Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 29 of 29
  1. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    moonbi nsw Aus
    Age
    69
    Posts
    2,065

    Default

    I wonder if the other 3 were built? And probably more to the point where are they now? In this age of ditch our machines and buy the part ready made from somebody else, the scrappy may have made a shilling or two out of its demise
    Just do it!

    Kind regards Rod

  2. # ADS
    Google Adsense Advertisement
    Join Date
    Always
    Location
    Advertising world
    Age
    2010
    Posts
    Many





     
  3. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Laidley, SE Qld
    Posts
    368

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by .RC. View Post
    Google gave me this when searching for something...

    http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/61775635

    5th December 1942

    AUSTRALIA'S LARGEST LATHE
    The largest and most elaborate machine tool to be made in Australia.............
    Because of the man power shortage, about 75 per cent diluted labour was used on the manufacture of the lathe.
    That's an interesting phrase 'diluted labour', had to google the meaning, ie using trained non-tradesmen to do tradesman's work.

    https://books.google.com.au/books?id...labour&f=false

    I have 100% diluted labour in my shed, except its not very well trained.

  4. #18
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    North Queensland
    Posts
    42

    Default Diluted labour

    Started a fitting & turning apprenticeship at Evans Deakin in Montague Road, South Brisbane in 1960. Came from a small country town with a couple of small engineering shops and a blacksmith place and had only seen small machine tools before. Was amazed when I first saw the large machine tools there plus a big blacksmith shop with furnaces and forges etc. Lathes there were still being used to turn prop and intermediate shafts for ships being built in EDs shipyard at Kangaroo Point.

    Was a very unionised works which was all new to me. Most trades had their own union before amalgamations took place later on. There were the fitters & turners in the AEU, boilermakers and blacksmiths were still in separate societies as were coppersmiths, ironworkers, pattern makers, etc. Amongst these were some workers who were looked down on by some in the same union and referred to as "dilutees". I could not work out what the difference was but had it explained that these were workers who received much less training than an apprentice would when skilled workers were needed in the defence industries during WW2.

    Some hard line unionists did not think their qualifications should be recognized after the war had finished so should not be considered tradesmen. I was told that the diluted trainees were required to join the union during the wartime so then had union membership rights afterwards. There was probably more to it than what I was told but I didn't pursue it further. I can recall many comments such as " he's just a dilutee", but in time things settled down as some people retired and the diluted trained tradesman all aged. Of course in 1960 it was only fifteen years since the end of WW2.

  5. #19
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    sydney
    Age
    64
    Posts
    3,566

    Default

    Even in the mid 70's that term was still quite common in NSW railways.

  6. #20
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    near Rockhampton
    Posts
    4,304

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Normanby View Post
    Amongst these were some workers who were looked down on by some in the same union and referred to as "dilutees".
    Sounds like they were pure bastards to me...
    Light red, the colour of choice for the discerning man.

  7. #21
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    South of Adelaide
    Posts
    177

    Default

    Very interesting read. It would be great to see photos of some of the machines mentioned but i doubt any were ever taken. I did a search for the text referenced many times "the history of the directorate of machine tools and gauges" by CJ Pawson. but I cannot find it in either the national or SA library online catalogs. Maybe no copies have survived the passage of time. I think it would be an interesting read.

  8. #22
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    near Rockhampton
    Posts
    4,304

    Default

    There is at least one photo of it somewhere snapatap....

    Some more info

    21st July 1945 The Courier Mail

    MONSTER LATHE BUILT AT IPSWICH



    LARGEST lathe in the Southern Hemisphere was built at the Ipswich Railway Workshops.
    A complete train was needed to transport the 135-ton monster, which four months later turned out eight-inch guns. Plans for the giant lathe were conceived in the gauge and tool making section, which has de- veloped since the workshops were placed on their own resources when the Japs entered the war. The staff responded to an Aus-
    tralia-wide demand for gauges and tools which were then imported. Under the direction of the chief mechanical engineer (Mr. V. J. Hall), they rapidly established the industry on such a sound basis that before long industry through- out the Commonwealth sought their assistance. A certificate from the Marlbyr- nong Munitions Research Depart- ment showing that there was a degree of inaccuracy in construc- tion in one set of gauges of only 5,000,000th part of an inch was proudly displayed yesterday dur- ing an official inspection by the
    Transport Minister (Mr. Walsh) and railway officials. Calculations in thousandths part of an inch are scorned by the staff, which has reached such a degree of perfection that 100,000ths are more frequently than not their most common topic of discussion. Mr. Hall said that the gauge and tool department was at the service of Queensland and Australian pri- vate and other industry. Already the Navy took its prob- lems almost exclusively to Ips- wich, and that section of private enterprise which was aware of its great facilities was constantly in- creasing its orders.

    Tried to find a picture, about this is all I can come up with..

    X2432.jpg
    Light red, the colour of choice for the discerning man.

  9. #23
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Riddells Creek
    Posts
    300

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by .RC. View Post
    Google gave me this when searching for something...

