require details of Avery platform scales and Avery shop counter scales produced by company.,year, models, history. Can anyone help?

I'm a ex-Avery service engineer - did my apprenticeship in West Wales from '63-69, and then transferred to an industrial branch in the midlands, so I've worked on most of the pre-electronic scales right from chemist's beam balances through to 40 ton weighbridges.
What sort of info are you looking for?

Hi Sir Ben,
I hope that you are still around. I am looking for a pre-electronic human weighing scales. The type that used to be in train stations up and down the country. Would you be able to advise me how to get hold of some?

Sir Ben. I have recently purchased a set of Avery scales, the type which the other gentleman says he wishes to purchase. I know nothing about them, except they are indeed the sort you used to get at the seaside on piers etc. and had to put a penny in the top to get them to work. They are green on the main body, black base with a white surround on the top dial. All they say on a little plate on the back is 'Made in England by Avery Birmingham 3809cfy s-620099'. I would be extremely grateful for information regarding these, especially how I can reconnect the penny mechanism to operate the scales, model number and anywhere I can get hold of technical or reference literature regarding these. I have looked on the net and can find nothing! The needle appears to drag on the face of the dial, causing them to stick... how do I get at it to bend it out a bit?!! If you don't live too far from Nottingham I would even contemplate paying you to come down and have a look at them for me if you were able and willing to. If not, your thoughts would be much appreciated, thanks. Gary

Sir Ben. I have recently purchased a set of Avery scales, the type which the other gentleman says he wishes to purchase. I know nothing about them, except they are indeed the sort you used to get at the seaside on piers etc. and had to put a penny in the top to get them to work. They are green on the main body, black base with a white surround on the top dial. All they say on a little plate on the back is 'Made in England by Avery Birmingham 3809cfy s-620099'. I would be extremely grateful for information regarding these, especially how I can reconnect the penny mechanism to operate the scales, model number and anywhere I can get hold of technical or reference literature regarding these. I have looked on the net and can find nothing! The needle appears to drag on the face of the dial, causing them to stick... how do I get at it to bend it out a bit?!! If you don't live too far from Nottingham I would even contemplate paying you to come down and have a look at them for me if you were able and willing to. If not, your thoughts would be much appreciated, thanks. Gary
The 3809CFY Coin Freed Chemist scale you purchased was made in 1962
The first two numbers of the serial number denote the year of manufacture and the S denotes it was made in the Avery's Shefield factory.
It was the last of the mechanical coin freed scales made by Avery.

Hey wow, thank you very much! I really wanted one of those big red clock face platform scales that you used to find in public places that you had to pay to use. You don't know the model of them do you?! Thanks a lot. Gary.

Can anyone help please ... I have one of those scales described - "They are green on the main body, black base with a white surround on the top dial." I am not sure how old it is but probably at least 50 years. I am not based anywhere near Sheffield and the scales is in Ireland but wondered if anyone knew how much I could expect for one (I have been approached by someone who would like to purchase and know it is worth a bit but not sure how much) - can anyone help? Thanks

Is anyone checking out this topic?

I have one of these scales ... same as the last post.

Wonder if anyone has sold one of these and how much it's worth.

Please help have just aquired W&T Avery scales the only numbers I can find on it are as follows 1207GFD/3637, The scales have small weighing bowls on each side and a large scoop and weigh bowl in the middle, would love to know history and value. many thanks:)

I have only just picked up this thread as I have been searching for information on the type of damper oil I should use in my Avery Scales and can find nothing else on the web.

I have an old Avery scale that reads up to 3 lb and was probably used in a grocer's shop. I use these all the time for cooking and have had them for about 10 years. Every now and then the damper oil needs replacing and I have just used ordinary vegetable oil, but it seems to need replacing quite often.

Does anyone know what sort of oil I should use?

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks

Mr Paul

Hi, can anyone remember the Avery premises at the bottom of Snig Hill in town? Can anyone help with internet links or info to learn more about that place?
My Grandad, Thomas Thorpe worked there for some time and I'd love to know more about his job and the shop or workshop whatever it was.
I remember seeing the small window where scales were on show as a kid but didn't know my Grandad had actually worked there.

