THE ELLIPSOIDAL SPUN HEAD

THE SPUN HEAD ON DISPLAY AT THE DOME OF DISCOVERY

In April 1951 Harvey's house magazine reported on their exhibit at the Festival of Britain    ....  this was

 

THE ELLIPSOIDAL SPUN HEAD

ELLIPSOIDAL Spun Head 12' 6" inside diameter, 3' 6" deep for a Pressure Vessel designed to

Withstand 270 lbs. /sq.  inch working pressure. Spun from 1 3/4t"thick 14% Chrome 'Colclad' flat plate disc 15' 10" dia., weighing 5 3/4 tons. Our 'Rotarpress' Spinning Plant is capable of spinning hot, flat plates up to 4" in thickness, producing Ellipsoidal Heads from 5' 0" to 15' 0" diameter with varying knuckle radii and depth to Lloyds Rules and A.P.I.-A.S.M.E. Code. This is a general description of the exhibit which is now in position at the Festival of Britain Dome of Discovery, South Bank.

In addition to this exhibit, we have supplied a large quantity of 'our various products for use or exhibiting at the Festival. These include ornamental Perforated Metals, Steel Clothes Lockers, Steel Office Equipment, Wirework Partitioning, Perforated Metals for the Concert Hall, Refuse Containers

 

 

 

 

 

THE DUCHESS OF KENT WATCHES MR. SANDERSON OPERATING THE SPINNER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then a visit from local councillors to see what was going on:

 

VISIT OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCILLORS OF GREENWICH

THE CIVIC PARTY VIEW THE SPUN HEAD

ON Saturday, April 7th, the Mayor of Greenwich, Councillor H. W. Gorman, J.P., accompanied by several of the Borough Councillors, including the Town Clerk, Mr. Reason, the Borough Engineer, Mr. Jennings, and other leading officials, visited the works with the specific object of seeing the Hot Spun Pressure Vessel Head which was fabricated here prior to being exhibited at the Festival of Britain. The party were received by Mr. H. T. Eatwell, the Managing Director, and then visited several of the shops. They were most interested in the office furniture in the Steel Equipment Department, where some of the samples they saw were being prepared for despatch to Canada and United States.

From the Spinning Shop they went round the Fusion Welding Shop and, before departing, partook of some light refreshment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now - will some kind person tell us what a spun head is and what it is/was used for.  Thanks.

Harveys of Charlton - Equipment to solve dust problems

Harvey Fabrication Limited

Woolwich Road London SE7
Telephone 01-858 3232

Your Reference

 
Our Reference   DM. 70/HF.2

Tel. Extension 55

Date   February, 1970

Dear Sirs 

Harvey Dust and Fume Collectors Solve Air Pollution Problems
Without clean air mankind cannot survive. Air pollution is at last recognised as a deadly serious problem. New codes and more stringent laws are now emerging.

Industry is the target of these laws. It is a huge source of air pollution, second only to transportation. Thousands of tons of contaminating particles, droplets and gases are hurled into our limited atmosphere each day. Pollution must be controlled or the polluters will be forced out of business.

Fortunately, highly efficient air pollution control equipment has been engineered and is readily available to industry. The most effective types of particle control equipment are Fabric Filter Cabinet Collectors, High Efficiency Cyclones, and Swing Arc Fume Exhausters.
The exclusive Torit design developed from over thirty -five years operating experience in the U. S.A. and backed by Harvey's ninety year record for craftsmanship gives you a comprehensive range of the finest dust collectors ever seen in this country.
Competitively priced, available from stock, and complete with all accessories for any dust collection problem you may have. The range is available in any part of the United Kingdom.
Get in touch with us soon for further information - or, better still, call in our technical representative for advice on your particular air pollution problem.
We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully ,
HARVEY FABRICATION LIMITED
F.S.BRICKETT, SALES MANAGER                                                                                         
DUST AND FUME COLLECTION EQUIPMENT

HARVEY

Member of the G. A. Harvey Group
 

 

Torit Dust Collectors keep air clean and for the past 20 years have been successfully tested and perfected in America. Now, together with the 90 years' experience of Harvey Fabrication Limited, you are able to choose a collector to suit your particular problem from the finest range of dust collectors in the country.

