It is currently 29 Mar 2024, 03:23

A disappearing traditional workshop.

This forum is for any general questions, queries or plain old chinwaggery on Woody stuff in general.

A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby toolsntat » 30 Jun 2021, 21:59

I happened to mention this previously so here is my pictorial record (really should have taken more) of a carpenters/builders workshop that, following the sad demise of the owner, is now being emptied and dare say earmarked for development :eusa-violin:
I'll do a few at a time.....
I should also add, he collected tools ;)
Cheers Andy
Attachments
IMG_20210205_103522.jpg
(297.9 KiB)
IMG_20210205_103511.jpg
(241.61 KiB)
IMG_20210205_103506.jpg
(383.26 KiB)
IMG_20210205_103449.jpg
(304.42 KiB)
toolsntat
Sapling
 
Posts: 304
Joined: 04 Apr 2021, 14:32
Location: Leicestershire
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby Cabinetman » 01 Jul 2021, 00:08

Some nice big old bits of equipment in there, but why does anybody need three mortisers ha ha.
I think I would need a lot of motivation to go to work on a winters morning though.
Third photo, looks like an overhead router? Haven’t seen one like that before – not that I’m much of an expert at all. Ian
Cabinetman
Old Oak
 
Posts: 3196
Joined: 11 Oct 2020, 07:32
Location: Lincolnshire Wolds + Pennsylvania
Name: Ian

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby Trevanion » 01 Jul 2021, 00:33

That really is a quintessential workshop of the past, isn't it. I love the diffused glass down each side, loads of natural light. A dying sight unfortunately.

Cabinetman wrote:but why does anybody need three mortisers ha ha.


Image

Cabinetman wrote: Third photo, looks like an overhead router? Haven’t seen one like that before – not that I’m much of an expert at all. Ian


Not quite sure of the brand exactly, but it looks like a mid-class machine between your Elu's and Wadkins. Quite a versatile machine in the right hands but I would think there are very few people left that know how to run one effectively. They're a bit of a joke amongst the woodworking machinery community, mostly because of the fact they don't sell, a really nice and heavy-duty Wadkin LS would only set you back a couple of hundred pounds at the most. Maybe there will be a over-head router resurgence one day, similar to the metalworking shaper where you couldn't sell them for more than scrap value a few years ago and now decent ones fetch a pretty penny comparable to a milling machine.
Image
User avatar
Trevanion
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2162
Joined: 27 Apr 2019, 19:04
Location: Pembrokeshire
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby Vann » 01 Jul 2021, 03:58

Cabinetman wrote:Some nice big old bits of equipment in there, but why does anybody need three mortisers ha ha...

Don't know, but a few workshops I've visited have three spindle moulders :eusa-doh:

toolsntat wrote:I happened to mention this previously so here is my pictorial record (really should have taken more) of a carpenters/builders workshop that, following the sad demise of the owner, is now being emptied and dare say earmarked for development :eusa-violin:
I'll do a few at a time.....

I'm looking forward to the turn of that planer/thicknesser - which looks like a Wadkin RM. And any other Wadkins, Sagars, Haighs, etc.

Cheers, Vann.
Vann
New Shoots
 
Posts: 223
Joined: 30 Aug 2020, 05:03
Location: Petone, New Zealand
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby Mike G » 01 Jul 2021, 07:12

Fantastic, Andy. Thanks for those photos. I don't think I see any extraction equipment which seems to dominate modern workshops. I love the wood racks, pregnant with possibilities. One can only imagine the H&S people getting exercised over the ladder.
User avatar
Mike G
Sequoia
 
Posts: 9834
Joined: 30 Jul 2014, 22:36
Location: Suffolk
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby Doug » 01 Jul 2021, 07:22

Looks like a couple of the workshops I’ve worked in freezing in the winter & sweltering in the summer, if you’ve the space multiple machines save a lot of time having each set up for a certain task & not having to keep changing tooling.
User avatar
Doug
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2153
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 22:22
Location: @dougsworkshop
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby AndyT » 01 Jul 2021, 08:12

Beautiful. Lots of natural light. Enough space. And a real feel of having every bit of timber, every tool, fixing or finish that you could ever need.

I guess it's too late to suggest a WH2 group buy... :(
--------------
Andy
User avatar
AndyT
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2366
Joined: 23 Nov 2020, 19:45
Location: Bristol
Name: Andy

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby novocaine » 01 Jul 2021, 08:25

amazing but I'm not seeing a brush anywhere. Is sawdust especially good for standing on? guess it acts as insulation. :lol:
Carbon fibre is just corduroy for cars.
novocaine
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2560
Joined: 26 Nov 2020, 10:37
Name: Dave

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby PAC1 » 01 Jul 2021, 08:58

AndyT wrote:Beautiful. Lots of natural light. Enough space. And a real feel of having every bit of timber, every tool, fixing or finish that you could ever need.
:(


Those would not be the words I would use at 7:30am on January morning when you have to start up the planer!

