# Wadkin RS restoration



## wallace (7 Jan 2018)

Its been a whole year since I started a machine so I thought its about time, This one dates from 1936 and is in rough but very complete condition. It has its original compound slide/carriage and even a nice 4 jaw chuck







One must remember check height restrictions and fluorescent tubes when entering the workshop, they don't half make a pop when hit


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## Geoff_S (7 Jan 2018)

Er ... what is it?


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## Random Orbital Bob (7 Jan 2018)

It's a lathe dear boy....were the apples extra Wallace?

It's like a new BBC drama....I'll strap in and look forward to the next episode


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## wallace (8 Jan 2018)

Its been sat under a big ol apple tree for a year, There are piles of windfalls for the birds over the winter, their starting to get mushy and ferment. Have you ever seen a drunk blackbird


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## wallace (8 Jan 2018)

Let the fun begin











All of the cloth wiring is rotten but the starter looks to be in great condition.






Never come across this on an RS before, brass hinges






There is normally a tapered pin locating the lever but this one had a straight pin which would not budge so I had to drill it out.






Funny little marks






I'm always impressed when taking a wadkin to bits, Bolts are just the right torque and come out like this after 82 years






Never seen 3 grease rings on the spindle before






This is my tool for getting the nut off the spindle, Its not pretty but works


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## Woodmonkey (8 Jan 2018)

Yay, I love these threads.... Has this one already got a home to go to wallace? Would love to own one of these one day


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## wallace (8 Jan 2018)

No home for this one yet mate.

Original colour under the tags






That wasn't too difficult, I was expecting a fight






I think this bit might put up a bit resistance


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## Rhyolith (8 Jan 2018)

What does “RS” stand for? and what does it do? I don’t recognise this sort of lathe.

I will be paying close attention to this as just got my first large industrial machine restoration to do in the form of a milling machine.


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## Farmer Giles (8 Jan 2018)

I love restoring old machines, that is lovely, I'm looking forward to the rest of the resto.


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## wallace (8 Jan 2018)

Rhyolith":20hi7jqd said:


> What does “RS” stand for? and what does it do? I don’t recognise this sort of lathe.
> 
> I will be paying close attention to this as just got my first large industrial machine restoration to do in the form of a milling machine.



The RS doesn't stand for anything its just the way wadkin named their machines, The RS is a pattern makers wood lathe, just like any other wood lathe just a bit bigger. This one weighs around 700kg. It has a carriage and cross slide like a metal lathe. I have done some metal turning on mine with no problem.


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## TFrench (8 Jan 2018)

Rhyolith":3sk2eush said:


> What does “RS” stand for? and what does it do? I don’t recognise this sort of lathe.
> 
> I will be paying close attention to this as just got my first large industrial machine restoration to do in the form of a milling machine.



The RS was the baby of the group - they did an "RU" and then an "RUH" which were even more monstrous!
http://www.lathes.co.uk/wadkin/


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## wallace (9 Jan 2018)

I very nearly bought an RU for peanuts a couple of years ago, been kicking myself ever since.

Their are some pretty rusty bits so I got some phosphoric acid. 






This is the tail stock, note the differences to a later one.






The carriage is in good nick just rusty, funnily the cutter in the holder is a carbide tipped parting tool.











To get the machine pins out I put a slit with the dremmel and twist with a screwdriver






The motor put a decent fight up, the end bells are aluminium and the main body cast iron. There was a bit sticking due to dissimilar metals.






I've never come across a motor in this good a nick inside, it still had chalk writing on the stator. Normally they are crammed with grease.


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## Vann (10 Jan 2018)

TFrench":14loeovq said:


> ...The RS was the baby of the group - they did an "RU" and then an "RUH" which were even more monstrous...


Nah, the RS is the middle size (actually 3 middle sizes: 6" 8" & 10").

The RT is the baby of the group.








And I think one of the later Wadkin-Bursgreen woodlathes might be slightly smaller again.

Cheers, Vann.


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## NazNomad (10 Jan 2018)

Just one question...

Why is there not a film crew making a full series of this?


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## Geoff_S (10 Jan 2018)

NazNomad":1rd8phv7 said:


> Just one question...
> 
> Why is there not a film crew making a full series of this?



My wife locked them away


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## wallace (10 Jan 2018)

I have found that using phosphoric acid before cleaning up works really well, I intend to cold blacken some parts after cleaned. It smells horrible, almost like a stink bomb






Wadkin must of had a good few motors still with Wadkin & Co when they became a limited company.











Mmm Hofman bearings






It must of been in the same company whenit got its coat of green paint, I found the same asset number underneath 






I got back together and wired up and it works lovely, a quick lick of zinc primer 






Just realised it might have to come to bits again because I will be fitting a VFD and this motor is not dual voltage, My motor man might be able to fiddle with the leads


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## Phil Pascoe (10 Jan 2018)

A little drop of phosphoric is handy stuff if you want to set Cascamite lightning quick.


