Stepperhead feedback

[Alan JacksonParticipant @alanjackson47790]

In the thread “ME/MEW Articles” started by Andrew Johnston, Bazyle states :-

“Intersting (sic) that you are one of the authors. I think it would be nice if there was more obvious interaction between the mags and the forum. Perhaps with authors starting a thread associated with their article and having a special symbol against their name for 3 months after publication.”

As a big ‘user-upper’ of magazine space recently with my Stepperhead construction article would also like to have feedback/interaction. Making this large article and producing drawings etc. took considerable time and the reasons for doing this can be questioned. It is nice to be paid for the article although I am sure most people can earn much more money for a lot less time than doing this, I reckon I was working for less than the minimum wage, but then I am slow! Ego is one motivator although you are putting yourself up for ridicule if you make mistakes etc. I think my main motivator was the irritation of seeing the existing equipment available being less than what could be made available for the model/homeworkshop user. I know it is arrogant to express opinions without first justifying why, so that was why I designed and built my version of what machine I thought would better fit the bill. Without going into the various details that seem to prevail in available equipment, I do not think they cater to the best of the homeshop/model engineer purposes, it does seem that manufacturers seem to delight in not listening to the user‘s requirements. It is also quite eerie when, finally, an article is published for it to be met with a wall of silence, so it would be nice to know if one was on the right track or just a crazy dreamer tangled up with his own obsessions. So Andrew’s thread questioning and asking for feedback on magazine articles would make good use of the ME/MEW forum. Perhaps a method of adding votes, thumbs up or thumbs down or my favourite from Catch 22 ‘Black Marks or ‘Feathers in ones Cap’.

Regards

Alan

[Alan JacksonParticipant @alanjackson47790]

[MICHAEL WILLIAMSParticipant @michaelwilliams41215]

Hi Alan ,

I’m sorry that you have had no feed back on your Stepperhead machine . If there is anything that you would like to discuss about the design then please contact me via pm ‘s .

Regards ,

MikeW

[ASFParticipant @asf]

Hi,

Sorry to say that I am not a fan of this multi part series, imho it would have been better made into a book and sold that way. That way a viewer could read through the entire content and see if it was for them. Of course this is my opinion only.

Regards

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

Alan,

I for one have thoroughly enjoyed the articles on your stepperhead lathe, it has certainly provided much food for thought.

I have been scanning in the articles and compiling them into a pdf as a standalone document so I can read it easily from start to finish – with a view, at some point to contruct a similar but probably smaller machine.

I had long thought that the principles on which I believe it was based (the Urwick Metalmaster) were fundementally sound and your interpretation of those principles clearly demonstrates an excellent implementation.

I agree with the sentement that this could, at some point in the future, be compiled into a 'special' to be sold separately.

Out of interest, how many more parts are still to be published?

CB

[mike mcdermidParticipant @mikemcdermid41977]

This is going to sound very harsh and this isn't a reflection of the lathe whatsoever as it was simply superb in terms of engineering and excecution

When every issue of MEW fearured some aspect of its construction however i really did lose interest in the magazine as a whole, there seemed to be little in it other than ads and how to build a lathe which was for the most part something too big/complex a project certainly for me to be interested in and maybe a lot of others.

If it had been a supplement sure i would have probably kept them for reading aside or if there was a website dedicated also as i could browse at my leasure

[Another JohnSParticipant @anotherjohns]

Alan – not a MEW subscriber, but what I have seen of the series, and the design and construction of the machine, you get full marks.

Thank you for producing something out of the ordinary.

Another JohnS.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Alan,

I have commented positively on at least two occasions.

Most recently when I mentioned it in connection with issue 207.

MichaelG.

.

P.S.  How many more instalments will there be, to complete your series ?

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 08/09/2013 15:19:27

[Gordon WassParticipant @gordonwass]

The stepperhead lathe is a very interesting machine and is well written up. I do not have the skill, patience, or need for such a machine. But I do read the articles, because the methods of construction and the designs might well be of use for a different project. Keeep it up. But you have not yet told us what colour the workshop walls are, or what the grandkids are doing.

[Alan JacksonParticipant @alanjackson47790]

Thank you all for your comments/feedback. I do agree that it is a long subject and maybe better as a book. I have made a book and sold a few copies. When you submit articles to the magazine you have no control on when and how it will be broken up to suit the magazine requirements and how many parts it would be put into. That is the decision of the editor. I would guess that there are about another ten parts again that is the magazines decision. I have purposely kept the text to a minimum to reduce the size of the article as well as avoiding repeating a previous description of design reasons etc in MEW 151,152 & 153, but you can more or less get this on http://www.lathes.co.uk/stepperhead/. So thats my reason for not revealing the colour of my workshop (green outside white inside) and as yet no grandkids
Alan

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Read the articles, looked at the design and the awesome maching but it's not for me basically because I don't have the time to build a lathe I don't need.

Now this may sound negative but it's not simply because if you think outside the box, read the articles you like me can probably spot a few tips and tricks that can be put to good use on projects nearer to my heart. Even if not this week then in a few months time.

My interests 5 years ago differ from what they are today and an article flashed over then can give a lot of food for thoiugh.

