SMEE Publications
A number of publications are available directly from SMEE.
Twist Drills – Geometry and Performance
Prof. Jörg Hugel
If you have ever wondered why twist drills have the shapes they do and how to set up a drill grinder to achieve the best shape for a particular purpose, then this book should be on your bookshelf. Jörg was a distinguished emeritus Professor of Electrical Engineering Design at ETH Zurich, and was a well-known SMEE member.
The book has 80 pages, in a handsome hardback format. It contains a detailed analysis of the design features required for proper performance of both conventional cone-type drills and those with four-facet geometry. This is followed by a description of methods for accurate measurement of the tip profile of a drill, either directly or from photographic data. There is also a discussion of the advantages and limitations of the main types of grinding machines and jigs. The book is accompanied by a CD of Excel spreadsheets which allow you to calculate the profile of the drill tip produced by any chosen combination of the various setting angles in the grinding equipment for either type of drill.
Copies are available only from SMEE. Price is £15 in the UK, including first-class postage. Add £3 for European postage and £5.50 for the rest of the world.
The remarkable Jim Crebbin and his experimental locomotives
Roger Backhouse
In this book Roger Backhouse describes how a Bank of England clerk became one of the best known model engineers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. James Charles Crebbin had a varied life including marriage to a Belgian refugee, then divorce and treatment for tuberculosis. He overcame parental opposition to create a workshop and develop engineering skills.
He travelled extensively abroad riding footplates across Europe and knowing leading locomotive engineers including G.J. Churchward, W.A. Stanier, Sir Nigel Gresley, Professor Eduoard Sauvage and Karl Golsdorf. He even helped Churchward introduce the de Glehn compounds to the Great Western Railway.
His experimental engineering included testing different types of model boiler, early model superheating, developing ides for a turbine locomotive and compounding in model locomotives. Besides locomotive construction he built model steam boats and raced model yachts.
He played an active part in the Society of Model and Experimental Engineers where he acted as an ambassador for the model engineering hobby gaining the nickname “Uncle Jim” , even appearing in a wartime Ministry of Information film.
This book will interest model engineers and anyone interested in experimental engineering and the role of models in locomotive development.
Price, postage and packing in strong envelope:
Collection from Marshall House £10 (£12 with UK post and packing)
Europe (including Ireland) £14
Rest of the world £18
To order any of these, or for further information, please email booksales@sm-ee.co.uk