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## Rhyolith (11 Jan 2018)

The name plate looks lovely! 

So phosphoric acid dissolves rust? Would it work on brass too?


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## Phil Pascoe (11 Jan 2018)

I just had a look for acids on Amazon ........ how about this for an advert - 
Get Nitric Acid - Buy - You're worth it. :? :shock:


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## wallace (11 Jan 2018)

Yeah phosphoric acid works pretty well, just mix with water and let it soak, I believe it is used for etching so probably keep an eye of steel parts, 
You wouldn't need it for brass, it doesn't rust and is really easy to clean up with scotchbright.

This is the support for the motor pulleys, as you'd expect Hofman double row self aligning bearings.






The pulley spent the night in a bucket of solution and came out rust free






This is it after a while in the cold blackening solution, just spray with wd40 and then boeshield






The head spindle all cleaned up






The speed change handle is a week point on the RS, they usually get broken.











The carriage and compound tool holder is a tad rusty 






But came to bits pretty easily


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## Phil Pascoe (11 Jan 2018)

What sort of dilution is the acid used at?


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## Ttrees (11 Jan 2018)

Great work Wallace !
That's gonna be a thing of beauty


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## wallace (12 Jan 2018)

Phill the stuff I got was 85% and I put about 2 ltrs in one of those wine making barrels filled with water I think there 25 litre


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## wallace (17 Jan 2018)

I'm not going to make everything all shiny, some bits are getting black oxided.







But theres still plenty to make shiny, this is the handle for the cross slide






Sanded to 400 grit






Then buffed with silverline red compound






The buffalo horn handle cleaned up pretty well, I just sanded it then used some T-cut






The handwheel for the carraige went on the lathe to get sanded and buffed


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## memzey (17 Jan 2018)

Looking gorgeous as per your usual standard Mark. Can’t wait to see this one done! What condition are the bed ways in out of curiosity? They look pretty rough.


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## wallace (17 Jan 2018)

The bed is good just minor rust, no pitting which is nice


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## fiveeyes (18 Jan 2018)

wallace..what is used when cold blackening?


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## wallace (18 Jan 2018)

I use this stuff http://www.caswelleurope.co.uk/black-oxide-kits/ I don't buy their degreaser or finisher, I just get their oxide solution. To degrease I use brake cleaner then into the solution afterwards a liberal spray of wd40 followed by boesheild or wax. I have found that its best to go straight from the wire wheel then do the process, if you leave a cleaned piece overnight the oxide does not work very well.


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## wallace (18 Jan 2018)

This big bolt is used as an adjustable stop for the pivoting motor mount, it was quite pitted






I cleaned it up on the disc sander and then glued various grits onto a board and went down to 400 before polishing
















More blackened bits 






I was surprised the tailstock was not seized











There must of been a casting cock up because this bit has been filled


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## wallace (19 Jan 2018)

I made a bit more shiny






I think the carriage is a later addition to this lathe because of the aluminium handwheel, the tailstock has and iron handwheel which takes a lot of effort to get then looking good. I just so happened to have a spare aluminium hand wheel but it will need some work to make it fit











The plan is to turn the boss of the handwheel down.


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## wallace (23 Jan 2018)

The lathe came with a banjo which is off a bigger RS and it was missing its handle. I just so happened to have the correct one in my stash, I just need to fix the handle






It put up a bit of a fight, I had to drill two tapered pins out.





















I need to make a new end for this


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## Geoff_S (23 Jan 2018)

You know, there must be a TV series here. Love it


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## wallace (25 Jan 2018)

Thanks Geoff.
This is my choice of filler, I find it much better than normal car bodge. it sands really well with none of the pin holes you get with normal stuff.






I've been slowly going through every casting cleaning, filling and sanding.






This is my choice of primer, you need synthetic thinners but its pretty silly person proof to spray.


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## wallace (26 Jan 2018)

This is where all the prep work pays off, if you've tried to makes shortcuts it shows when sprayed


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## Geoff_S (28 Jan 2018)

It has gone quiet. Is it a weekend off?


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## wallace (29 Jan 2018)

Not much to report Geoff, I gave everything another quick coat the day after and then the weekend arrived so time to chill out.


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## wallace (31 Jan 2018)

I made some good progress assembling 











Does any one know the purpose of the hole at the end of the banjo, maybe for holding a template?






The handle was broken on this so I made a new one out of wadkin flooring






Not that any one is going to see the underside I like to paint these red


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## yetloh (31 Jan 2018)

Looks stunning, Mark. I'll never own a Wadkin but I do love your restoration threads. There is a balance to be struck between "like new" and over the top bling practiced by some of our US friend s but I think you get it just right.

