Wadkin Time Warp Workshop - Kent

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Well done boys

the greatest things are never about progress they are always about history. I am so happy this came together.


jack
 
Great news. I hope we can look forward to pics. of the machines installed in their new home, in due course.
 
The big machine move is scheduled this coming weekend. Richard and Helen have launched a 'blog' and all progress will be reported there with pics. I'm certain Jim will keep this thread updated too, but the blog is well worth bookmarking anyway as it has a few other gems within:

http://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/?p=40

I'm sure pics of the move weekend will follow. And I for one will be keen to discover the chosen power source in due course... a vintage tractor was one possible option. Neat.
 
So the whole collection is staying together, to be used for woodworking, in a business run by people who care about how they do things - that's fantastic news! Better than a static museum - that stuff needs to be used!

What a brilliant outcome for everyone. I look forward to following the story.
 
Great start to the blog Helen and Richard! =D>

I don't think I have ever seen a set of circumstances gel so perfectly in such a short space of time.

The regeneration of this workshop into a fully functioning operation is indeed like a dream come true!

I am so happy to have been part of it.

Jim
 
condeesteso":37py4gpc said:
The big machine move is scheduled this coming weekend. Richard and Helen have launched a 'blog' and all progress will be reported there with pics. I'm certain Jim will keep this thread updated too, but the blog is well worth bookmarking anyway as it has a few other gems within:

http://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/?p=40

I'm sure pics of the move weekend will follow. And I for one will be keen to discover the chosen power source in due course... a vintage tractor was one possible option. Neat.

A vintage tractor is an excellent idea - quirky yet practical. Steam would have been a daily PIA, and big ol' gas engines are too rare and collectible to be affordable.

IIRC John Brown (of magazine fame) used a tractor PTO to run some of his shop.

BugBear
 
Yes, a tractor driving the lineshaft would be a good solution, unless the lineshaft is going to run every day. In that case, a big old motor would be more practical (and cheaper). I once repoured the babbitt bearings on a circular sawmill that the owner powered with his tractor. The tractor stood about 20 feet away from the mill when in use, and the belt was about forty feet long and six inches wide. Very cool. (Oh, the saw blade was 54" across, and I got paid with a trailer load of red oak 1x12's. A fun day.)

Kirk
 
A quick taster of the move weekend. Day one (Friday) Richard and Kevin arrive in the truck plus trailer, with some useful gear onboard.

1] If Maguire made saw horses they would probably...
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2] Same goes for the scrap for packing...
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3] The very first machine sees the first direct sunlight in close on 100 years...
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4] "Pass me that rat, would you Kev?"
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(A proper thread of the move with pics will follow, but there's a bit more to shift yet and the entire shaft system to come up out of the ground.)
 

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Hi Douglas

Green with envy...that I had to work and missed this pivotal stage in the move!

Great pictures documenting it though....and considering that you were getting your hands very mucky too....I'm surprised you had any time to photograph anything. But it is hugely important that this historical record be made as you obviously realise. This is something to show our grandchildren...and makes a great link in the journal that will be Richard and Helen's blog.

It's not until you get the machines out that you realise how huge they really are! That P/T just about fits through those double doors! Amazing!

I sincerely hope that you get the main shaft out...I know that is a vital element of the move...as we predicted...the rest is child's play compared with getting that out whole and I think it would be hugely expensive to replace or re-join if you can't move the concrete out of the way. I agree....a large Kango is about the only way.

Are you planning to return?

Jim
 
As promised more pics of the first day, getting the machines out.
The planer came first, and the first is often the hardest. They were all bolted down of course (8" high tensile at a guess) but had been bedded onto wet mortar on installation, and the mortar was a very strong mix of lime and fine sand which had then keyed to the rough cast surfaces on the machines. So freeing each machine was a tedious process needing considerable care to protect the actual castings. Once free, it became easier.
Next hazard was the studs sticking up which needed breaking away or cutting off. There were also quite a few steel conduits emerging from the floor... it seems this site was once prepared for 3 phase throughout, as the conduit matched that supplying the tenoner.
The final notable hazards were a very uneven floor which the wheels on the hoist and trolley couldn't handle, and the door threshold - a wood beam sitting a good 9" proud of the floor.
By about 8pm all machines except the bandsaw (well on the way) and the tenoner were out of the main workshop, leaving the sliding saw for Sunday... and the entire lineshaft system!
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more pics to follow!
 

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Sorry Jim, didn't answer!! - no couldn't do the Sunday or Monday so left them to it :cry: But judging by the stuff on the truck they did fine... though I didn't notice the main shaft in there?? I was hoping I might get a chance to help recover that anyway.
I may be regarded as a complete nutter, but Saturday was the best 'day out' I have had in a very long time. I don't go out much.

p.s. we got a chance to run the sliding saw, to chop some packing... oh boy does that blade need a sharpen. I could have chewed my way through quicker, with much less smoke. The saw runs impeccably though - it's an absolute beauty. (Found 3 dado heads for it hidden in a cupboard too - pair of straight cutters, and a pair of big nickers per assembly, all mounted on Wadkin cast and balanced blocks - usual Wadkin standard.)
 
Hi Jim and Douglas,

I think I sent you a link to a facebook page, Simon?, don't think his site is private but I told him he might receive a few nutter friend requests. He's got great pictures on there. You might know how to paste them into this site.

On the Sunday I invited Tim Keenan round, who wrote the National article earlier in this thread. He still writes for various machinery publications and may well do something on this.

More to the point I had forgotten he is an electrician, so was able to help in quite a significant way by making everything safe. Pure chance really. What was it you said about a plan coming together.
 

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