It is a typical shop except there does not seem to be a workflow plan or any attempt to separate machines and benches. Therefore it is unnecessarily noisy, dusty and cold for those trying to assemble things.
It is great to see such shops as they are disappearing rapidly, thanks for posting the photos.
PAC1
Sapling
 
Posts: 430
Joined: 26 Nov 2020, 09:52
Name: Peter

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby AndyT » 01 Jul 2021, 09:24

I don't doubt that it would be really inefficient if it was used for a group of people to produce a lot of similar things in the minimum time.

I was taking a less practical, more romantic view. I'm assuming it was occupied by one or two men only, over a long period of time. Tools and materials have moved in but never out. There may have been some shuffling around to fit in the later acquisitions. The result is like the visible record of the years spent there, a very personal space.
--------------
Andy
User avatar
AndyT
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2366
Joined: 23 Nov 2020, 19:45
Location: Bristol
Name: Andy

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby Woodbloke » 01 Jul 2021, 10:18

Interestingly, I can’t see any sort of cabinetmaker’s bench for hand tool work etc. There’s what appears to be a large assembly table in foreground but that’s about it - Rob
I no longer work for Axminster Tools & Machinery.
User avatar
Woodbloke
Sequoia
 
Posts: 5866
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 10:06
Location: Salisbury, UK
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby 9fingers » 01 Jul 2021, 10:41

Woodbloke wrote:Interestingly, I can’t see any sort of cabinetmaker’s bench for hand tool work etc. There’s what appears to be a large assembly table in foreground but that’s about it - Rob


There will be a good reason for that, just like my shop Rob! :lol:

Bob
Information on induction motors here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dBTVXx ... sp=sharing
Email:motors@minchin.org.uk
User avatar
9fingers
Petrified Pine
 
Posts: 10038
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 20:22
Location: Romsey Hampshire between Southampton and the New Forest
Name: Bob

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby Cabinetman » 01 Jul 2021, 10:48

Hi Bob, the last photo bottom right hand corner, is as close as they got I think to a bench, not very deep and seems to double up as a radial arm saw table.
That planer is a real beast of a machine, can’t imagine the mess that made without ducting.
Cabinetman
Old Oak
 
Posts: 3196
Joined: 11 Oct 2020, 07:32
Location: Lincolnshire Wolds + Pennsylvania
Name: Ian

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby AJB Temple » 01 Jul 2021, 11:10

Mike G wrote:Fantastic, Andy. Thanks for those photos. I don't think I see any extraction equipment which seems to dominate modern workshops. I love the wood racks, pregnant with possibilities. One can only imagine the H&S people getting exercised over the ladder.


"Pregnant with possibilities". Outcome of pregnancy is typically babies and expense for life. 8-)

Mr T, that diffused light is actually known as "dirty windows".

Great pictures. Would love to have a poke around an old workshop like that.
Don't like: wood, engines, electrickery, decorating, tiling, laying stone, plumbing, gardening or any kind of DIY. Not wild about spiders either.
User avatar
AJB Temple
Sequoia
 
Posts: 5432
Joined: 15 Apr 2019, 09:04
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby Woodbloke » 01 Jul 2021, 11:14

Cabinetman wrote:Hi Bob, the last photo bottom right hand corner, is as close as they got I think to a bench, not very deep….


Thanks CM, spotted it now; covered with crud n’crap; seems to be a bit longer than normal - Rob
I no longer work for Axminster Tools & Machinery.
User avatar
Woodbloke
Sequoia
 
Posts: 5866
Joined: 22 Jul 2014, 10:06
Location: Salisbury, UK
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby Doug » 01 Jul 2021, 12:49

Cabinetman wrote: That planer is a real beast of a machine, can’t imagine the mess that made without ducting.

The first shop I worked in had a similar planer it stood against the wall but obviously with the motor, belts etc it was a good 3’ off the wall, dust “control” consisted of a piece of ply with two feet that was angled towards the wall so as the shavings spewed out of the machine they hit the ply & formed a huge pile against the wall.
The Saturday lads first job of the day was to bag up the shavings for animal bedding.
User avatar
Doug
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2153
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 22:22
Location: @dougsworkshop
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby Doug » 01 Jul 2021, 12:56

Trevanion wrote:
Cabinetman wrote: Third photo, looks like an overhead router? Haven’t seen one like that before – not that I’m much of an expert at all. Ian


Not quite sure of the brand exactly, but it looks like a mid-class machine between your Elu's and Wadkins. Quite a versatile machine in the right hands but I would think there are very few people left that know how to run one effectively. They're a bit of a joke amongst the woodworking machinery community, mostly because of the fact they don't sell, a really nice and heavy-duty Wadkin LS would only set you back a couple of hundred pounds at the most. Maybe there will be a over-head router resurgence one day, similar to the metalworking shaper where you couldn't sell them for more than scrap value a few years ago and now decent ones fetch a pretty penny comparable to a milling machine.


