February 21, 201016 yr It was a great few days, Thanks for making the effort to come over James ! (if I had know my pic was going online I would have put on clean overalls ) If anyones got any questions about the pics, or what we do here please feel free to ask, Ive taken on another 3 full time engineers this year, Which by my reconing between us gives over 150 years of combined experience on re-building, installing & maintaining forging plant :D
February 21, 201016 yr Author John... would love to get you over to the states... ANANA is in June. John, the coveralls just shows that you are not afraid to get into the middle of a machine and get your hands dirty. John is way too modest. He grew up around power hammers and has forgotten more than most know.
February 21, 201016 yr looks like a very interesting visit thanks for showing us the photos-john you got a lot of kit there!! glad business seems to be going well and youre taking on more people - ps the overalls look is a goodun :)
February 22, 201016 yr Manchester is a fantastic town. It was the cornerstone of the industrial revolution and there's history everywhere you turn. Did you get over to the Museum of Science and Industry? What an amazing collection. Dave
February 22, 201016 yr Sure is, apart from the rain .... and Stockport. No Industrial museum there, just a hat museum. As Betjamen almost said "come friendly bombs ..."
February 23, 201016 yr Author I did not get to see the technology museum in Manchester... spent as much time with John as I could. In London, I spent time in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the great exhibit they had on blacksmithing. Will post pictures on that later. I also went through the Science and Technology museum in London (very close to the V&A). Wish I had more time to spend in England...
February 26, 201016 yr one of the bad things about my workshop is its in Stockport ... the word dump doesn't even begin to describe it. One of the good things about my workshop is its in Stockport, which is about 5 miles away from John N at Massey. At the risk of being awarded an O.B.N. I've gotta say this place is THE place for all stuff to do power hammers and industrial forging in the UK and John KNOWS hammers. As an aside, about 4 years ago I bought a 40kg Anyang from John. I didn't know John then and was a bit worried about the "Chineseness" of the hammer. The fact that it had the Massey name behind it convinced me to buy one. I've loved it from the day I got it. Absolutely NO problems with it, very compact, very powerful and very controllable. After sales service from John re different dies etc is second to none ..... can I have my tenner now John?
February 27, 201016 yr Thanks for the virtual tour of the Massey works, great to see someone so knowledgeable carrying on the business. I've never heard of anyone with a Massey hammer in the US, let alone on the West Coast . Are there any around ?
February 27, 201016 yr I dont know how many Massey Hammers there are in the USA, not many I suspect as you had very good domestic manufacturers. Massey certainly did send a lot of plant over there in the early years though. This is a wonderful artical from the New York Times about the Machinery hall at the 1876 Philadelphia Worlds Fair, well worth a read! http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D0DE0DC1F3FE73BBC4A52DFB066838D669FDE I know of a couple of Massey 'Clear Space' hammers in Canada at the moment. Below is some photos of a Massey 5 cwt Clear Space Hammer we have just finished re-building (shes looking for a new home now...... ) The 5 cwt (280 kg / 625lb falling weight) was probably the most popular size of hammer Massey made. Lots still in service around the world ! (I know at least 3 IFI members who have got a Massey 5 cwt)
February 27, 201016 yr John what the marking on the tup? looks like that process whose name I can't remember where you dab at surface with a cork spinning in a drill press and fine grinding paste?
February 27, 201016 yr Author Youngdylin. Like your work very much. Next time, I would like to stop by your shop. We did stop in stockport at the rail station. Never known to rain in Manchester... guess we were there during a very unusual time. That's all it did was rain, but it was a great trip.
February 27, 201016 yr Hi David,. Im a bit embarresed to say I dont know what the finish on the tup is called Basically we use a 'flat iron grinder' to dress the flats of the rams, we rub them with a surface plate with a little engineers blue on, then grind the high spots off, and repeat........ when the flats of the ram are truely flat we use the same grinder to dress the surface with the little circles. Ive allways been told it helps to maintain an oil film on the ram. Looks neat either way!
February 27, 201016 yr Youngdylin. Like your work very much. Next time, I would like to stop by your shop. We did stop in stockport at the rail station. Never known to rain in Manchester... guess we were there during a very unusual time. That's all it did was rain, but it was a great trip. You're more than welcome James but it's microscopic as John N will testify. About 20ft by 20ft ....oops, using scoats furlongs widgets and bushells again 6m by 6m That said, I've managed to shoe horn 3 powerhammers, coal forge, gas forge, 30T and 15T electrohydraulic presses, chop saw, band saw, bridgeportish mill, 3 drill presses, 40T iron worker, colchester Master lathe, #6 deepthroat and #5 flypresses, 200kg and 50kg anvil, oliver hammer, slacktub, post and plenty of other vices, 10hp compressor, 250kg 3m boom swing jib cranes, oxy fuel rig, MIG TIG and plasma, 150mm and 50mm belt grinders, 14RWF bandsaw, 3hp polishing spindle, and plenty of the usual hand and air tools in. Whats more, I can still still work a 2m x 3m 250kg gate led flat ....... and get it out. Can't safetly employ anyone other than me in it; hence the long hours. ......Yep 20ft x 20ft (high ceilings are so useful) Will post some photos soon , current work in progress blocks the view!
February 27, 201016 yr Hi David,. Basically we use a 'flat iron grinder' to dress the flats of the rams, flat iron grinder ?
February 27, 201016 yr Marking on tup, I know it as engine turning, although different configurations come through when slides are hand scraped to bed in. Don't see that done very often nowadays though. When its done by hand it is sometimes called frosting,
February 27, 201016 yr flat iron grinder ? Imagine a dremmel type multi tool, with flexi shaft, but lots bigger..... the motor hangs from the crane, or a roof joist. the working end looks kinda like a clothes iron, except in the middle it has a cup wheel grind stone that can be pushed down to touch the workpiece. It allows tiny ammounts of metal to be removed in a very controlled way. Ill get some pics next time I fire it up!
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.