Torit Dust Collectors: Collect more dust per horsepower than any other equipment. Occupy less floor, wall or ceiling space. Are available ex-stock throughout the country. Whatever your dust problem, there is a Torit answer. Write or phone for full details. One of our technical representatives will be pleased to visit you to discuss any aspect of dust collection. The Torit range is available in any part of the U.K.

CABINET TYPE DUST COLLECTORS

 
These models are designed to filter all dust including extremely fine atmospheric particles such as grinding wheel and metal dust including sub-micron sized particles. Operators, therefore, no longer require masks as the dust is prevented from reaching their breathing areas. Cabinet Dust Collectors can be castor mounted and made easily portable for use anywhere in the factory. As a result they can serve several machines without the use of long duct runs.
The Torit range of Cabinet Collectors comprises 12 models each having a collection by weight efficiency of 99.7%.

 

 

DOWN DRAUGHT BENCHES
Provide highly efficient dust collection for polishing, sanding, grinding, snagging or any portable hand too(job. They combine the work surface with a highly efficient dust collection system. The bench, not the worker, inhales the dust which is sucked down from the surface by a powerful airflow. A specially shaped baffle causes "a curtain of air" to form along the periphery of the bench. effectively preventing particles from escaping. Torit Downdraught Benches are. real space savers. With no rear doors they can be placed
against walls, away from the traffic flow.
Efficient Torit Downdraught Benches will help
speed production and boost morale in your
plant. They are easy to install and completely
portable.

  

 CYCLONE DUST COLLECTORS

A range of seven high efficiency centrifugal cyclone collectors is available to collect your chippings, shavings and sawdust, etc.  These materials can become a source of revenue instead of adding to the overheads by causing premature machine failure or increasing the fire risk.
Torit Cyclone Collectors can be utilised as single units or combined together in some cases to provide custom built dust collection systems. For internal or external use these collectors incorporate an integral fan design providing large savings of power.  Dust storage capacity is from 4 to 54 cubic feet




SWING ARC FUME EXHAUSTERS 
Remove unpleasant or toxic fumes, smoke and gases common to welding operations. Because these by- products are immediately drawn away from the welding area, Swing Arc Fume Exhausters protect workers from the causes of lead poisoning, zinc chills or other respiratory diseases.
Plant equipment is also protected from airborne deposits from various metals and welding rod.
Swing Arc Fume Exhausters reduce health hazards improve visibility and cut plant maintenance costs. Easy installation, low cost and easy maintenance make Swing Arc Fume Exhausters a real benefit to plant personnel and equipment

 

Other products in the Harvey Fabrication Range are Industrial Incinerators, Industrial Vacuum Cleaners, Dished Ends and various other items of Factory Equipment.
Please send for details of your requirements.

HARVEY  Member of the G. A. Harvey Group
H.R. 50M/1/69
HARVEY FABRICATION LIMITED
Woolwich Road, London, SE7. Telephone: 01-858 3232


DUST COLLECTORS
Manufactured and Marketed by Harvey Fabrication Limited
Please send further details of the equipment indicated.

To be used for: .......................... 

Name .......................................
Position  ...............................
Company   ..............................
Address .................................

...................................................... Telephone:  Ext  .

Nature of Business   .
Please ask a Sales Engineer to call to discuss my Dust Collection Problems

Sykes Pumps Charlton

The following are extracts about the history of Sykes Pumps produced for their centenary in 1957. 
The author and publisher are not known - although I guess it was published by Sykes themselves, and I would like to thank them for the photocopy - the whole of which I have as a PDF if anyone is interested.

"In the year 1857 Henry Sykes, then a man 35 years of age, came to London from - Sheffield and established a small engineering business in Upper Thames Street. Here he made Portable Vertical Steam Engines. Mortar Mills. Friction Hoists and Pumps, and stocked Portable Engines and Boilers and Hoisting Tackle for letting out on hire, chiefly to Builders and Public Works Contractors."

"Before long Mr. Sykes moved to more commodious premises at 66, Bankside, S.E.I, leased from what was then the Phoenix Gas Light and Coke Coy. and later became the South Metropolitan Gas Coy. At that time and indeed until much later the roadway at Bankside was liable to be flooded by tidal water"

"It was at Bankside that the manufacture of Deep Well Pumps was begun, and these proved very successful and were widely used in the construction of public water supplies; a large number of the deep wells sunk about this time all over the country were dug with the aid of Sykes Deep Well
Sinking Pumps."

