I was born in Derby (UK) in 1936, I am married to Lilian with a daughter Melanie.
Since the age of fourteen I have been a percussionist and music has played a big part in my life, having played with many bands and groups even a percussionist with the 11th Hussars.
When I left school in 1952 I wanted to take a job as a cabinet maker and after looking all over the area, could not find a vacancy.
I ended up in the foundry at Rolls Royce and after many years found myself as a precision casting engineer , working on the lost wax process,between all the gigs.
To be the best at making precision castings by this method you must have a good control over the process, which led to the study of statisitcal process control,(SPC), writing my own workshops and teaching the subject. To keep abreast of time you also have to be creative, with making everything from aerospace, medical prothesis and even cast miniature`s, I suppose that precision is within me, hence I use a vernier or calliper for measurements on the smaller work.
I decided to take early retirement and finished precision casting in 2000. A good friend of mine Brian Jow happened to have a book of Vic Campden on making dolls houses for children which I borrowed and made my first house which I modified to incorporate some of my own ideas, this house is now with my daughter.
I suppose that making things in miniature comes from the precision side of my engineering career and it gives me a chance to do the job I never got, although on a smaller scale.
