Thread: Video of old (113 years) machine shop

Came across this video last night.
113 yo machine shop - somewhere in the USA (where else?)

Some interesting old machines and a lot of clutter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mz7OTnuTrg

My apologies of this has been posted before.
peter

I did my electrical apprenticeship back in late 70's at the railways workshop in Midland WA. Plenty of well looked after machines through out the place still performing well.
Remember they removed a bank of belt driven machines to make way for what I think were among the first CNC lathe and millers in Perth.
We installed them but they were to be commissioned by technicians from the japanese company that made them. Problem was we could never find them, they were constantly wandering around looking
at the gear that they said they had only read about or seen in museums.

Thanks for this Peter. Great to see the old stuff still being used, albeit with "modern" electric motors and gearboxes.
Just as well he's a one man show as I doubt that worksafe would approve of it all.
Kryn

Originally Posted by Sparksy

I did my electrical apprenticeship back in late 70's at the railways workshop in Midland WA. Plenty of well looked after machines through out the place still performing well.
Remember they removed a bank of belt driven machines to make way for what I think were among the first CNC lathe and millers in Perth.
We installed them but they were to be commissioned by technicians from the japanese company that made them. Problem was we could never find them, they were constantly wandering around looking
at the gear that they said they had only read about or seen in museums.

My understanding is that some of the workshops are still as they were when they shut down the workshops in the 90s ? I was over that way earlier this year on hols.
The one I have seen photos of was the Patternshop which had early 20th century machinery in good useable condition.
This stuff wasn’t lineshaft but was very early. I made contact with a local furniture maker who was in the arty studio part but a visit wasn’t possible at the time.
H

Not sure how much of the original gear is still there.
There was a open day about 10 years ago where they had a lot of stuff mainly old foundry patterns up for auction.
The powerhouse was as I remember it.
A great place to do a apprenticeship, even as a sparky we had to pass the same welding course that a second year boilermaker did. I think the best part as it was a government facility the training of apprentices was a priority. If you wanted to learn something the processes were in place to make it happen.

I wish QLD Rail Museum in Ipswich would allow access to the machine shop. The doors are often open but due to barricades limited viewing. Considering the workshop built a lathe for defence force in WWII which they had to remove bricks to allow it to be brought out and loaded direct onto the rail carriage.

I wonder how much is left at Ipswitch Ray.
They had an auction back in 2013 by Mannheim’s where the gear from the Patternshop etc was sold off.
There were some huge lathes and a Wadkin Pattern mill or Mechanical Woodworker to use its correct name.
I chased Mannheim’s re who bought it but they wouldn’t tell me because of privacy laws.
Im afraid a lot of this stuff is going to scrap.
How did you go with the fires up your way?
H.

Ah Henry the machines could be anywhere. A lady is selling off all her brothers horded gear massive lathes etc plus other stuff. To big for my shop.

The rail workshop still has some big gear as the do large contract work and restorations. No idea whats up at the new workshop at Walkaraka.

Plenty smoke about none close yet! Ooops forgot about the grass scrub fire over diagonal other side of highway overpass. Not sure if the panic was for the 20+ new homes, the big new church, Maccas or the Servo but fire brigade just over the hill next door 50m away. All out in 40mins.
If embers had jumped the highway the scrub along back fence along higway would go.