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Anyone worked at Firth Browns?

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I'm pleased you have found the whereabouts of war memorial plaque Peter.I was one of the instigators of getting it saved and displayed. Also I liked your reference to the central stores. I used to love going there for the laugh.... the Two Ronnies could have styled their sketch " four candles" in the stores. When you went in the 3 or 4 men in brown smocks who were stood warming themselves all dispersed and then you had to wait to be served. The first question to a young lad was "have you got a chit?" ....that's a note from a supervisor/manager etc.One time I remember asking for some nuts, bolts and washers."What do you think we are lad, robots, one thing at a time!!!" Right....I asked for the bolts and the guy disappeared into the distant rack of shelves and reappeared several minutes later with them. Next....I asked for nuts for the bolts...I got a black look and off he went again, returning several minutes later with the nuts. I guess you know whats coming now....the washers! At this point I got asked if I was taking the p***!

 

Regarding the war memorial plaque Meltman....In 1990 when the clock had been vandalized I was concerned that the memorial plaque may be too, but thankfully it escaped that fate thanks to you and your colleagues. I'd like to know the story of how it was achieved.

 

I like your story about central stores (the great Two Ronnies... ''fork 'andles'' eh) and how you were treated as a young lad and then got your revenge. :hihi:

 

When I started as chargehand in Central Warehouse in 1964 which was, to remind everyone, a different shop to central stores, I was only just 20. Some of the shop floor men had worked there throughout the war and worked long hours and slept there. They were not about to take any orders which they didn't like from a mere upstart. The phrase they often used was also ''One thing at a time!!'' I guess it was a common saying at FB in those days :D.

Edited by PeterR

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Hi All,

 

brian1941 has asked me to post the following two links to his photos and also two links to pics on Picture Sheffield so he can then comment on them later....

 

Pic 1 https://photos.app.goo.gl/a0xAfsIHjKlVLMRw2

 

Pic 2 https://photos.app.goo.gl/utzXP08cG94CLX0G3

 

Pic 3 http://picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?action=zoomWindow&keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;y04075&prevUrl=

 

Pic 4 http://picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?action=zoomWindow&keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;y04074&prevUrl=

 

Peter..

Edited by PeterR

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Hi Peter, Thank you for your kind help.

Answear to page 37-No735. Your No3 picture of the grinding shop was

next door the the No1 Roll Hardening shop heat treatment-No4 in the pic.

If you came out of your office and looked to the right there was a red door

that led to the heat treatment, going through there also took you to the grinding

shop and from there led you to 37 yard 37 Gate.

----------

No2 Roll Hardening shop was down at 40 Gate next door the the South Treatment

shop at 41 Gate.

No3 Roll Hardening shop was on carlisle st the big Black building behind

the Corner pin pub. as on your pics

I'm sure you'll have passed at least No1 Roll Hardening shop at sometime

in your earlier years there. Your Brian and thanks again Peter.

Edited by brian1941
WORDING

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You're welcome Brian.

 

Yes, I have been in or passed many shops during my time at FB during 1959/66. After more than half a century some of the old memories are getting more difficult to recall though I'm afraid.

 

Peter.

Edited by PeterR

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The 1st picture is of the SPD, (special products dept). That dept had 2 huge machine tools in it. One was a very large vertical borer, where forgings of over 15' dia could be machined. The other was a giant planer, where I'm sure you could get a transit under the cross head.

The dept also contained the Z furnace, which melted steel under vacuum in an induction furnace. The vacuum chamber was about 25' in diameter. The O ring which sealed the 2 halves of the chamber must have been the biggest in the country! You can imagine the amount of men needed when it came to change it.

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The "turntable" or vertical borer so I was told was confiscated from Germany after WW2 as they used it for turning the tanks turret turning gear. The name sounded like Sheece-de-freece (sorry about that). I believe that Mr Matthews was the manger over SPD for a time and both his sons Steve and Paul worked with us in maintenance. Also a good mate of mine Dave Kell worked on SPD for the longest time.

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Hi melv and swowls,

 

Your comments on the previous two posts are interesting.

 

Could these have been bored and planed by the machinery you mention?? Looks like the front of the building you mention, on Carlisle Street East and then the back where the rail line was....

 

http://picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;u07183&pos=1&action=zoom&id=100500

 

http://picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;u07180&pos=1&action=zoom&id=100497

 

Is this the furnace you mention?? The diameter looks right....

 

http://picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s40994&pos=1&action=zoom&id=120696

 

Or am I wrong on all counts? :)

 

Peter.

Edited by PeterR

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The first two photos looks like a large mold for the melting shop. The last does look like SPD, the molds were transported in via a railroad car and after melting, refining and tapping was again moved on a flat bed railroad car. The vacuum was created by some of the largest Roots blowers and injection pumps I think I have ever seen. I dont remember what level of vacuum was achieved but I reckon it could not have been too low (or high depending on how you look at it) with all the crap in there and the outgassing rate of the melt?

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You're correct about the ingot moulds and the name of the vertical borer, swols. I didn't know it was taken from the Germans after the war.

The Z furnace melted all of the steel from scrap, some pieces were only 2" square. Every piece had to be put on a machine that made an electric spark on the surface. The operator looked at the spark through a microscope, the colours seen could identify the composition of the steel. I gather this is extremely important when making steel for aircraft and nuclear applications.

 

Thankyou for the pictures, Peter.

Edited by melv

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The "turntable" or vertical borer so I was told was confiscated from Germany after WW2 as they used it for turning the tanks turret turning gear. The name sounded like Sheece-de-freece (sorry about that). I believe that Mr Matthews was the manger over SPD for a time and both his sons Steve and Paul worked with us in maintenance. Also a good mate of mine Dave Kell worked on SPD for the longest time.

 

the name of the machine you talk about was schiess-defries, due to the faceplate being at floor level the gearbox etc were in an undergound room so in the event of heavy rain it flooded out, floating out all the gear oil, it covered everything and was a vile job to clear up

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Hi brian1941 and all,

 

Here's a four and a half minute of film at Firth Browns from 1957, a couple of years before I started work there aged 15. It starts straight away outside the Head Offices main entrance on Savile Street East. I recognise Doctor Sykes guiding Princess Alexandra of Kent around some of the workshops. In 1967 he was Director of the new Research Laboratory on Princess Street.

Have a wander around with the party and I'm sure you'll recognise some of the locations Brian. :)

 

 

Peter.

Edited by PeterR

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The first two photos looks like a large mold for the melting shop. The last does look like SPD, the molds were transported in via a railroad car and after melting, refining and tapping was again moved on a flat bed railroad car. The vacuum was created by some of the largest Roots blowers and injection pumps I think I have ever seen. I dont remember what level of vacuum was achieved but I reckon it could not have been too low (or high depending on how you look at it) with all the crap in there and the outgassing rate of the melt?

 

Although the pictures of the ingot molds are captioned Firth brown I suspect both are on Brightside Lane and are English Steel , now Sheffield Forgemasters. The 2nd one is inside the works outside the foundry dept. Both are larger than Firth Browns would use post 1965 when I started there. Z furnace is still there now owned by Allvac. I also worked with Dave Kell.

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