@weeatthesun on Instagram is a great exponent of the over head router Dan as was @jonnydburn until he got a CNC, if I had more room it would be a machine I’d very much like.
User avatar
Doug
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2153
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 22:22
Location: @dougsworkshop
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby AndyT » 01 Jul 2021, 14:32

There's a nice real world example of an overhead router in use here, in one of the films Ken Hawley made in the 90s. A simple template and jig are used to shape a saw handle. It's slow and repetitive but was presumably cheap to set up and easy to swap over to another pattern when an order came in for a few dozen more.

Attentive viewers will spot that there is a big dust extraction hose in place for when the inspector comes around but in the default configuration the floor is getting that special artisanal finish so fashionable nowadays...

--------------
Andy
User avatar
AndyT
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2366
Joined: 23 Nov 2020, 19:45
Location: Bristol
Name: Andy

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby MattS » 01 Jul 2021, 15:04

Thanks for posting, what an amazing piece of history. Would love to have a poke around!
MattS
Nordic Pine
 
Posts: 771
Joined: 04 Jul 2016, 10:05
Location: In the Weald of Kent
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby PAC1 » 01 Jul 2021, 16:42

Does anyone know what that frame is hung on the roof truss in the last photo?
PAC1
Sapling
 
Posts: 430
Joined: 26 Nov 2020, 09:52
Name: Peter

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby AJB Temple » 01 Jul 2021, 17:40

Do you mean the thing hanging down just in front of the ladder Peter? I wondered if that might be a large frame saw (pit saw sized). Can't quite make it out.

The roof structure is odd for the age. Seems to be steel cross beams with a timber Fink truss shape above.
Don't like: wood, engines, electrickery, decorating, tiling, laying stone, plumbing, gardening or any kind of DIY. Not wild about spiders either.
User avatar
AJB Temple
Sequoia
 
Posts: 5432
Joined: 15 Apr 2019, 09:04
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby PAC1 » 01 Jul 2021, 17:42

Thats the one. it looked very large for a pit saw frame and seems to have shackles on it.
PAC1
Sapling
 
Posts: 430
Joined: 26 Nov 2020, 09:52
Name: Peter

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby Doug » 01 Jul 2021, 17:44

Is the workshop in Hinckley Andy ?
User avatar
Doug
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2153
Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 22:22
Location: @dougsworkshop
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby Trevanion » 01 Jul 2021, 18:26

By chance, I found this identical overhead router on eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274791684875. It has a Watford router head on it (which is a handheld machine usually), which is the same as a Centec Senior router, but there's no indication if the base is by Watford or if it's a generic OHR table. If I had the space and much of an idea of what it would actually be useful for in relation to what I do I might be tempted by a nice Wadkin or Interwood machine, but since I don't do much smaller repetitive work such as furniture where it would be useful for batching out small runs I don't think I could justify one just by the amount of space that even a small machine would eat up.

AndyT wrote:There's a nice real world example of an overhead router in use here, in one of the films Ken Hawley made in the 90s. A simple template and jig are used to shape a saw handle. It's slow and repetitive but was presumably cheap to set up and easy to swap over to another pattern when an order came in for a few dozen more.

Attentive viewers will spot that there is a big dust extraction hose in place for when the inspector comes around but in the default configuration the floor is getting that special artisanal finish so fashionable nowadays...


Thanks for that Andy, a great watch. I'm amazed at how much material it can remove in a single pass, it's hard to see from the footage but that can't be a 1/2" cutter otherwise I would've though it would snap with that kind of loading! There are some other interesting bits in that video though, a lot of it would be a big no-no now regarding H&S, especially untightening and retightening sanding belts as the machine is running and touching the saw handles to a large sanding disk with only the support of your hand.

Doug wrote:@weeatthesun on Instagram is a great exponent of the over head router Dan as was @jonnydburn until he got a CNC, if I had more room it would be a machine I’d very much like.


That's for the recommendations Doug, they do some nice stuff so well worth a follow.
Image
User avatar
Trevanion
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2162
Joined: 27 Apr 2019, 19:04
Location: Pembrokeshire
Name:

Re: A disappearing traditional workshop.

Postby AndyT » 01 Jul 2021, 18:38

Ok, while we're still digressing about overhead routers and old woodworking machinery... I remember discussing a rather fascinating WW2 propaganda film which you can watch here

https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/1509

It's called "Wood goes to war" and shows how a furniture factory in Scotland switches from making fancy table legs and suchlike to making wooden rifle stocks. Plenty of action shots of old cast iron machinery in action. Spot the Wadkin routers!
--------------
Andy
User avatar
AndyT
Old Oak
 
Posts: 2366
Joined: 23 Nov 2020, 19:45
Location: Bristol
Name: Andy

Next

Return to General Woodworking

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 20 guests

cron