Clever engineers

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
When I used to watch TV I remember seeing a programme from the US where people would have their entire house moved. OK, the houses were wood framed and a lot lighter than this but it was presented as being a relatively normal service. I don't remember why they did it but they never moved too far.
 
Steliz":2ch096fd said:
When I used to watch TV I remember seeing a programme from the US where people would have their entire house moved. OK, the houses were wood framed and a lot lighter than this but it was presented as being a relatively normal service. I don't remember why they did it but they never moved too far.
I remember being out in NZ with my sister and b.i.l when she saw a house go past on a low loader - you didn't tell me Pete had moved house, she said. No he's gone up to *******. As we rounded the corner there was the empty plot. He had moved house. Literally.
It's not uncommon, the houses have a finite life - most are built on H6 (treated) timber which has a life expectancy of eighty years - the life expectancy of the house, apparently. When you buy, you make the decision to buy a nice house on a poor plot, a poor house on a nice plot etc. If you've a good house you save for a better plot. If you're working your way up the ladder you do as my sister did and buy a tatty house on a beautiful plot.
 
SammyQ":2xdwgres said:
Steve, look on Youtoob for the Chinese (who else) moving an entire railway station....very coolie....

Sam

I was just going to mention that!

[youtube]WiVHEStx7TU[/youtube]
 
I thought that was great.

At the other end of the scale, this also amazes me - drilling a hole down the length of a propelling pencil lead... YouTube link
 
Here's the 'fast-track' replacement of one of the headgears at Boulby potash mine in Yorkshire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmcFc9KpYlc

I think it said the concrete tower was 2,700 tons.

If I remember correctly, the first big load to be moved sideways by hydraulic power was Brunel's ship the 'Great Eastern' in 1859. That was 22,500 tons, give or take a bit. The famous hydraulic engineers Tangye's of Birmingham suppied the rams, and used to boast that they launched the 'Great Eastern', and the 'Great Eastern' launched them.
 
Although they were often known as Tangye’s of Birmingham, their factory was actually in Smethwick (my home town and proudly not in Birmingham).
 
NickM":20u6ilpy said:
I thought that was great.

At the other end of the scale, this also amazes me - drilling a hole down the length of a propelling pencil lead... YouTube link

Reminds me of that joke, I might've read it here first but I found it online again:

A crew of Swiss engineers was tasked by their government to create a wire as thin as possible. The project took months, years to finish, but at last, they succeeded. They produced a piece of extremely thin wire. It was so thin that they could not even measure how thin it actually was. Not only that, but it was also durable. They could not cut or shorten it, no matter how hard they tried.

The Swiss Government was very proud of what their engineers created, but before they would go on and show off their newest development, they wanted to know how thin it actually was. They would look like fools if they could not even tell how thin their wire was, right? After some discussion, they decided that they had to ask a fellow European country for help.

Should they ask the Germans? They are well known for their great engineering, they sure could help out. But they also liked to brag about that, so if they knew that the Swiss could not even measure it they would surely make fun of them. No, not the Germans. They decided to ask their French neighbours for help.

So they prepared a package, and added a note. "Dear French Engineers. We have created a thin, durable wire. We can't cut it, and we can't measure how thin it is. Can you help?". A week passed, two weeks, a month until they heard back. The French sent back the wire with a note of their own. "We are very sorry. We tried everything, but we could neither cut it nor measure it."

Damn, but it was worth a try. After more discussions, they decided to ask the USA next. After all they sent people to the moon and made many great inventions. They sure will find a way to help them out. They packed it, added the note, and send it over. A week passed, a month, two months until they heard back. Again, the wire was sent back to them with a note. "We have no idea what to do. We tried everything, but we can't cut it. And our instruments are not precise enough to measure how thin it even is. We have to pass."

There was no other way. Swiss had to ask the Germans. But they hated it that, in the end, they had to admit it to them, of all people, that they could not measure the wire. So, angrily, they threw the wire in the box, didn't even bother to add a note, taped the package and send it to Germany.

Two days later the wire gets returned. In the box is a note by the Germans. "We didn't know what you want us to do with it, so we drilled a hole through it and did some pipe threading".

:lol:
 
If anyone is interested in small and insanely precision engineering, check out robin renzetti and stefan gotteswinter on youtube and instagram. Incredible stuff.
 
Trev. Whilst thats a joke there is what im realible informed by many engineers for British steel a tale of the USA sending "THE SMALLEST STEEL TUBE" to British steel only to get if back with a pair of tubes inside and note saying something along the lines of "not bad, keep trying and you might perfect this steel manufacturing stuff"

Boulby was mighty impressive. The joke is redcar had a lard shortage for a month afterwards and everybody had to eat salad.
Boulby is a pretty amazing place to be honest and the poly halite they are pulling out the ground is meant to be a wonder mineral.

Didnt the yanks move chicago in the 1800s because it started to sink?
 
didn't do anything on the Claire Ridge but was there for this O&G related lift
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVjtuX7ASV8

full drill MPT (multipurpose tower, like a derrick but different) and drill floor. COG was so far above the lift center it was damn close to being un-liftable.

and in a completely different type of heavy lift, dockwise taking the Paul wolf and Max Smith from Brazil down to Asia is pretty damn impressive too. (have a soft spot for the Paul Wolf, it was my first time offshore)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCLkaHzDBuM
 
novocaine":6aljyt1r said:
Trev. Whilst thats a joke there is what im realible informed by many engineers for British steel a tale of the USA sending "THE SMALLEST STEEL TUBE" to British steel only to get if back with a pair of tubes inside and note saying something along the lines of "not bad, keep trying and you might perfect this steel manufacturing stuff"

Boulby was mighty impressive. The joke is redcar had a lard shortage for a month afterwards and everybody had to eat salad.
Boulby is a pretty amazing place to be honest and the poly halite they are pulling out the ground is meant to be a wonder mineral.

Didnt the yanks move chicago in the 1800s because it started to sink?

My grandad worked at Accles and Pollocks in Oldbury and told me that story about them putting two tubes inside the thinnest tube. They held the record in the 1960s
 
thick_mike":2oyyes96 said:
My grandad worked at Accles and Pollocks in Oldbury and told me that story about them putting two tubes inside the thinnest tube. They held the record in the 1960s

I fear that you could be correct as to it being Accles and Pollocks. I know a few of the chaps from BS special products came from there. it's still one of my favorite stories from the old boys.

found this article.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TWq ... be&f=false
 
novocaine":2puv09xm said:
thick_mike":2puv09xm said:
My grandad worked at Accles and Pollocks in Oldbury and told me that story about them putting two tubes inside the thinnest tube. They held the record in the 1960s

I fear that you could be correct as to it being Accles and Pollocks. I know a few of the chaps from BS special products came from there. it's still one of my favorite stories from the old boys.

found this article.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TWq ... be&f=false

That’s a great article, thanks Novocain.

I still have a couple of Accles and Pollocks pencils and a book of matches somewhere.
 
Back
Top