Prostheta Posted January 23, 2020 Report Share Posted January 23, 2020 Random photos of what I do at work.... Fun pressing stuff together.... this is the crap press hidden in the furthest corner of nowhere. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2020 But what's that hiding on top....? 4m of unclaimed bone dry Sapele. Hmmm. The press is regularly hot at 60-90°C so the heat rising off the frame has cycled this wood many many times for at least a year.... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted January 23, 2020 Report Share Posted January 23, 2020 for some reason I'm really attracted to the dials/controls on old machines like that. I find them very pleasing to the eye. We have some crazy 50's printing presses at my work and the chrome labeling, bakelite dials... very stylish, have been meaning to take pics sometime. thanks for this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 It's not that good. The best bits are the stamped metal plates which these days would be a sticker. It's also labelled in a mixture of German, Finnish and English. Also, the load balancer between front and back is screwy, so it raises the front a little ahead of the back, causing the platens to shear and smear parts by around 10-12mm. You learn to live with its idiosyncrasies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted January 27, 2020 Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 On 1/24/2020 at 5:14 AM, Prostheta said: It's not that good. The best bits are the stamped metal plates which these days would be a sticker. It's also labelled in a mixture of German, Finnish and English. Also, the load balancer between front and back is screwy, so it raises the front a little ahead of the back, causing the platens to shear and smear parts by around 10-12mm. You learn to live with its idiosyncrasies. right - stamped plates. looks like some crazy cold war missile control (sorry, my imagination runs wild pretty easily). "projecta oy". no idea what that means... but sounds cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted January 27, 2020 Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 "Project A, Oh Why?" Oy means Ltd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 Haha. They're a company here in Turku that distributes machinery and the like to industry. Literally 5mins walk from our house, which we rent from the previous CEO. Small world here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 27, 2020 Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 Care to guess why most machines of this age (and many still) are painted green? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 No solid truth seems to exist about that chestnut. The one I remember is that green soothes the eye. Not that this was much of a consideration in the early to mid 20th century. I'd presume it be something related to ease of manufacture, ubiquity or whatever. Most green machines are repainted that way. We have a four sided shaper that is a disgusting desert tan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 28, 2020 Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 I would have guessed that the paint manufacturer made a buttload and sold it cheap to get it off their hands back in the day. And enough got painted to become recognized as a standard. That is my understanding of how barn red paint became a standard for barns in this country a century or so ago. Bad handwriting or something added a few zeroes to the number of gallons ordered, on an already really large order. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted January 28, 2020 Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 19 minutes ago, ScottR said: That is my understanding of how barn red paint became a standard for barns in this country a century or so ago. Not only in your country. The red barn paint (used widely for log houses as well) was home cooked, only the red ochre pigment was bought unless you couldn't dig it from your land. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted January 28, 2020 Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 On 1/27/2020 at 9:01 AM, Bizman62 said: "Project A, Oh Why?" Oy means Ltd. ty On 1/27/2020 at 9:07 AM, Prostheta said: Haha. They're a company here in Turku that distributes machinery and the like to industry. Literally 5mins walk from our house, which we rent from the previous CEO. Small world here. nice. everytime I look at that name I think of acdc tnt (oy). On 1/27/2020 at 10:20 AM, Andyjr1515 said: Care to guess why most machines of this age (and many still) are painted green? the suspense is killing me. is it so blood would be obvious when you smashed your finger with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 Not if you're wearing 3D specs! Yeah, barn red is a pigment derived from the earth: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochre Use Google translate on the Finnish version dealing specifically with red ochre: https://fi.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punamulta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 28, 2020 Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 23 hours ago, Prostheta said: No solid truth seems to exist about that chestnut. The one I remember is that green soothes the eye. Not that this was much of a consideration in the early to mid 20th century. I'd presume it be something related to ease of manufacture, ubiquity or whatever. Most green machines are repainted that way. We have a four sided shaper that is a disgusting desert tan. Well - it's one of those questions where the internet is rubbish, because there seems to be no academic source on there - just general discussions by folks like us speculating why it might be. And so - I don't know if the people who decided light green was the colour were actually correct in their beliefs, but certainly in some very large mid-20th century production plants in UK I do know why the guys who actually put the machines in spec'd that they must be that colour. And yes - it was a belief (correct or not) that it was a more calming colour for a workforce predominately operating in those times on a production line basis. And at the very large plant I worked at, it had been introduced in the 1940's. The bit of academia I do know is that there was a lot of research done by industrial psychologists (one of the famous US guys whose text-book I used to have and whose name completely escapes me) as production line techniques took hold. The productivity graph climbed steeply...and then tapered off. There were all sorts of issues (the experiments on satiation are utterly fascinating!) and certainly in the Production Engineering department of the engine plant I worked for in the 70's (10,000 employees in a single plant churning out 1100 diesel engines a day), they specified green (and @Prostheta 's example is the shade they used) based on this belief. As I say, who and when it was first muted I don't know, but I DO know that the company guidelines were that this should be done and for this reason. The evolution of this work is where job rotation and nowadays leading onto lean manufacture and various of the Kaizen techniques started coming in. The irony, to cap it off, is that nowadays a highly productive manufacturing plant usually has bright blue floors, yellow walkways and often white machines but also all sorts of colours! Whether this is because the production line methods have changed or that everyone realised that green never DID make any difference, I have no idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted January 28, 2020 Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 15 minutes ago, Prostheta said: Not if you're wearing 3D specs! Yeah, barn red is a pigment derived from the earth: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochre Use Google translate on the Finnish version dealing specifically with red ochre: https://fi.