Jim


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## toolsntat (31 Jan 2018)

Looking good, very good in fact. 8) 
That must be somewhat of a first in the whole world, for a Wadkin machine to not only be reunited with part of its birthplace, but then to have it incorporated within its fabrication years later.
Come to think of it, would it have ever happened for anything else at all?
Do you know Jack Forsberg https://www.instagram.com/jackenglishmachines/ ?
Cheers
Andy


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## wallace (31 Jan 2018)

Thanks Jim, Andy I've known Jack for about 6 years now, he's a nice person, his work is something to aspire to.


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## wallace (1 Feb 2018)

The hand wheel that I chose was too big so I needed to get a bush luckily it was a standard imperial size 1" and 3/4 bore. £2



























I always enjoy doing the tags






A big PK comes in handy for laying finished parts out


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## wallace (6 Feb 2018)

When I have a machine that's not going to be restored for a while I cover it with waxoyle, this was left over from when I was a kid and had a little MG car. That makes this tin 25 years old :shock: Anyway this lathe has been stood outside with minimal cover for a year. I have found it works its way into parts and helps a lot when dissembling.











They had some pitting so I cleaned them up with the ROS






Then finished with scotchbrite






The wadkin lettering is probably the worst I've come across, the casting mould must have messed up because it was a mess. Its took alot of work with burr's and mini grinding discs on the dremmel to tidy it up.


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## wallace (15 Feb 2018)

I thought I would try some filling primer for the lettering, I wasn't impressed by the stuff I tried.


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## Ring (15 Feb 2018)

Love it Wallace quality as usual . Jim


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## Geoff_S (15 Feb 2018)

What sort of paint are you using Wallace?


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## wallace (15 Feb 2018)

Thanks Jim, Geoff the paint is quick dry machinery enamel which I get from a motor factors who supply car sprayers, They can colour match any RAL code, it costs £10 a litre and can be brushed on or thinned and sprayed. I usually get them to add some matting agent because I like a semi gloss finish it helps hide any imperfections. A full gloss will make things stick out. I fancy doing a machine in 2 pack sometime


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## wallace (22 Feb 2018)

I plan on running this with a vfd and will need to cut a hole in the electrickery door to mount the control panel, the one on this was far to nice to be chopping up so I paid my old dealer a visit and he had a plane one.











I find its best to clean the detail out with a small drill bit, if you use a wire wheel it removes metal and round the edges.






I have started to put bits back together so it shouldn't be long now






While I was rutting around at the dealers I found this carriage, it must be from a very early RS.


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## Rhyolith (23 Feb 2018)

I been struggling with cleaning details particularly writing in metal for years. Might try your drill technique! You broke the end off?


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## wallace (23 Feb 2018)

The drill is a cheapo so broke easy, if a part is heavily rusty but you want to save detail the best way I've found is electrolysis


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## Rhyolith (24 Feb 2018)

I know what electrolysis is, but not how to utilise it for this purpose. How do you do it? I assume it won't work for brass?


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## julianf (24 Feb 2018)

Ive done a fair bit of electrolytic rust removal, and i did once drop a set of scales with a brass face into the tank. I was trying to do the iron that the brass was mounted to.

IIRC the brass went came out the same as it went in. No worse, no better. I wasnt really paying attention to the brass but it certainly wasnt a case of it dissolving and falling off, nor was it a case of it coming out dazzling - like i say, i think it was largely unaffected.


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## julianf (24 Feb 2018)

Sorry, i missed the question (even though it was for someone else) - 

Its great, you have a tank with an electrolyte, and a sacrificial anode. You dump in your rusty old part, connect up the power, it fizzes away for a while (but not like acid - ill explain in a moment) and you pull it out, point the pressure washer at it, and the rust just washes away, leaving dull silver or somtimes blackened metal behind.

When i say its not like acid, the key point is that you could leave the job in the electrolysis tank for months, and the process stops when the rust is gone. With acid the acid will keep eating until you wash it of.

Ive got to do a landover bumper when i get around to it - ill use a 205ltr plastic drum, and fill it to just over half way up the bumper - do one side then flip it.

I use a scary electrolyte (NaOH) which makes the process dangerous but you can use non caustic ones also. I like NaOH as i buy it by the sack full for another process, and it stips paint etc. also whilst the job is in there, but its fearful stuff if you get it on you without realising.


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## swb58 (24 Feb 2018)

julianf":20sj5uek said:


> Sorry, i missed the question (even though it was for someone else) -
> 
> Its great, you have a tank with an electrolyte, and a sacrificial anode. You dump in your rusty old part, connect up the power, it fizzes away for a while (but not like acid - ill explain in a moment) and you pull it out, point the pressure washer at it, and the rust just washes away, leaving dull silver or somtimes blackened metal behind.
> 
> ...



