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April 2010 Group Picture
There are hobby machinist groups scattered around the USA including a small HSM group in Connecticut. Our CTHSM group is congenial and freewheeling:
no rules, no dues, just people getting together to learn new techniques plus share thoughts on machining and other topics that arise. Meetings are held in member shops, nominally on the second Sunday of the month at 2pm. Anyone interested in attending a meeting please contact me
(via the link below on this page) for more info and travel directions.
The November 9th meeting was at Eric's shop in Tuxedo, NY.
Paul is working on a .60 glo-plug model airplane engine. He has converted the plans to a CAD model, allowing him to visualize how the parts interact. The picture shows the jig used to offset the crankshaft to machine the journal for the big end bearing.
Eric's grasshopper escapement has now been integrated into his latest clock; it has miniature ball bearings at all the rotation points.
Grasshopper escapements are tricky to adjust because they are sensitive to inertia of the components.
Frank made a miniature oil can with a long nose to get at places that are difficult to access and
to allow dispensing small amounts of oil in just the right spot.
Here's an interesting variation on using the Kant Twist clamp parts available to CTHSM members.
See: Kant Twist Knurler at HSM
The December 9, 2025 meeting will be at Craig's shop in Cheshire, CT.
Parts for Kant Twist clamps will be available at this meeting.
As usual, bring items for demonstration and/or discussion. Plus items for the sale/swap/free table.
Home shop machining is often a solitary hobby, as are most hobbies now according to "Bowling Alone".
The CTHSM group is an attempt to get area HSM's to know one another and thus make our hobby a little less solitary.
The much larger NEMES HSM group is 2-3 hours away so we share some members and occasionally have visitors from that group.
The CTHSM group has been meeting since November 2008, mostly on the 2nd Sunday of the month at 2pm, but we deviate from this with some regularity. The January meeting is not held since Cabin Fever conflicts, February has seen a couple meetings cancelled due to weather, the May meeting is on the 3rd Sunday to avoid a conflict with Mother's Day, and we don't meet in July because many members are on vacation. Over time our meeting schedule has become predictably irregular...
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Pictures from our unusual "Music Machine Meetings"
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