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punamulta 3D I assume you mean my comment (red blood + green)? that is an interesting factotem regarding red barns. I come originally from wisconsin where there are crap ton of red barns. in door county (my family has a red log + white stucco cabin there) every flipping cabin (log or not) is painted red and white. I always thought it was just so you could see/find the cabin when you where out on the lake. against the trees they are pretty well hidden otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted January 28, 2020 Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 A red cabin with white corners and white window frames? That sounds very familiar, both here in Finland and equally in Sweden. 11 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said: And yes - it was a belief (correct or not) that it was a more calming colour The machinery green always makes me think of the fifties. I recall having seen a portrait painting of a former mayor in some municipal hall with the man standing in some kind of a workshop wearing a green overall. Or was it perhaps a medical lab, I don't know. Anyhow, the colour theories are very old. I found an interesting little article about colours. It said that before 1880 doctors wore their own clothes during surgery until the requirements of hygiene and aceptics brought white overalls. As the surgery lights became brighter the shining white coats were too shiny so they changed to the current green - which appeared to calm down the patients as well and hide splatter. For the manufacturing plants now having several colours can be due to the subconscious understanding for levels of safety, combined with activating colours? Like blue floors=relatively safe area, yellow=speedway, white machinery=qualified personnel only etc.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 Methods and beliefs change with time, and I presume so do the aforementioned psychological associations. Green to me says old and likely more bomb proof than modern stuff. Especially Italian.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted January 28, 2020 Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 1 hour ago, Bizman62 said: A red cabin with white corners and white window frames? That sounds very familiar, both here in Finland and equally in Sweden. here's one very similar to my familie's and in fact on the sm lake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted January 29, 2020 Report Share Posted January 29, 2020 10 hours ago, mistermikev said: here's one very similar to my familie's and in fact on the sm lake. I had to double check who sent that post to locate that house! That cabin could be found on any lake- or seaside in Finland or Sweden. Then again, the original Texans didn't build log houses, did they? I mean, the builder may well have had Fenno-Scandian roots... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2020 Maybe. I've never liked that gappy stuffed joint style of log build though. I learnt how to do it the old school way with a scribing protractor, bevel gauge and square. Also axe, chainsaw and slicks. My work, but not my building. I was apprenticing for three months on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted January 29, 2020 Report Share Posted January 29, 2020 3 hours ago, Bizman62 said: I had to double check who sent that post to locate that house! That cabin could be found on any lake- or seaside in Finland or Sweden. Then again, the original Texans didn't build log houses, did they? I mean, the builder may well have had Fenno-Scandian roots... well in wisconsin... there is a lot of german and duch heritage... I don't know about finish or swedish but perhaps. 39 minutes ago, Prostheta said: Maybe. I've never liked that gappy stuffed joint style of log build though. I learnt how to do it the old school way with a scribing protractor, bevel gauge and square. Also axe, chainsaw and slicks. My work, but not my building. I was apprenticing for three months on this. geeeez. dove tailed? that is some nice stuff there. yeah.... that stucco joint stuff is a bad idea in cold areas... constantly re-stuffing! then again our cabin has been standing ofr over 100yrs think it sort of gets a pass for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2020 Although I didn't have a hand in this job, here's a bunch of solid Teak doors made for a cruise liner. These are maybe 6-8ft wide internally and taller than a typical door. The finish is Owatrol D1 (maybe D2) marine oil/varnish. That's several saturating coats, sanded back when dry and re-applied. The photos don't do these justice. What it does go to show, is that patience and spending the time to follow a stricter schedule in your finishing truly pays off. The guys did a stunning job on this one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2020 Technically, edge banding is like binding a guitar. 40mm thick top bound with 1mm ABS. Ideally one would use EVA glue and an edge banding machine, however this has tight internal radii that needs specific attention. Radio studio console. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 3, 2020 Report Share Posted March 3, 2020 You are making some cool shit at this new job. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2020 Sometimes, but not often. To be fair, much of it is dreary factory work that doesn't fully make use of what I'm qualified to do. Well, sort of. For example, this console's top needs ABS edge banding done manually around its entirety and I know that it needs either hot melt EVA/PUR glue, low melt PUR, cold contact adhesive or otherwise a solvent-based cement. We have a Virutex edge banding maching so hot melt EVA would be possible if the shape didn't have such tight internal corners. The (not qualified in this field) production manager insists that PVAc is adequate (far from it) in spite of my protestations. It's that kind of bullshit which takes the shine off it most days. Simply going along with bad practice is complicity, but you can only go so far as to pointing this out. At least from here it's not my responsibility when the edge banding peels off through expected use.... The photo was taken yesterday, I checked the edge banding this morning and it sounded hollow when tapped. Not adhered. Pulled off easily. Spent three hours scraping and sanding the edges to get rid of (as much as possible) the original PVAc glue only to have to re-apply the same incorrect type of adhesive. Wall, head, bang, etc. Let's see how it looks tomorrow. Probably the same as it did this morning. Rant over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.