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Alan,

I had the pleasure of meeting you last year at Sandown and you kindly took the time to talk about the 'hows & whys' of your very innovative lathe. Whilst I doubt that I will ever build such a machine, there are still many small gems/ideas in your description of it that I think could find a use one day.

Like John, my interests/needs do seem to change over time and I often re-read older back issues of MEW & ME and find things that are now relevant to my current activities. The frustating thing is that whilst I sometimes know I've seen something useful somwhere, I often cannot remember exactly where. Seems to be happening more frequently these days I'm afraid!

Anyway, I've found your Stepperhead articles interesting. Thank you for your efforts to document the lathe and I'm sure others (particularly those thinking about building their own 'custom' machine tools) will be re-reading your notes in years to come.

Regards,

IanT

[John ShepherdParticipant @johnshepherd38883]

Alan

I know what you mean about lack of feedback. I had an article on making a laser centre finder published in MEW and I had no feedback from either readers or from the magazine. The first I knew that it had been accepted was when it was mentioned in the ‘what’s in the next issue’ Sometime after publication I went on the web site of the company who supplied the laser module and was surprised to see the cover of MEW with my picture of the device on their front page.

I contacted the editor to make sure he was aware and it transpired that there had been some interest and the company asked permission to use the front cover. His reply was curt, suggested it was nothing to do with me and pointed out that I had no copy right (which I understood and made a point of when I contacted him). It would have been nice to have been in the loop even if it was just a quick email or press of the cc button.

As you say the financial reward for articles is not great but I thought it would be nice to share something, particularly as our hobby can be a solitary one for a lot of the time. I dont think I will submit to MEW again, I would rather share things freely via the internet.

John

[Engine BuilderParticipant @enginebuilder]

I have posted my experience with submitting articles on this forum before. (articles lost twice, no recollection of them, trouble getting paid)

You would be lucky to get a full sentence from DC1 in any reply.

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

Hi All,
I would echo Engine Builders experience of submitting articles. Before writing the article I did however ask on the forum if members thought that there would be enough interest in the subject of the article. As there seemed to be a reasonable interest I wrote and submitted the article. There does not seem to be any organised filing system for articles. The positive thing is as a result of asking on the forum if there would be any interest in the tachometer design which was the subject of the article a number of people around the world have built the design.

Les.

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

Posted by Les Jones 1 on 09/09/2013 12:23:07:

Hi All,
I would echo Engine Builders experience of submitting articles. Before writing the article I did however ask on the forum if members thought that there would be enough interest in the subject of the article. As there seemed to be a reasonable interest I wrote and submitted the article. There does not seem to be any organised filing system for articles. The positive thing is as a result of asking on the forum if there would be any interest in the tachometer design which was the subject of the article a number of people around the world have built the design.

Les.

Hi Les,

Was the article published? if so which issue?

CB

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

Hi CB,
No the article was never published, I do not think I would submit an article again as the effort in putting the information in the form of an article is more than designing and making an item and it would probably just be lost again.

Les.

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

I found the stepperhead series interesting. At least one 'installment' included information on an operation I found of practical use, even if I have no intention of making a CNC lathe.

As for balance, I think taht no more than one or two long series should be in MEW at one time. It's readers don't seem to have the attention span of ME <DUCKS>.

Seriously, though, long series like Litttle Samson in ME that last some two years become like 'old friends' and can be fascinating to see develope, even when you don't build them. I think the alternating content every two weeks is what stops ME going stale.

Alternating issues in MEW is more difficult – an eight week gap between installments would be too long.

Personally I would like to see more short (1-3 page) articles in MEW, mixed with more longer ones spread over 2-3 issues.

I think the very different character and rerasdership of the two magazines is striking! If my secret project becomes a product, I shall advertise it in both mags and ask to see the readership demographics

Neil

[Ian Douglas 1Participant @iandouglas1]

Hi Alan,

I was one of those who bought a copy of the book off you, and while realistically I may never build it unless I get loads of spare time, I enjoy the book immensly.

It's just such a beautiful and elegant design, I like to keep it handy for if the time comes I can tackle it. I also bought the MEW issues 151-153 in case there were extra bits, and for a time I was getting the current issues with your articles, but unless I'm mistaken, the article seems to be going on forever, even missing some issues, so I kind of got lost on that. It doesn't help being in OZ as we are very much an after thought for magazine suppliers, (more of a dumping ground for old issues at full prices) and can often have a narrow window to get issues due to timing and limited supplies.

To me it just feels like it's been serialised to hell and back with the current issues by MEW.

Is there an authorative list of the issues the article is in?

cheers, Ian

[Jeff DaymanParticipant @jeffdayman43397]

Hi Alan,

It has been an ongoing pleasure for me to read the Stepperhead articles and have a good look at the well made drawings in MEW. Congratulations on a fine lathe design and your excellent drawings. I hope many lathes are made from them.

JD

[Alan JacksonParticipant @alanjackson47790]

Thank you all for your kind comments. Ian I have search out the list to date of the MEW magazine numbers that the Stepperhead construction article is in. They are188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 201, 203, & 207 to date.

Regards

Alan

[Ian Douglas 1Participant @iandouglas1]

Thanks for that info Alan!

When is the series expected to end?

cheers, Ian

[Armin GerstParticipant @armingerst63664]

Hi Alan,

do you still offer the book and if, what are the differences to the MEW articles?

Regards

Armin

[Author]

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