Otto Fuchs Wheels for the Bloodhound project
- Thread starter 924Srr27l
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PSH
PCGB Member
Now when I look at this I'm seeing it from a different perspective.....you see I don't see any real skill here as it's all done by machine and computer with a handy forklift to safely position the piece. Compare this to the days of steam when skilled men did all this by hand with no safety equipment, not even gloves of safety glasses...Take a look at some of the film on youtube when they forged, wheels, cylinders and coupling rods...all by hand. No forklift...for the coupling rods they would have a gang of men sitting on one end as counter balance while the other was put in the furnace and then shape the rods using a steam hammer and templates....a job that required extreme accuracy, not a simple thing like bashing a lump of alloy into something ready for machining?
We have lost so much of the skills that we once commanded, today it's done by computer which granted ensures not only accuracy but reproducing the same thing to the same size quickly but I wonder how many of these operators could produce the same by hand, I suspect, very few, if any....very sad....
Pete
We have lost so much of the skills that we once commanded, today it's done by computer which granted ensures not only accuracy but reproducing the same thing to the same size quickly but I wonder how many of these operators could produce the same by hand, I suspect, very few, if any....very sad....
Pete
Pete, I don't know your background but I've got to respectfully disagree with you. Of course it is true that many manufacturing jobs have been de-skilled to reduce costs and improve quality/repeatability, we all benefit from that with affordable high quality cars (for instance). If we are discussing specialist manufacturing operations my experience is the opposite, people operating those processes are of necessity highly skilled and very versatile. I've worked in aero, F1 and trains. Believe me you don't get to assemble an aircraft engine without knowing what you are doing. Equally manufacturing repairing and overhauling trains still demands exceptional skill. As for health and safety, we are lucky to live in an era where the law respects and protects people working in hazardous environments. No too long ago labour was cheap, injuries were common and people were exposed to hazards every day due to complacency and ignorance. I too enjoy looking at historic footage of workshops, it reminds me to count my blessings that I am living in a more enlightened era.
Cheers Mark
Cheers Mark
PSH
PCGB Member
well to clarify what I meant... I mean we have lost much of the hands on skill that was required during the steam age... I very much doubt if there is anyone out there today who could forge a coupling rod by hand/eye, no computer just purely by feel of the hammer, a wooden or steel template and judging the force of the steam hammer, all while position a balanced lump of many tons by hand... this truly blows me away, much more so than any skill today where most if not all are run through a computer model first before manufacture. I agree fully that health and safety today in most respects is a good thing, i cringe when watching archive film showing molten metal being poured into a cylinder casting with a gang of guys prodding it through the copious venting holes to ensure all of the gases escape wearing no gloves or eye protection while dodging molten metal spitting out of the mould... brave men and highly skilled. I don't see bolting parts onto an engine today in the same light, skilled yes but not in the same respect if that makes sense?
Yes Pete, perfect sense it is impressive what was achieved, they were artists!
DavidL
Active member
I think in most cases it's called practice. The feel, force applied and feedback only come by doing it time after time. Remove that for a more automated system and repeatability is better for more people not just the few who can.
I dare say if we had to use the old hand processes again then we would re learn. But we won't as progress is only one way (on the whole!)
I dare say if we had to use the old hand processes again then we would re learn. But we won't as progress is only one way (on the whole!)
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