Thread: MEW magazine heading > downhill

I let my digital subscription to MEW go last month for the same reasons listed below... too few interesting new projects and too many adverts. I find that other online content generally meets my needs. That said, I found going through MEW's digital back issues to get interesting old content was useful but there did not seem to be a good search function to find the content.

Disappointing, as MEW started out as such a great magazine.

From such downward spirals, magazines rarely recover. Sad.

K.

MEW index

IndexIntro

Unfortunately I too have to agree with the previous comments on MEW but my experiences with the magazine may be of interest.
As a 'toe in the water' I submitted a small (one page) article some years back, the article was received and acknowledged but nothing happened. I sent a follow-up email more recently and the editor said the article had been misplaced, he very promptly organised it to published (issue 190, page 46). I also received prompt payment, they paid in pounds which was transferred and converted at the exchange rate which was then current. They only pay for the amount of space the written words take up, the pictures are not included.
Perhaps they need to make it more rewarding to submit, better payment and a free subscription? I am still considering more submissions but the still relatively high dollar takes the edge off it a bit.
Mm.

I too, have being buying MEW from when issues were numbered in just double figures.
My opinion is that recently they are beginning to cover a far too wide spread of interests. Leave out the stuff on cars and bikes for those publications that cater for them.

There are still a lot of topics as a near beginner I would like to see pursued. I am yet to buy a mill ,but it would be nice to have the workings of an indexer explained. A description of how to set up a wiggler would be good too.

I liked the articles where people described how to do wonderful things with just a lathe such as making scribed machine dials.

Another reason for the downfall is perhaps technology where older subscribers like me may not take to the online version.I can get online engineering info here and don't need a subscription .The printed MEW version used to sustain me for a week or so, but lately I put it down after a day or two.

Grahame

I have stopped buying the magazine. I scan thru it in the news agent, shake my head sadly, then put it back. It is full of ad's and CNC work. I am not a trade person, do not have a engineering degree and my correct use of grammar is poor, but, since doing 4 hours each Wednesday night at TAFE learning the basics of Lathe and Mill work, inspiration by the excellent instructors and my willingness to learn back in 2003, saw me buy a reasonable good lathe and a mill. Like all of you, I like the challenge of making something, working out how it was made then do it for yourself. CNC machines to me, take away that hands on approach. When the current ed took over the mag, it just started to go down the gurgler for good content.

DD

Originally Posted by variant22

I agree with the sentiments on MEW. Is the US HSM publication any good?

Me too, I really would like to hear what others think of "The Home Shop Machinist" and "Machinist's Workshop":
http://www.homeshopmachinist.net

The way I understand it, HSM could be very much like the old MEW used to be (when Stan Bray, Harold Hall and Dave Fenner where the editors), whereas the MS is apparently more targeted at the beginning machinist? A subscription to HSM is US$29.95 for a year.

Originally Posted by cba_melbourne

Me too, I really would like to hear what others think of "The Home Shop Machinist" and "Machinist's Workshop":
http://www.homeshopmachinist.net

The way I understand it, HSM could be very much like the old MEW used to be (when Stan Bray, Harold Hall and Dave Fenner where the editors), whereas the MS is apparently more targeted at the beginning machinist? A subscription to HSM is US$29.95 for a year.

International postage takes it up to US$45.95 a year so it gets a little expensive. I let my subscription to MEW lapse and will be renewing my HSM and MW subscriptions.

That latest article in MEW about the lathe centre height gauge seemed strange to me

I only had a quick flick through but the impression I got was that the whole article describing how to use and him then saying he didn't think it was much use, only to then summarise by saying he will keep it handy in his tool box and will eventually find a need for it!

Maybe I'm wrong?

Originally Posted by cba_melbourne

I really would like to hear what others think of "The Home Shop Machinist" and "Machinist's Workshop"

I found HSM and MW to be better, but I thought they were thin and coming out once every 2 months did leave you waiting if there was a multi part article (there was a 10 part article on scraping that I enjoyed).
The have a few regular writers as well as reader submissions but the regulars do not dominate the magazine like the ones in MEW do. One of them had a gun-smithing column which I found interesting. However, I was still getting to the stage where I was reading the magazine once, thinking "that's nice" and chucking it out. The older editions (and those of MEW etc) where you kept an edition because there was a particular project or article in it are the ones that I miss. The sort of article that sticks in my mind from the later days of my HSM reading are where someone replaced the plastic handle on something with a metal one, but made it a bit longer and put a knurl on it...
They were the sort of magazine that if they did not cost as much I would regard as cheap entertainment but without a few "keeper" ideas in there I thought over priced.
Worth trying anyway.