Thanks

Can anyone help please. I have an avery scales, not sure now old they are but they have the old penny slot at the top. They go up to 20 stone and look like the ones that would have stood outside of a chemist. I can't find anything on the internet about them the history would be fab and if they are worth anything. They are six foot tall if that helps and a big round dial with gold writing and a blue background.

Thanks if anyone can help.

If you have some luck finding information please post it here. I have some Avery scales with the lime green paint, up to 20 stone, but only 4 feet tall, also would have typically been outside a chemist. I've searched high and low and been unable to find anything on these scales. It doesn't help that Avery has made so many scales over the years.

Avery Weightronix as they are now known has a museum with curator at their head office in birmingham, they may be able to share a wealth of information with you all with regards to some of the posts, likewise i am sure they are intrested to hear some of your stories. THey can be found at avery-weightronix.com/museum

Hope this helps some of you.

This is quite an amazing twist of events. I have recently won an auction on ebay for a 3809CFY personal weighing machine, and out of interest I have done a little surfing to refresh my memory by seeing what the net turns up about the scales.
Surprise number 1 was to find that I had contributed to the site over 4 years ago. Surprise number 2 was that the chap I have just agreed to buy the scales from was on here too, talking about the very machine I have just agreed to pick up from Notting ham in a few weeks time - small world!
I was an Avery apprentice straight from school in 1963, in the small market town of Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, and I transferred to an industrial branch in Coventry in 1972 before becoming a sales engineer with a testing machine company. Almost all of the scales I worked on were the old mechanical types and I had moved on before the electronic era had got into its stride.
Anyway, looking back over some of the posts on this forum since I last appeared briefly in 2006, I can make a few comments that I hope could enlighten one or two folk.
It was mentioned that the 3809CFY was made in by Avery in Sheffield. As far as I recollect, and as the youngest apprentice it was my job to unpack the wooden crates that all the new scales arrived in, delivered by Charlie Rossiter, the British Rail delivery driver in his articulated Scammel truck. That had a three wheeler cab like a huge Reliant Regal which could do a U-turn in the width of the narrow road outside our workshop. Anyway, back to the unpacking - after the boxes had been emptied and nailed closed again, I had to carefully pull out the tacks holding on the labels and then reverse the labels which were printed with the factory address in Sherburn-in-Elmet, nr Leeds. It's the sort of thing you don't forget.
And as for the oil used to damp the mechanisms, that was put into a dashpot which had a plunger with a small hole with an adjustable flap so that it could be made to control the movement of the needle across or around the dial. The oil had to be really thin and we had drums of dashpot oil - from memory it was Shell Tellus 27 or 37 - but if that couldn't be found, good old 3-in-1 sewing machine oil did the trick.
Finally, someone asked about a scales (I think it was a 1208 GFD) which wasn't a conventional scales but was a counting machine. There were normally grey in colour and had a small pan that would have say 5 components put in it. Then a whole lot of similar components were poured into the large pan until the indicator on the little round dial showed that a balance had been reached. The number of components in the large pan had been weighed as a proportion of the number of components in the small pan and so the exact number could be repeated with amazing accuracy. These were commonplace throughout all component manufacturing plants world wide.

So there we have it - a trip down memory lane for me, and I hope it has been of some use and some interest to others along the way.

If you have some luck finding information please post it here. I have some Avery scales with the lime green paint, up to 20 stone, but only 4 feet tall, also would have typically been outside a chemist. I've searched high and low and been unable to find anything on these scales. It doesn't help that Avery has made so many scales over the years.

If it's got a lime green body casting with a white top and a black base it's an Avery 3809CFY. The model before that was called a 3806CFW and was either a tan or a pale green colour all over with a round casting around the dial. Qhite often they had charts on them showing the ideal weight/height. According to that chart, someone of my weight should have been nearly seven feet tall!

