Another bit of history ...... Ragg

[TechnicAl]

https://www.raggtuningforks.co.uk/contact-us/

I saw something on TV the other night.......Ragg of Sheffield are the only factory in the UK still making Tuning Forks......Im surprised anyone is.....is there a big market for tuning forks....anyway the process is still the same as it was donkey years ago....very interesting.......cant find a link to the programme (maybe someone can) but I found their website

 

[Eric the chicken]

Interesting point, I mean do tuning forks wear out, or go out of tune? Plus they must be only used for one note. No doubt someone will be along to answer the question.

 

[gordon stephenson]

I saw that programme to Alan, Love watching the good old fashioned ways of making things, Instead of a massive factory with dozens of robots waving their "arms" about and sadly a human being in sight.

 

[TechnicAl]

Just noticed this bit.........think Ive answered my query........."Speed cameras are calibrated with tuning forks - ours. Radar guns the same. Most of the English-speaking countries in the world buy our tuning forks to calibrate their devices to control the speeding public."

 

[rtcosic]

Went to the website and was pleasantly surprised at the price for such a nicely finished precision item.
I saw that programme but missed that segment - grr! I'm sure it's buried somewhere on the Quest catchup.

 

[mechman]

Think it was, How do they do it, not quite sure, I watched it as well.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

"Cell rejuvenation tuning forks"....really??

 

[BarrieJ]

Talking of skills one's surprised to still see.

Something on TV early the other morning (Maybe it was something on Quest?), anyway, they were in an engineering shop where they were building a new water tube boiler for a big steam locomotive. They were driving in the end plates that locate the water tubes and two guys were heating one end with o/a rosebuds to expand it whilst two others gradually winched the plate in from inside the boiler casing and a further two were giving it some welly with soft faced sledge hammers from outside. It needed to be mm perfect. The guy running the shop was 70, looking forward to retirement and handing over to a younger man but no interest from any youngsters keen on making a start there. He said they had the training capacity and were keen to do it.

Made me feel quite depressed, there was a time when I'd have jumped at such an opportunity and likely there'd have been twenty in front of me.

 

[minimutly]

I have a pair of sledgehammers. One is a great heavy thing, the other is small, light and has a round head and a normal head.
My grandson asked me why it has the round head? I couldn't answer?

 

[Brad93]

I have a pair of sledgehammers. One is a great heavy thing, the other is small, light and has a round head and a normal head.
My grandson asked me why it has the round head? I couldn't answer?

For forging. A round head will move more metal in all directions than a flat face

 

[Chillitt]

"Cell rejuvenation tuning forks"....really??

Probably not, no...

 

[Munkul]

Talking of skills one's surprised to still see.

Something on TV early the other morning (Maybe it was something on Quest?), anyway, they were in an engineering shop where they were building a new water tube boiler for a big steam locomotive. They were driving in the end plates that locate the water tubes and two guys were heating one end with o/a rosebuds to expand it whilst two others gradually winched the plate in from inside the boiler casing and a further two were giving it some welly with soft faced sledge hammers from outside. It needed to be mm perfect. The guy running the shop was 70, looking forward to retirement and handing over to a younger man but no interest from any youngsters keen on making a start there. He said they had the training capacity and were keen to do it.

Made me feel quite depressed, there was a time when I'd have jumped at such an opportunity and likely there'd have been twenty in front of me.

It wasn't the Crewe Diesel Depot boiler shop, was it?
London & North Western Railway Heritage have their steam locomotive repair/rebuild shops down there. I was privileged to have a tour around there while I was getting a copper distillation column repaired by them (one of the handful of shops in the UK that is coded to TIG weld copper pressure vessels)
Was a handful of older gents, but they had had a large cash injection in the last few years and built a stunningly huge and modern boiler shop, and had a couple of ok looking apprentices knocking around.

TIG welding 1" thick copper loco boilers with a 500 amp DC TIG set as well as the steel fire boxes etc, riveted as well as welded construction, really impressive to see old fashioned design mixed with modern fabrication methods and quality standards.

The engine machine shop was something else, as well. A single CNC machine, everything else was manual...