Not Your Modern Lathe Tools

I gave some more of the tools that came with the Faircut a soak in citric acid today. I don't know how many of them will be useful but some interesting names emerged from the rust.

Overview. A couple of uncertain ones - is the fourth one down a milling cutter? The bottom one... I have no idea what this one is but it's had a hard life...

Some close ups...

And not forgetting the monster tool in the toolholder...

Edited By Andy Carlson on 30/08/2019 21:32:56

Edited By Andy Carlson on 30/08/2019 21:33:12

You might have some classic bits of crucible steel amongst those, Andy

It would be worth sharpening them up, to see how it performs.

MichaelG.

Ahh... interesting. Until a few weeks ago when I visited Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield I would have had no idea what crucible steel was. I must admit that I didn't know it was used for lathe tools though.

It does sound like a challenge to try to use the lathe with some of its contemporary tooling... just need to find some way to hold those little black tool bits.

I've just found this, Andy : **LINK**

http://theshiveringbeggar.com/documents/CrucibleSteelCompany.pdf

... Some bedtime reading for us both.

By the way: I haven't been to Kelham Island for a few years ... What's it like now ?

MichaelG.

Thanks Michael. Your googling turned up a bit more interesting stuff than mine.

I spent probably 3 hours or so at Kelham Island with my wife and daughter. We all found it interesting (at least, the ladies said they did). The River Don Engine was hugely impressive and my daughter knew how to recognise a lathe once we were done there. I dont know how much it has changed so it's hard to say if it would be worth another trip.

Must take a closer look at the Henderson's Relish building in town next time I'm up there - apparently they made a decent lathe there

.

You had me there, for a while, Andy ... but Mrs.G. whilst searching Sheffield local history for me ... found this on lathes.co.uk

[quote] Manufactured in both "backgeared and screwcutting" and "plain-turning" models the Faircut lathe was made in Sheffield by the Freeman family from the late 1930s until approximately the mid 1950s. Although the full range of their products is unknown, one item that has come to light is a small saw bench, for mounting on a table top. The Company were also (and still are) the maker's of "Henderson's Relish", the original factory that produced lathes on the upper floor and the relish below still stands just below Sheffield University. [/quote]

MichaelG.

The sauce isn't too bad either.

Ok, I'm going to bite.

Are we saying that The Freeman family made both a lathe, a mechanical engineering device, AND, a food stuff known as Henderson's Relish in the same factory, albeit on different floors?

Peter G. Shaw

Ah, I've been looking for vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce. I did find a gluten-free version but it wasn't very realistic.

Neil

Tony Griffiths' site is where the info comes from. To be honest the obvious building near the tram stop with the orange signs on it looks more domestic or perhaps a works office. I struggle to believe that this was the building where either sauce or lathes were made. I don't know much about how the site was in the past but I'd like to know more. There is no doubt that the lathe was made somewhere in Sheffield though - it's cast into the bed.

There was also Yorkshire Relish in thick (HP like) and thin versions. Goodall and Blackhouse made it most recently but my family (from Dartmouth) used to (circa 1970s) have Yorkshire Relish from another firm whose name I forget now. They eventually tracked down a G&B supply at Creber's in Tavistock and I remember a family trip across the moor to stock up. I think the G&B stuff is still made in Ireland. No idea on it's vergetarian credentials or lack thereof.

I bet it would work for getting rust off too.

I had a little look on Britain From Above and Old Maps. I've labelled the current building on BFA. You may need to register and log in if you want to zoom in.

Upper Hanover St today is where the trams run and has been widened a lot so the building with the gable facing the tram stop was not on the corner in the 1950 photo or on the old map. There are plenty of other big buildings on that 'block' although it's not clear how much belonged to the Henderson's company.

https://britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW031294

https://www.old-maps.co.uk/#/Map/434442/387250/12/100747

Hendo’s Was indeed made in the building on upper Hanover until a few years ago

now production has moved to a modern unit just off sheffield parkway

Just a bit of UK industrial history, the large lathe tool marked ESC is a product of English Steel Corporation. They were largely Sheffield based and are now part of Sheffield Forgemasters. They used the logo EaiSCut on their tool-steel products IIRC. (geddit ?? )

The tool shown appears to have their Manchester, Openshaw Works marking

Let's not forget Hammond's Sauce, I used to drive past the factory every morning on my way to work. Not only very tasty sauce, they had a championship brass band. Still in production in Bradford but under American ownership. Does the UK own anything any longer?

And also made Commonwealth bogies for Mk 1 coaches I think.

That might have been the one that my Dad's family had before G&B. Would have been from Cundells of Dartmouth.

I found some Henderson's photos online such as...

http://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s28297&pos=3&action=zoom&id=89309

My guess is that this was taken inside another building on the same site. No results for Faircut lathes though.

Impossible, it wouldn't be Worcestershire Sauce without the fermented fish!

**LINK**

Russell

Yes, they certainly made a saw Michael.

I purchased a Faircut saw several years ago as the basis for something a little more useful, with a nice small cast iron table at its heart. The spindle (running in cast iron bearings) was badly worn but as I'm thinking of remaking it to take Proxxon FET saw blades, I wasn't too worried (and being tight didn't want to cough up £360+ for the Proxxon FET saw either!)

I'm working on my usual assumption that even an old & very worn machine (that was originally well made) can provide me with an excellent set of semi-machined castings to at least get me going!

IanT

Edited By IanT on 01/09/2019 12:13:39