Courses

Basic Training for Model Engineers

There is a popular moan among the model engineering fraternity that "no one does training any more - its Health and Safety you know". The SM&EE decided to take a lead and now offers three courses. The two "Basic Training" courses are open to all (anyone under 18 must be accompanied) although we encourage students to join the Society. The grinding course is different, it is "members only" and a hands on course. See the bottom of this page for more details.

The courses consist of a number of monthly sessions (usually the second Saturday of the month) at Marshall House and we can accept between 12 and 20 delegates on a course. Each session (they last a full day) consists of lecture, discussion and possibly demonstrations. Unfortunately we have had to accept that practical workbench sessions for all delegates are not possible. It is not an H&S issue primarily - we do not have the equipment, space or supervising manpower. Despite this apparent limitation the courses we have run so far have been very well received. By the way you do have to pay - we need to cover our costs and make a small profit for Society funds.

The first course, over three sessions, discusses the setting up of a workshop, what equipment is desirable and the basics of how to use machines and hand tools.

The second course, over six sessions,  covers the construction of an oscillating steam engine and boiler based on Tubal Cain's "Polly" design. At each session we discuss those parts which delegates go home to make in their own workshops in time for the next session.

The courses are presented by Society members who come from a wide range of backgrounds. Some have many years experience in engineering, others have started much more recently. Most of the lecturers attend sessions that they are not themselves presenting. That means we always have a wide pool of experience to draw on during the many discussion sessions. Experience has shown that delegates derive as much from the wide ranging discussion between themselves and the SM&EE members present as they do from the formal presentations.

A full set of notes, a light "Ploughman's lunch", tea and coffee are all included in the course fee.

For more information contact us via the Contact us page.

Unfortunately Marshall House is not wheelchair friendly. If you need any special assistance please let us know.

There are more details of the introductory course here and of the "Polly" course here.

Lathe Tool Grinding

The third course covers the use of the off hand grinder to produce and maintain lathe tools. Unlike the other two, this course is for one day and includes practical sessions for all attendees. There are more details of this course here.

 For safety and insurance reasons, it is only open to Society members.