Just watched this wonderful video on Ivan Dutton's Shed Racing channel. It shows the process of creating replica front axles for Type 35 Bugatti cars in a Drop Forging firm in the West Midlands. All skills that have been lost now.
Last edited by Paul F; 03/05/2402:46 PM.
Paul Costock, UK Plus Four 75th - Furka Rouge - Pip Disco 5 Teddy - 17h1 Irish Draught cross
there still are a fair number of drop forgers in the UK both open dies and closed die. Far fewer than used to be the case because compnents that used to be forged steel, crankshafts for example, are now often cast.
A drop forge shop was my first job after Uni.. Vickers in Sheffield who then were still making the cranks for the Merlin engine still in use in some countries as well as titanium forgings for the TSR2. They also made big cranks for ships but then we had a ships engine business which has now long gone.
Firth Vickers were an early Stainless producer under the Staybrite branding, my wife's grandma was a 'buffer girl' and smoked like a chimney, her lungs must have been knackered but she still lived into her late 70's
I subscribed to Ivan`s channel some time back, pre Shed Racing. By all accounts it seems Ivan has lead quite a life as an automobile enthusiast dabbling successfully in many areas likely to be fo great interest to like-minded souls.. (-: . It seems but for Ivan`s efforts this video on forging Bugatti axles would perhaps never been made all those years ago..? That Ivan has now posted it on his channel, the men and processes involved have been brought back to life once again..? Well done Ivan..
Strange as it may seem....As I watched a TV prog on the attempts of a learned chap to use a mix of high powered x-ray and A.I. techniques to try to access the writings on parts of a carbonised scroll, which in its self was just a fraction of the number of scrolls found in Pompeii, and thought to contain a wealth of otherwise unrecorded history, from a time in human history when there is little to no record available....
Yeah well a bit of a stretch, to compare the historic importance of trying to access the writings of the Pompeii scrolls to that of Ivan`s YT presentations recording the history of much that went on behind the scenes as well as in front, on aspects of automobile history as it evolved during the likely lifecycle of baby boomers...?
As a younger man I would have been far more critical of Ivan`s efforts in "replica" creation in many areas, though today far less so, perhaps it`s just an age thing..? I guess Ivan was ahead of his time, in terms of what some might unkindly describe as producing some degree of fakery, just as it seems we may be tying our minds in knots, trying to work out the possible value of A.I. in creating fake...err....anything, while pushing the boundaries of technological advance..?
In terms of "our" priorities today, and for tomorrow.... would we care if a part that was no longer available from the MMC was made available by someone manufacturing it in a mud hut, a shed or using A.I.... ? (-:
Perhaps another thread drift thought... The mention of ships engine manufacture and the loss thereof of so many industries and skills. On the banks of the Clyde where a fast food outlet now stands, there once existed a ships engine manufacturer the deserted buildings of which were available to a friend of a friend pre demolition, on accessing what was once the drawing office he found photographs of the works and products thereof going back to the very early days of the company, strewn across the floor, he picked them up and gave them to my friend who has a bit of family history in shipbuilding. T`was very early days for me as the owner of a computer with scanning capability, which my friend was aware of and he asked me if I might like to scan the images and thus digitise them in some sort of attempt to preserve the history of the company, which I was pleased to do... OK so once again not close measured on any scale as the likely content of the Pompeii Scroll preservation/access attempts.... BUT..? (-:
As ever in these litigious times there will be rights of ownership relative to the photographer(s) and their successors to the content of these old photographs, thus I guess there are risks in posting any of them, which again causes me to wonder about the linkage to the "ownership" of that which may be contained in much of recorded history including the aforementioned scrolls....???
The information of the scrolls would no doubt be determined as ..err... "priceless", in terms of it`s potential value to humanity, that perhaps being the case, causes me to contemplate the "price" of my miniscule attempts at preserving some measure of history that could have been forever lost and the possible cost to me of sharing part of that history FREELY with any interested parties.... Quite by chance I tripped over a trust linked to a university where it seems there are records of Clyde ship building preserved, and my friend tells me he has passed the photographs and the discs I created of them along with a write up by my friend on the history of the engine building company.... thus hopefully that little bit of human history may be preserved to some extent for now...?
Just a pity I would feel at some degree of risk of sharing any of these pics with those on the forum who might have interest in such matters, given that the desire for the acquisition of money is for many THE somewhat flawed priority as determined by human nature, as opposed to preserving the history of the mental and of course physical efforts of mankind.....