I have only just picked up this thread as I have been searching for information on the type of damper oil I should use in my Avery Scales and can find nothing else on the web.

I have an old Avery scale that reads up to 3 lb and was probably used in a grocer's shop. I use these all the time for cooking and have had them for about 10 years. Every now and then the damper oil needs replacing and I have just used ordinary vegetable oil, but it seems to need replacing quite often.

Does anyone know what sort of oil I should use?

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks



Mr Paul

I would imagine it gets a bit smelly after a while, too!!

Hi Everyone,
I have just aquired an Avery scales. Looks like it may be from an old shop or something.
Cant really see any dates to tell me how old it is. All it gives is the scales NO. 1130
I was wondering can anyone give me any information about the scales? Age, scales weight, how much its worth etc..??
Any help would be much appreciated.
I can email a pic of the scales if it helps. Its quite a big heavy thing and weights up to 14lb.
My email is saunders400@hotmail.com

Hi
the reference 1130 doesn't ring bells at the moment, but a photo might do the trick - I've also got a good friend who is still in weighing machine sales and service, so between us there must be a chance. You could e-mail me on k1okk@uku.co.uk

Regards

Keith (Sir_Ben)

Email sent

Hi Dave

Got your pics and that makes the identification much easier.
You have an Avery 1108 CJC scale, made in the Sherburn-in-Elmet, near Leeds, factory in 1969. These were very popular with greengrocers (weighing potatoes, that sort of thing), and that is why it has the L2 (2 lips) stainless steel scoop – makes it easier to pour spuds into shopping bags. The chart is calibrated over a range of 7 pounds, and then a lever is operated to add an additional 7 pounds proportional weight to bring the total capacity up to 14 lbs maximum. They were one of the last purely mechanical scales made by Avery before the introduction of the electrical and electronic weighing machines that have come since. For those mechanical scales we needed to carry our heavy Avery toolbags with the spanners and hand tools – the mechanics who came later could carry their tools in the top pocket of their jackets !!

Hope that helps

Cheers

Keith (Sir Ben)

Any idea what it is worth? Avery 1109 CJC scales.....

I have a 'Stand On' set of scales (the type you would find outside Chemists shops and Penny operated) They are Avery. Serial Number S-540367 and Type 3806 CFW. My question is as follows:- The balanced leverage which in turn follows the depression, according to weight and the, say rack and pinion, that causes the Weight Indicator to turn is erratic. Was a piece of the leverage system once magnetised so that this lever end 'stuck to' the descending pin.

Hi
the reference 1130 doesn't ring bells at the moment, but a photo might do the trick - I've also got a good friend who is still in weighing machine sales and service, so between us there must be a chance. You could e-mail me on k1okk@uku.co.uk

Regards

Keith (Sir_Ben)

Sir_Ben,
I've just aquired an Avery ?Counter top? scales - weighs up to 15lb, white enamel... very nice :) could u advise on the actual model/year and where I can get maintanence manual. How do u calibrate it??? Have photos, appreciate ur knowledge. under the ? food ? plate, there is a " co 1879 " stamped.

Rich ( sailors_mission@rocketmail.com )

Gents,
I have just joined your ranks having collected an Avery 3809CFY scale with serial number S-681057. The weight of the unit was unbelievable and two of had to get this in and out of a Toyota Prado, without damaging any of the vehicle, the scale or ourselves. It was laid over and I have therefore lost the damping oil in transport.

The search now begins for a manual, drawing or whatever is available.

Kind regards, Moses ( my Hash House Harriers name and I am assured that I am a prickly individual)

My uncle Keith worked at the Avery place at the bottom of Snig Hill in the 60s and early 70s. He was based there and he went round firms in Sheffield checking their scales. Sadly he is no longer alive so I can't ask him about it....

It is always a great pity when a wealth of knowledge is lost. If your Uncle Keith left any manuals somwhere and these are potentially scanable, I would put my hand up to ask for the info on the 3809CFY. Thanks for responding. Regards.