How does the galvanising cope with that?


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## julianf (25 Feb 2018)

I find that galvanised parts don't tend to rust in the same way...

Was your question serious?

If it ever comes to it that I need to derust some ferrous attached to some zinc, i will not use sodium hydroxide.


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## wallace (25 Feb 2018)

Rhyolith":3gacefyl said:


> I know what electrolysis is, but not how to utilise it for this purpose. How do you do it? I assume it won't work for brass?



Theres loads of write ups floating around, I just used washing soda and an old battery charger. Using caustic soda is next level and I wont be trying it soon, that stuff is dodgy as.
I understand cast iron is safe for unlimited time but steel can be damaged if left too long and chromed parts are a no go because it releases nasty stuff.
You can do it on any scale from a margerine tub to 1000ltr tank and loads of power sources, even a welder.
I would have thought doing something that has been galvanised would be dodgy


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## wallace (27 Feb 2018)

I always enjoy doing the letters. this one is not the best I've done but good enough


























I've never come across brass hinges before
















I cut a hole in the door to put the control pad
















I paid a visit to Fred Didnahs workshop recently, he was one of my childhood heroes. A guy bought the place after freds death and has been running it as a heritage centre. He's now retiring and selling everything, literally every nut, bolt and rivet. 
This is his power hammer that helped make his engines


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## katellwood (1 Mar 2018)

Wallace 
Do you know when the Fred Dibnah heritage centre is closing 

Thanks


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## wallace (1 Mar 2018)

I think the auction is on the 17th and he is still doing Saturday tours till then


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## wallace (1 Mar 2018)

Because the vfd didn't fit in the electrickery enclosure I had to find something suitable. Luckily I bought a load of new really old stock a while back and this was in it.






Then I had to make a gib strip for the carriage, I had some 1/4" brass which worked well.






All done apart from I need to order a new drive belt.


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## Geoff_S (1 Mar 2018)

Well, that was a thread worth watching! Nice one Wallace  

What do you do with them when you restore them? Are they on display, do you sell them?


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## wallace (1 Mar 2018)

Thanks Geoff, some I keep some I sell. It helps pay for my addiction and stops me raiding the house keeping


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## MusicMan (1 Mar 2018)

Drool! What a beauty!


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## custard (1 Mar 2018)

It must be inspirational to be working with kit like that. Even really top end modern professional woodworking equipment comes nowhere close to the majesty of those vintage machines.

As always, congratulations on a superb restoration!


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## Hornbeam (1 Mar 2018)

The finished lathe looks fantastic. I'm sure it has been a bit of a labour of love

Ian


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## Fitzroy (1 Mar 2018)

Super job as always. I rub my nuts endlessly but they never end up as shiny as yours 

What make of VFD are you using?

Fitz.


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## heimlaga (1 Mar 2018)

I though I had a magnificent wood lathe.....until I saw yours.

Well done!


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## Woodmonkey (1 Mar 2018)

Wow, amazing! =D>


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## wallace (2 Mar 2018)

Fitz its just an el cheapo from ebay. It was only £100


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## giantbeat (2 Mar 2018)

GLORIOUS!!!! just utterly glorious. 

you need to start a youtube channel doing this stuff, id watch the show.


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## TFrench (2 Mar 2018)

Beautiful job, I'd love that in my workshop!


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## Ttrees (3 Mar 2018)

It looks stunning Wallace, what a beast =D> 
May it bring you much joy every time you use it.
Whats next? 

Tom


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## wallace (3 Mar 2018)

Thanks Tom, this one will be finding a newhome, I already have an RS. Next is either a nice old LP recessor which I'm hoping to keep it in original paint and just strip clean and rebuild. Or it might be a PK dimension saw that a guy wants making pretty.


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## Rhyolith (7 Mar 2018)

Lovely! Impressively torough restoration.


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## wallace (7 Mar 2018)

Ta very much


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## fiveeyes (8 Mar 2018)

As always wallace..wonderful craftsmanship. I am not a turner at all, but surely would be with that machine. hats off! ..bill..


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## AES (8 Mar 2018)

As always, an excellent job, many congrats ;-)

What I like more than anything else is the fact oif keeping this old gear alive and "earning it's living" - whether for yourself or to sell to others is for me immaterial

Great

AES


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## wallace (9 Mar 2018)

Thanks very much, this one has found a forever home at a cabinet makers in Aberdeen, so its going back to work after its little rest.


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## onetruth (27 Nov 2018)

This is, perhaps, the very best ever thing I have ever read ever.


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