Michael

I've been getting MEW since issue ~80 and have a digital archive of all previous issues

My Dad is also a subscriber (through the local newsagent) and his chief complaint has been the focus on "exhibition" quality/focus work instead of the crash and bang methods used to create things.

personally I don't mind the diverse range of articles - CNC, DLP are tools in our aresenal, and there is value in the old geometer articles (biggest crime was when magellica shut down the JWE yahoo archives)

I've written a number of articles with the focus of "here's a problem, and here is how we fixed it" - most of the tools and jig built are FAR from exhibition grade, but in some cases the thing we've built them for is an true museum piece. David Clarke was responding to my emails, and did receive the articles, but them lost the whole lot - then after I found the new email address, he's got them all again and reckons he'll start using them.
The payment issue is a concern, and I'd be loving life if they'd simply use Paypal to send the money to me.

I'm not giving up on MEW (yet), but I figure the best thing to do is try and change the magazine by offering articles, and only when that fails will I reassess what i'll do.

So... what type of articles do you want to see in MEW?
I can talk about what I'm writing, but what do YOU want to see? - What can you write about? (FWIW, I'm writing for myself, and ghost writing for my Dad)

I can tell you that most of my articles are written from the point of view of someone from an agricultural background, DIY, and mostly cash strapped. Everything I build or fix is made from scrap, salvage, or similar. I have some tools I make which are done nice, but most of my fixtures and jigs are built for a purpose - not to be displayed.
Examples of articles I'm writing:
restoration of the bridgeport clone mill I rescued
foundry "robot" I use to handle 7-10L crucibles
parts for my lathe
etc

I figure the focus of MEW should be on using tools to solve problems, or gettign tools to do things for us - that certainly is my approach

my 2 cents
Des

I get both HSM and MW.

to me they do contain some things that I am not really interested in....but I guess its like the old saying someones rubbish is another's treasure...same goes for both the magazines I believe

Avery now and then good articles do come up for me....eg. the scraping article was one and of recent times the modified Brooks cutter grinder is another good read.

"Avery now and then good articles do come up for me....eg. the scraping article was one and of recent times the modified Brooks cutter grinder is another good read"
.Quote
Could you please tell me what edition this was in please, as I have only recently started to get MEW from #180.
Does anyone have some past issues that they want to get rid of ????
Regards
Kryn

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

"Avery now and then good articles do come up for me....eg. the scraping article was one and of recent times the modified Brooks cutter grinder is another good read"
.Quote
Could you please tell me what edition this was in please, as I have only recently started to get MEW from #180.
Does anyone have some past issues that they want to get rid of ????
Regards
Kryn

Hi Kryn

When I say HSM I mean the Home Shop Machinist from the USA.

The Machinist's Workshop (MW) is the other one from USA (Village Press). You are'nt confusing MW with the MEW (Model Engineers Workshop) magazine which is the UK (I think) are you?

the scraping article comprised ten parts over ten issues which commenced in may/june2011 and was in the HSM.

Hi There
I have been reading your complaints. They are the same as on the english forums so no change there.
Firstly, I can only publish what I am offered.
Secondly I am not supposed to include models and readers do not want models in MEW anyway.

I do not pad out articles, rather I try to cut them down by at least 10%, more if possible.
If Australia is such an inovative country, I am surprised that more people don't write articles for me.

MyTimeMedia Ltd have US and Australian bank accounts to pay contributors. There is no bias against a
contributor from any country in the world.

Advertising
I counted up the adverts in MEW 124 (The first issue I did.) and counted up a recent one (205 I think).
There was little difference in the page count of adverts, although the subscription advert was 2 pages
rather than the usual one. I don't have a lot of say in this (none actually).
So, advertising is about the same as it was 7 years ago. The only difference that might make it look like
more advertising is because adverts are including throughout the magazine rather than at the beginning
and the end.

So, get writing these articles now. All I ask is no more tool posts or fixed steadies. Lets have some
interesting, informative and inovative articles. We pay £50 UK per printed page.
You can also write to me at
[email protected]
for my attention or for publishing in Scribe a Line.
regards David