I hope somebody who knows something about the Avery 3809CFY scale is following my floundering on the subject. I have th eback and base open. The vertical post section of the scale appears to be complete and functional. But on the base, there is a spring about 5" long that has detached from somehwere. Can anyone tell me where it goes please?

Last post on the subject. I have the scale back together and working. Better still, I weighed myself and then went to an electronic scale, that is known to be accurate and guess what! Even the .7kg that showed on the electronic could be seen on the 3809CFY. 53 years old and spot on.

i remember their shop or factory on bridge street were the police charge office now is

I'm a ex-Avery service engineer - did my apprenticeship in West Wales from '63-69, and then transferred to an industrial branch in the midlands, so I've worked on most of the pre-electronic scales right from chemist's beam balances through to 40 ton weighbridges.
What sort of info are you looking for?

Hello Sir Ben. I have some scales which I hope you can identify.
It's a table top model of 24" high and 18" long on a wooden base with 4 stainless steel adjustable feet and a round spirit level. There is a brass weighing level which on the swivel end in inscribed "W T Avery Birmingham England capacity 5lb ratio 10-1". Beneath this is a small aluminium cup inscribed ratio 10-1. The other end of this lever is inscribed "ratio 100-1" and it points to a calibration scale inscribed "over & "under". The aluminium cup here is missing. This is all supported on a solid steel frame and there is a "balance adjuster" in the middle. Can you tell me what these scales were used for & if they're worth keeping? thankyou. allanemartin

Hi Serelle, Dont come on here very often at the moment but you mention your uncle Keith. Well I worked there at that time, and just wondered if he was Keith Eyre. If so then I worked with him on numerous occasions.

hi...yes his name was Keith Eyre, do you remember much about him because he was quite a reserved man, I'm so glad you remember him x

Hi Serelle, Yes as I said, I worked with your uncle Keith on numerous occasions, and we always got on well. He was, as you say a quiet and reserved man who was very good at his job. As I recall, he used to drive a Reliant Supervan, and I have travelled with him in this vehicle to various job locations throughout Sheffield. All the guys at Avery's were shocked to hear of his early death, and there must be others out there somewhere who have memories of working with him. With regards.

hi.....thank you for sharing your memories of him, he did have a Reliant van as you say - I don't know why, he must have really liked them, because before that he drove an Averys van. He was just a nice guy and it was terrible for him to die like that x

Hi Serelle and amen to that. As I said we were all shocked and saddened by his death. I forgot to mention that possibly one reason why we got on was that my name is also Keith. Regards.

hi Keith....I remember the 'shop' next door to Averys which had supermarket baskets in the window! Did you also know someone at Averys called Frank because he was a friend of my uncles and they used to go fishing sometimes - he also used to come to the house to see him, my uncle lived at Wharncliffe Side so I don't know if Frank lived near there....x

Hi Serelle, The shop next door was called Parnells, and they were in fact an Avery group company. As for the name Frank, There were two that I remember. One was Frank Stansfield who lived on Paulet Rd, on the manor. He would have been quite a bit younger than your uncle. The other one, who I think would have been closer in age was Frank Loveday. He lived at Charnock (near Gleadless town end). Keith.

hi Keith, yes you are probably right about the 2 Franks - I think the friend of my uncles was around the same age as him, so it was probably the 2nd one you mention, and I think he came to the funeral, it just seems so long ago when it all happened and I think Uncle Keith was in his mid 40s, which seemed really old to me then, as I was about 24 !!
Did you stay at Averys till you retired or have you had lots of jobs since then? kind regards, frieda x (Serelle)

Hi Serelle, yes it would be Frank Loveday, as Frank Stansfield was only in his late 20s at that time. No I didnt stay with Avery,s I was made redundant in 1981. Since then I have had numerous jobs, but am now retired due to health issues. Regards Keith.