    Though the design was taken from the British Craven lathe, the completed tool is larger. Its bed is In three sections, each 22 feet long by eight feet wide, and weighing 23 tons. The total weight of the finished lathe is 130 tons. The final tests received favourable comment from southern experts who watched them. Because of the man power shortage, about 75 per cent diluted labour was used on the manufacture of the lathe.


    I wonder if these machines were actually built "under licence" to Craven and displayed the Craven name or, as mentioned in the article, just based on the design.

    There was a large Craven at the Commonwealth Marine Engine Works in Port Melbourne up until the plant closed in 1979. I have some poor quality photos of the machine that I will try to scan and post here.

  10. #24
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Adelaide
    Age
    59
    Posts
    3,149

    Default

    This might be of interest too.
    RCDIG1070166--1-.pdf

    Michael

  11. #25
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    South of Adelaide
    Posts
    177

    Default

    After my last post i remembered i had a engineering magazine from about ww2 some time. After some searching of my engineering library I found it. It is September 7 1942 edition of The Australasian Engineer. I thought there may have been some references to some of the war effort machines that were made, but I think much of what was going on would have been kept secret at that time. When I have some time I will try to scan it and post it here. I think most of you would find it interesting.

  12. #26
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Blue Mtns
    Posts
    66

    Default

    There was a very large Craven lathe on cockatoo. Had a 5m face plate and driven from the tool post. I can't recall the legth but it was much longer than that photo above. It was post war I think 1949 rings a bell. It was dismantled with the vertical borer after the sales and the craven lathe went out to Smithfield and sat Unassembled for a few years . The vertical borer was sold to MD machinery and years later was sold up to FNQ.

    i have photos somewhere I post when ever I find them.

    the reason I recall was I with a couple of others disassembled the lathe )

  13. #27
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Newstead Victoria
    Posts
    459

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Michael G View Post
    This might be of interest too.
    RCDIG1070166--1-.pdf

    Michael
    A good read amazing to see at the end where and what was made state wide and the survival of some companies here that have amalgamated .And some still in business today ,for how long who knows.The planning and preparedness outline o future hostilities
    All we can do is hope that a major conflict will not catch us with our trousers down. Jap made subs !! God rest our deceased servicemen

  14. #28
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Newstead Victoria
    Posts
    459

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by .RC. View Post
    There is at least one photo of it somewhere snapatap....

    Some more info

    21st July 1945 The Courier Mail

    MONSTER LATHE BUILT AT IPSWICH



    LARGEST lathe in the Southern Hemisphere was built at the Ipswich Railway Workshops.
    A complete train was needed to transport the 135-ton monster, which four months later turned out eight-inch guns. Plans for the giant lathe were conceived in the gauge and tool making section, which has de- veloped since the workshops were placed on their own resources when the Japs entered the war. The staff responded to an Aus-
    tralia-wide demand for gauges and tools which were then imported. Under the direction of the chief mechanical engineer (Mr. V. J. Hall), they rapidly established the industry on such a sound basis that before long industry through- out the Commonwealth sought their assistance. A certificate from the Marlbyr- nong Munitions Research Depart- ment showing that there was a degree of inaccuracy in construc- tion in one set of gauges of only 5,000,000th part of an inch was proudly displayed yesterday dur- ing an official inspection by the
    Transport Minister (Mr. Walsh) and railway officials. Calculations in thousandths part of an inch are scorned by the staff, which has reached such a degree of perfection that 100,000ths are more frequently than not their most common topic of discussion. Mr. Hall said that the gauge and tool department was at the service of Queensland and Australian pri- vate and other industry. Already the Navy took its prob- lems almost exclusively to Ips- wich, and that section of private enterprise which was aware of its great facilities was constantly in- creasing its orders.

    Tried to find a picture, about this is all I can come up with..

    X2432.jpg
    Curvature of earth considered in installation by mill rights

  15. #29
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Australia east coast
    Age
    71
    Posts
    1,469

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by achjimmy View Post
    There was a very large Craven lathe on cockatoo. Had a 5m face plate and driven from the tool post. I can't recall the legth but it was much longer than that photo above. It was post war I think 1949 rings a bell. It was dismantled with the vertical borer after the sales and the craven lathe went out to Smithfield and sat Unassembled for a few years . The vertical borer was sold to MD machinery and years later was sold up to FNQ.

    i have photos somewhere I post when ever I find them.

    the reason I recall was I with a couple of others disassembled the lathe )
    There's still a lot of big machinery on Cockatoo Island. I'm going there tomorrow to meet up with friends and go sailing.

    PDW

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Similar Threads

  1. Machine History photos
    By wheelinround in forum METALWORK FORUM
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 9th June 2013, 04:00 PM
  2. United states machine tool co. #1 horizontal milling machine
    By pmcgee in forum ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE TOOLS
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 1st March 2013, 11:16 PM
  3. Replies: 5
    Last Post: 19th April 2012, 09:12 PM
  4. Sutton tool history
    By steran50 in forum METALWORK FORUM
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 17th April 2012, 08:47 AM
  5. History of Australian Bushrangers
    By Peter R in forum NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH WOODWORK
    Replies: 42
    Last Post: 15th December 2004, 03:18 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •