a well made simple item than disappointed with a complicated failure. I have a soft spot for the Beyer – Garratt locos found on your continent. Best wishes.  Noel.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Welcome aboard, Otto.

Neil

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Welcome to the Forum!

A vast fund of experience hiding here, on all sorts of subjects.

Once you have defined your vision of what you want to make (Could be anything, A locomotive of one of the standard gauges, Ditto Traction /Road engine, Stationary steam engine, stationary I C engine, workshop tooling or whatever)

The scale / size that you choose will have an effect on what machines and tooling you buy.

As Noel says, don’t rush. Make yourself familiar with the machines and your and their capabilities.

Make you mistakes (You will, as you learn) on relatively cheap and easily replaced material.

A scrap bit of mild steel will be cheaper and easier to replace than some part of a locomotive kit, in both cost and time.

But you will have a lot of enjoyment and job satisfaction along the way. AND you will discover lots of jobs that you can do, or things that can be made, in the process, discovering just how versatile a machine tool can be.

Things that used to be damaged beyond repair, or weak designs, can now be repaired/improved beyond the original.

The world is about to become your oyster!

Howard

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