Cost Comparisons - Woodworking Machinery - 1938

[Vann]

I've been researching various woodworking machines ordered by New Zealand Railways.

In the process I've been going through old New Zealand Railways files at Archives New Zealand (5 mins up the road from work). Every now and then, in amongst the boring stuff, there's some nuggets of interest.

Here are the cost comparisons of a number of 30" bandsaws from companies such as Wadkin, Robinson, Sagar, and Wilson (dated 26th January, 1938):

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I think the first cost column is in UK pounds, while the third column is in NZ pounds. Note the large penalties applied to non-Commonwealth countries.

Edit: I meant to say - each price shown appears to be for two bandsaws, so the actual price of a saw will be half that shown.

Enjoy.

Cheers, Vann.

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[clear out]

Great post Vann.
Made my day to see Comptroller in actual use.
Danckaert were also made in England as I understand it.
Heres a few pics of Dennisk's Danckaert in Acme, massive construction but quite different to a Wadkin DR.
H.

[BobL]

It would be interesting to convert those prices to 2017 NZ$

[node105]

that's serious money back then. A house price back then in UK may have been 1000 pound?

[Vann]

...Made my day to see Comptroller in actual use...Yes I've always found that to be an "interesting" word


...Heres a few pics of Dennisk's Danckaert...I like that he hasn't covered over those classic wheels (although I'd be a bit shy of the powered bottom wheel if a blade broke). Looks like I'm not the only dare-devil (or idiot) out there :q.

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that's serious money back then. A house price back then in UK may have been 1000 pound?IIRC a house in suburban Auckland (NZ) was between £2000 & £4000 in the mid 1960s. The average price there now has broken $1million (£500,000).

Cheers, Vann.

[Vann]

On 15th December, 1938, tenders were invited for the supply of:
- 3 x 2 spindle dimension saw benches (NZR specification 457);
- 1 x planing, jointing and surfacing machine (spec. 458);
- 1 x fret saw (spec. 459).
with tenders closing at 4pm on Monday, 3rd July, 1939.

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Fret Saw: 9 tenders were received, from 6 different companies for the fret saw, with Wadkin Ltd putting in the winning bid:

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Note that the Wadkin machine has an 8hp motor, while all the others were 2hp or less! Note also the price penalty ("pref.") applied to the Swedish machine.

Planing, Jointing and Surfacing Machine: 9 tenders were received, from 7 different companies for this machine, with Wadkin Ltd again putting in the winning bid:

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It's tempting to speculate on what machines were offered (I've not found any specifications so far). I'm guessing the Wadkin tender was for an RD buzzer.

Dimension Saws: 8 tenders were received, from 4 companies for the three saws, and once again Wadkin Ltd is the preferred bidder:

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And again I'm wondering what machines were offerred. With the weight at 14 1/2 cwt, and a 4hp motor, I'm thinking the Wadkin offerings were PK saws. The PK certainly came with extension table options. But the PK is not a twin spindle saw. Did Wadkin still offer twin spindle saws in the late 1930s?

Ironically, with the war on the horizon, and New Zealand having an overseas funds (Sterling) shortage, the NZ Treasury put a lot of pressure on the Railways Department to think again - and the orders didn't proceed at that time.

It's interesting (to me anyway) to note that my Wadkin PK saw was ordered in 1943 (in the middle of the war) and dispatched not long after VE day (in September, 1945).

Cheers, Vann.

With thanks to Archives NZ.

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[cava]

IIRC a house in suburban Auckland (NZ) was between £2000 & £4000 in the mid 1960s. The average price there now has broken $1million (£500,000).



As a comparison, my Mum and Dad bought in Sydney 1959 £4500. The house sold 18 months ago for $2,620,000.

[wallace1973]

Very interesting reading this stuff, 8hp for a fret saw. Seems a bit much

[Vann]

...8hp for a fret saw. Seems a bit muchI don't think I've seen a Wadkin fret saw in any catalogues (nor in the flesh), but this one showed up on fleabay recently:

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Grunty looking, but I doubt it is 8 hp (maybe that was a misprint?). The later Wadkin-Bursgreen model was just 2 hp.

Cheers, Vann.

[Vann]

I spent some more time at Archives today.

During 1936 New Zealand Railways again went out for tender for a number of machines - mostly metalworking gear - but three items of woodworking machinery were included:
- 1 x Heavy Duty Planning & Moulding machine (NZR specification 353) for Otahuhu Railway Workshops (Auckland);
- 1 x Endless Bed Sander (spec. 354) for Otahuhu Railway Workshops; and
- 1 x Chain & Chisel Mortiser (spec. 368) for Addington Railway Workshops (Christchurch).

Tenders were advertised locally in the evening newspapers on the 20th of January, 1936, and in the morning newspapers the following day. Specifications could also be available from the High Commissioner for New Zealand, London, after 29th February, 1936. Tenders closed at 4pm on Monday, 15th June, 1936.

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Heavy Duty Planer & Moulder: 8 tenders were received, for machines from J Pickles & Son; T. Robinson & Sons Ltd.; and T. White & Sons from the United Kingdom, with Fay & Egan, Co. and P.B. Yates Mch. Co. from North America.

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Tender No.5, a 75hp offering from T. Robinson was the winning tender (£1473 10/-).

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Endless Bed Sander: 17 tenders were received for this machine:T. White & Sons; J Pickles & Son; T. Robinson & Sons Ltd; and J. Sagar & Co. Ltd. from the United Kingdom, Interwood Ltd. from Germany, and Fay & Egan, Co. and P.B. Yates Mch. Co. from North America.

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Tender No.1, again from T. Robinson, was the winning tender (£1108 10s 0d).

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Chain & Chisel Mortiser: only one tender was received, and as it fulfilled the specification, the tender was awarded once again to T. Robinson & Sons.

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No bids from Wadkin & Co. :whatonearth:.

Cheers, Vann.

With thanks to Archives NZ.

[wallace1973]

I wonder why no wadkin quotes, I notice they date from before the other ones with wadkin on 1936.
I had a bid on that fret saw but me being cheap I didn't win