"The premises at 66, Bankside had - by this time become inadequate, and in 1899 a site
(on the East side of Emerson Street where it joins Bankside) with river frontage and wharf
was acquired and upon this a substantial new works was built. This building was known as Emerson
Street Works."

"It had been realised for some time that the Emerson Street premises were not ideally designed
for engineering production. and early in 1920 nearly seven acres of land at Alperton, Middlesex, were purchased and works erected that same year."

"in a period of trade depression the  Alperton Works were dosed and eventually sold in 1930.
Meanwhile in order to prepare for new works to take the place of Alperton when trade should revive. Mr. Jackson had in 1928 purchased out of his own pocket some 51,acres of land on the Greenwich marshes adjoining the Woolwich Road at Charlton,S.E.7. and in January. 1930. he sold the half of this land having access to Woolwich Road to Henry Sykes Ltd  for the price he paid for it. On this site the present Charlton Works and Offices were erected and occupied the same year. 1930. Since then extensions and additions have been made from time to time to meet the expanding business and the present Charlton Works will stand comparison with any of similar capacity in the country."

"Starting shortly before the 1914-1918 War, the manufacture and hiring out of Pile Driving Plant became, during the inter-war period, the major activity of the firm. By the early 30's the amount of business being done was substantial. Mr. Mitchiner had become a considerable authority in pile driving matters and was generally recognised as such by the leading Civil Engineering Contractors.
The high spot during this period was the piling of the site of Ford's great motor works on the marshes of Dagenham in Essex. Sykes' Plant drove all (or very nearly all) the many tens of thousands of reinforced concrete piles on which the whole of this world-famous factory was built".
"In 1938 and 1939 a large number of winches were ordered for the erection of steel masts at
points on the East and South Coasts. The matter was of great urgency and was surrounded by an
air of mvsterv. We were to learn a year or two later that they were the Radar installations that
contributed so much to this country's survival"

"A self-priming pump that can deal with large solids and thick slurries has long been a goal to be achieved by manufacturers of pumps. For many years the demand for such a pump has been evident, but the response that our efforts in this direction during the last three years have produced is beyond all expectation.  Not only have our long-standing customers in civil engineering given it a most
encouraging welcome. but it is finding new fields to conquer. The National Coal Board are using these pumps not only in the disposal of waste from coal washing plants. but also for applications underground".

When considering the activities of Henry Sykes Ltd. during the last 100 years, it becomes clear that pumps have had the most continuously successful history."

Woolwich ignores new tech

The following article comes from an undated Harvey News.  Harveys were a large metal fabrication factory in the Woolwich Road - on the fire station site.  This issue of their company news is aimed at employees and the front page and the majority of its content is about the sports club.  The centre page spread is about a reorganisation of the accounts department.  The speaker in this account comes from Elliott Automation - the Lewisham based company then one of the world leaders in automation and ultimately computer technology.   My guess is that this issue of Harvey News comes from around 1966-7 by which time Elliotts were competing with the likes of IBM to supply large processing systems to commerce and industry (I was working for Computer Weekly by 1968 and I remember it all well!!  I thought it was all very exciting but seems I was the exception)
I am struggling not to say anything about heads in sand and the gradual demise of British industry in the following years,.

 

 

FINE LECTURE BAD ATTENDANCE

A well presented, excellent lecture, but a disappointing attendance. That was my reaction following a public lecture on 'Automation and its Social Implications' given by Dr. H. Thomas, consultant to Elliott-Automation Ltd., at Woolwich Polytechnic recently.

The disappointing attendance could not be blamed on lack of publicity, for in this firm alone; over 2,500 copies of the information referring to the lecture had been sent out. Other companies in the area had also informed their employees and over 1,500 posters had been sent out.

Lack of time or lack of interest could have been the reasons for such a poor showing.

Dr. Thomas presented the case for automation. He presented it full and with film illustrations. He answered questions that have been uppermost in the minds of people since the word automation first reared its head in conversation,

His lecture was to the point and controversial. He pulled no punches and he gave no quarter. In fact, some of his conclusions were new and implied that the problems to be faced were not those frequently expounded.

Sincerely and with great effect he laid it on the line. , and only a handful of people from Harveys and other companies were there to hear this excellent speaker.

Automation is here to stay, but some people prefer to believe that if they can't see it, it will go away. But it won't!

Dr. Thomas posed many problems to be thinking about and there should have been more people there, especially those who have the ultimate job of meeting and solving the problems.