hi Keith, yes you are probably right about the 2 Franks - I think the friend of my uncles was around the same age as him, so it was probably the 2nd one you mention, and I think he came to the funeral, it just seems so long ago when it all happened and I think Uncle Keith was in his mid 40s, which seemed really old to me then, as I was about 24 !!
Did you stay at Averys till you retired or have you had lots of jobs since then? kind regards, frieda x (Serelle)

Hi Serelle I worked with Keith for many years. He was as Keith said very quite and reserved. His best friend was Frank Loveday they used to go on holiday together in the early years. He was very good at his job and very conciensous but very set in his ways. He used to come to work a hour early so he could park his car in the same place. He did not socialize with the rest of the mechanics but once you got to know him he was the first there if you needed help and he would willingly do it If we were working on a job together I would either drive myself to the job if I had got a car at the time or go on the bus because he use to frighten me to death in that 3 wheeler

Hi Brian, yes I remember travelling with Keith in his "supervan" on a number of occasions.I always thought of him as being a nice guy. Looking back now, those times were not bad were they, we had a few laughs along the way. Regards to you and yours Keith.

Did Keith really frighten you to death in his Reliant, bashforth2 ?? I can't imagine that, knowing how quiet and unassuming he was!! I am SO glad you all remember working with him, and you remember things about him too, as apart from his workmates, there are not many of his relatives left who would remember him....thank you again :) xxx

Did Keith really frighten you to death in his Reliant, bashforth2 ?? I can't imagine that, knowing how quiet and unassuming he was!! I am SO glad you all remember working with him, and you remember things about him too, as apart from his workmates, there are not many of his relatives left who would remember him....thank you again :) xxx

Hi Serelle Have you ever been in a three wheeler they are not very stable to start with and Keith did not do a lot of driving apart for driving to work and just driving to local jobs. So although he did this he didn't do a lot of driving.If we had one of the works vans he would only drive it if it was totally necessary. There are some drivers you don't feel safe with and Keith was one of them. The Avery building as it was known was on Bridge St at the corner of Snig Hill. After Averys left Whitbread Brewery took it over as a computer department then the brewery shut down and last time I passed ( because they have shut the Ladys Bridge end to normal traffic) it belonged to Howells Solicitors

Hi Sir Ben & all other members.

I have had to post this way as i cant find a way of starting a new post!! (newbie to the site!)

Anyway!! I have just bought an old set of Avery Scales No 1108 cjc ( and ive got a smile as big as the dial on the scales!!) and in my attempt (not knowing what i am doing at all) at zeroing them, i tried filling the oil bottle up with engine oil!!! now its all gone pete tong!! can anyone tell me what oil I'm supposed to use,and how much of it should be put in!!? HELP!!! I LOVE THESE THINGS.............

Hi kingbrian it used to be Shell Tellus 23 but I dont think they make that anymore You can use 3 in 1 oil fill it up to about level where the thread starts the swing of the indicator can then be adjusted by the knurled nut on the plunger. To zero the machine make sure its level tthen add or remove lead from the chamber under the the frame that holds the pan that you put the stuff you want to weigh in.
bashforth2

WOW!!!

What a great surprise when i opened my mail, to find your message!!

Thanks so much for your help, i have found the big screw on the side of the
"clock Tower" which seems to adjust the needle slightly both + & - the 0
point, but cant seem to find the chamber containing lead!

I will wait until i put the 3 in 1 in and see what happens then!!
However whilst pulling, twisting and twiddling with things i know nothing
about (inc filling it up with 20-50w diesel oil) i have seemed to have
stopped it going all the way round to 7lb! and now stopping at 6 1/2lb! is
this due to the wrong oil? or possibly me turning a screw (that has a
locking nut and is about 3 inches long)underneath the base unit between the
2 back feet?


Again! Thank you so so much for your help,

It may be a big heavy ugly piece of scrap iron, but I'm made up with it!

Kingbrian

Hi kingbrian Its a long time since I did one but there is an adjustable stop underneath Try undoing it a few turns If nothing happens it could be that with having no oil in it the indicator has jumped a tooth on the pinnion
bashforth2