Wadkin Time Warp Workshop - Kent

[tool613]

Currently there are about 50 UK makers listed on the VM site. We(Matty and I) are looking to add more too. The English history of Wood working machinery is some thing we wanted to add. I hope to see some of you there soon.

Thanks for your help.


jack

 

[ben w]

Some photos of the belts, drive shafts, and engine follow. Excuse poor quality, junk, and exhibitionist cat.

I will draw a plan of the workshop later and post it., maybe in relation to these pics.

Matty, thanks for that amazing catalogue, even a non woodworking heathen like me can appreciate.

Cheers, Ben

 

[ben w]

Incidentally, I spent ten minutes cleaning the top of the flywheel and was quite pleased with the result

http://s1079.photobucket.com/albums/w51 ... etc012.jpg

 

[ben w]

This is a rough plan of the set up

The mill is about 11.5m long from west to east. Thats left to right in the photo

 

[AndyT]

Indeed...Sawyer...this thread has exceeded even my expectations of popularity and contributions of the highest order!

I was looking back at some of the pictures and this very first one..the general shot caught my eye...

I noticed the templates up there on the beam....now any ideas what they were for?

The shape seems vaguely familiar....mmmm =P~

Jim

I reckon the big curvy one is for making a staircase string - the bit at the bottom, where the first few steps curve round.

Like this, but more elegant:

 

[Eric The Viking]

Coupla thoughts:

1. Wow.

2. I used to play _under_ saw benches like that as a child. Grandpa's mill in Haslemere had them, converted to electricity (the mill was originally steam), with sawdust pits below the saw benches. We used to remove the baulks of timber covering the access, climb down in and have sawdust fights! A thrashing if you got caught though.

3. Bristol docks (owned by the council!) still operates a line-driven, metal-working workshop, with a steam engine. IIRC, although over 100 years old, it's not the original, and these days it's driven by an air compressor as its boiler was condemned. See: http://www.underfallboatyard.co.uk/history.htm and http://www.flickr.com/photos/anachrocomputer/230451299/in/photostream/ (not my pics, sadly). It may be a viable way of running your 'shop - if the belts aren't an issue for elf'n'safety, but steam is.

That's a rare treasure you have there. I'd label everything, especially the small tools associated with the machines!

Hope it works out really well - it should!

E.

PS: [edit] The text in the first link above says the shop doesn't use belts any more. This isn't true, as some of the more unusual machines are still belt-driven (or capable of being so). You can see them running during Doors Open Day events.

 

[studders]

If anyone wants the Phone number of a good scrappie, PM me. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[jimi43]

Thankfully Studders...that is almost certainly not going to be necessary (more on that later! :wink: )

Ben...thanks on behalf of everyone for the work you have put into photographing the belt and pulley system and sketching the layout. All these images and plans add to the historical preservation of the site as we move forward to establishing a future home for this treasure.

Just to let you all know, I have been in contact with a very helpful gentleman at Daltons Machines who are the current owners of the Wadkin Brand and IPA and would like to quote part of one of their emails to me:

....The belt driven items would almost certainly date back to the 1920s but two of them, ie the Crosscut Saw and possibly the Tenoner (it is hard to see much detail of these) would be slightly later, probably 1930s, as they both appear to incorporate built-in electric motors.

I am attaching for your interest copies of extracts reference the belt driven items taken from a Wadkin catalogue of that period including technical information, specifications, etc, and also some images of the Wadkin manufacturing facilities dating from a similar period.

The PDF file he sent contains a fantastic record of these machines but since the file is 9MB in size I have placed it on my website and hosted it for download...WADKIN BROCHURES 1920s PDF CLICK FOR DOWNLOAD - WARNING LARGE FILE

File republished in the public domain by kind permission of Daltons Machines (Wadkin)

I would like to thank Francis from Daltons Machines for the time he has taken to research and scan this information as this will be of huge benefit for anyone wishing to preserve these grand machines. Clearly the Wadkin brand is in good hands!

Just to whet your appetites if you are not sure whether to download this scan....here are a few snippets...

Firstly the 1920s factory showing the bandsaws and other machines waiting for final dispatch:

Then the amazing Wadkin London showroom at Queen Victoria Street EC4 around the same time...how amazing that this looks just like the layout in the Kent workshop! I can just imagine the original owner going to London...standing in the middle of this picture and saying..."I'll have one of those...and one of those...and...oh, ok...one of those....". I know this because I have been to Axminster to buy some sandpaper and come away with the shop!!! :mrgreen:

(if you look really closely you can see Douglas' grandad pulling on the lever of the morticer...just as grandson did many years later! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

And last little teaser for you all...the DH bandsaw....

Some amazing historical pictures contained within this scan....bravo Francis! =D> =D> =D> =D>

More later as the story unfolds! :mrgreen:

Jimi

 

[kirkpoore1]

And last little teaser for you all...the DH bandsaw....

Some amazing historical pictures contained within this scan....bravo Francis! =D> =D> =D> =D>

More later as the story unfolds! :mrgreen:

Jimi

Holy Cr*p! Look at the size of the tensioning mechanism on that upper wheel! I guess Wadkin's motto was "If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing"!

Interesting belt shifter, too.

Kirk

 

[jimi43]

Makes a change for an American to think that something is overkill eh Kirk!!!

Very refreshing! :mrgreen:

Reminds me of the old Rolls Royce quote..."Adequte 6 litre engine"!!!!! :mrgreen:

Jim

 

[Tony Spear]

Jimi

Holy Cr*p! Look at the size of the tensioning mechanism on that upper wheel! I guess Wadkin's motto was "If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing"!

Interesting belt shifter, too.

Kirk

As my Grandfather, who was one of the top production engineers in Britain during the war and just afterwards used to say "if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing WELL!

 

[studders]

Thankfully Studders...that is almost certainly not going to be necessary (more on that later! :wink: )

Jimi

Seriously glad to here that Jim. Such finds are so rare and need to be preserved intact.

 

[L.S.Barker1970]

Guy's is it just me or can I see the remnants of the original moulder fence in that hole in Ben's Pic ?

Melbourne Matty.

 

[L.S.Barker1970]

Some amazing historical pictures contained within this scan....bravo Francis! =D> =D> =D> =D>

More later as the story unfolds! :mrgreen:

Jimi

Jim thanks for putting that information up, those factory and show room pic's are some of the best I have seen, just beautiful, a lot of history there indeed.

Looking forward to hearing the out come of this one too...

Melbourne Matty.

 

[condeesteso]

Sharp eyes there Matty - as said already, this site needs to be inspected very carefully, take loads of pics in vicinity of every machine (as parts are likely to be close to the respective) and label everything etc. I did notice quite a few parts just lying around... the odd fence etc!

This 'shop needs and deserves a working home... what's the hold-up? It's just a truck, a few bits of belt and an engine... I mean, it's not like it's complicated or anything.

 

[jimi43]

Over the past few weeks I have been itching to update the thread and now...I am happy to report...I can.

As the old saying goes...."don'tcha just love it when a plan comes together?"....well this has to be the most amazing plan formulated from a mixture of connections, coincidence, perfect wants and needs and immaculate timing.

The unique time capsule which I started this thread describing....

....has officially been saved from the scrap man...has found a new home but better still probably the best possible home ever!

I am happy to announce that Maguire Benches....creators of possibly the best work benches in the world...have agreed to purchase the entire workshop!! :shock:

Not only will they be purchasing it...lock stock and cutter block...but they will be shipping it to their workshop in Lincolnshire, restoring each machine in turn...and then reassembling the whole as the focal point in the manufacturing of their future benches!

The new owners visited the site today...with yours truly and Douglas of this Shire...to see what they had taken on for the first time....the smiles say it all...

Richard and Helen (Richard's the one with the two headed spanner!)....spent today documenting...rummaging....crawling down holes and planning the next stages of this huge transplant project. Ben (the current owner) gave us all a guided tour while his delightful wife, Sue made a superb lunch...after having cleared the entire workshop and generally tidying up to make the evaluation job a breeze..........

It really does look the part now...a fully operational workshop just waiting to have life breathed into it again.

Pulling manually on all the belts resulted in movement from the monsters...the blades turned...

...rising bits rose again....

...and the true beauty of the machinery was revealed....

The rust really is just surface....most of the machines would do what they do so well right now if the belts were made to turn again.

I had to check myself and stop in mid reach when I realised almost too late that I was just about to push the ON button on the tennoner...realising at the last minute that it was probably still powered up!

With just a little effort...Richard and I managed to move the tennoner bed a bit to reveal the virtually clean slipway below...

The major job of documenting the pulley system...measuring and documenting the locations, sizes and orientation to the superb diagram provided by Ben was down to Helen....

...and I have a good feeling that this workshop will be perfectly installed in its new location as a result!

And there are a vast number of calculations to make with all the belts, pulleys and levers laying dormant for the moment in the ever growing minefield of holes...

We think we have it all worked out and it was great fun doing so....

The great treat for me today was how Ben and Sue's three fantastic kids were also fascinated by the project...

...which was a breath of fresh air and proves that these wonderful machines can enthral even the youngest generations....

...and it would seem that even the older generations can't resist pulling that handle!!!

I have to thank Sue for sorting the chains out for the morticer though....they were so neatly arranged!

And of course the "big boys toys" didn't get missed for one minute...did they Richard!? :mrgreen:

I have literally hundreds of photos of the day...pulleys (ALL OF THEM)...belts and machines at every angle...so I will update this thread regularly as required as the project moves along...but I can't leave this latest update without showing you the old National Gas and Oil engine as promised....first the huge flywheel...

...it's a real beauty...

Again with the perfect synchronisation that this project seems to be blessed, Ben intends to keep it and restore it alone and Richard does not feel it is viable to use in a working shop now...he has other plans (we won't mention the tractor just yet Richard!!! :mrgreen: )

I think it fitting to end this series of pictures with two that made me chuckle....

Never underestimate the invention of the youth when asked to find a power source and....

....remember to always read the safety instructions which come with your machine.... :mrgreen: :mrgreen: 8)

A huge thank you from me to everyone today....and I am sure I am not alone in wishing the best to Richard and Helen in this little venture!

Cheers

Jim

 

[MickCheese]

That's just fantastic.

Well done all involved.

Mick

 

[paultnl]

Well done! I am so glad that these wonderful machines will find a new life.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Excellent! Good luck with the relocation and resusitation.

May I offer a small suggestion based on about 25 years of active involvement with heavy engineering preservation (railway - standard gauge)? Talk to the local HSE inspectors about what the intention is, and listen to their advice BEFORE taking any expensive decisions. They are generally very helpful if approached in this way. Many are engineers themselves, and have a feeling for engineering heritage in consequence. I just get a small warning bell in the back of my brain-cell when commercial enterprise meets heritage installation. Done the right way, it will work; if it's done with all good intent, but the wrong way, and then presented as a fait-accompli to the HSE, they will be in a very difficult position, and will just have no option but to say "no". Avoid the trauma by working with them.

 

[No skills]

Good result, hope all goes to plan.