Page 1 of 4

Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 5:27 am
by Merlyn
Just had cause to use these, don't seem to use them as much as years gone by like so many other treasured tools, the one on the right is 1 3/8 BSW, ? Don't know what currency you folks on the Eastern Seaboard used?

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 7:07 pm
by JollyJack
All metric now, not before time! BSW, BSF, BSP are all memories, it's all in the angle of the dangle.

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 11:55 pm
by Merlyn
That was a trick question for you and you fell straight into the hole. I just worked out your age. ( yes I know it's online ) but this was a confirmation experiment. BSP is still used over here and some BSW equate near enough to UNC. You can get away with some CAT tube stack housings using a BSW tap when tapping out sheared anodes in a tube stack holder. But what was the other object depicted? When was the last time you used one? Was it metric or was it imperial?

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 2:21 am
by Big Pete
1) Metric Pipe thread is BSP
2) Second picture looks like a thread file.

BP

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2015 4:42 am
by Merlyn
Didn't know your no 1 reply. Never knew that. Spot on with the thread file, it's actually 55 and 60 degree thread form on this one.

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 3:26 am
by D Winsor
BSW & BSP bolts and pipe fittings are still available and in use on this side of the pond. For example the ship Algosteel currently featured on the banner for this web site has one of the last operating RD Sulzers in the world circa.1966 which surprisingly has some BSW & BSP fittings on it and of course a 4 Ram Hastie Steering Gear which is 100% BSW & BSP fittings.
On that ship a set of BSP & BSW taps and dies are never too far away.
It also makes it interesting when you explain to a new engineer, usually screaming some expletive in frustration, why a standard UNC or Tapered Thread fitting just won't work, after the bolt won't turn or the fitting always leaks.

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 3:24 pm
by JK
A Hasties steering gear. So you are familiar with the little red headed Scotsman who is virtually indecipherable when he is excited. MLM?

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 6:11 pm
by JollyJack
That's it! You failed!

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:35 am
by JK
Haha!

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 5:42 am
by Merlyn
My research indicates that N.S. Means new Scotland in Latin and as such I would have thought that in progressing you folks over there through the ranks that at least part of the courses would have leant themselves to the wee boy talk, Scottish. How else can you comprehend the workshop manual whilst in the tiller flats attempting to sort out problems ? Started on the steam versions of these, never had too many problems over the years that I can recall.

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2015 4:42 am
by Merlyn
image.jpg
image.jpg
Well D W's write up made me delve into the box and there down the bottom was one if not the one of my mark one eyeball spanners from 1960 when I was starting the apprenticeship. It's a King Dick made in UK and was among the better class of spanners. This one looks like it's never been flogged and you can just make out the sizes , I seem to remember BSF was always One size down from BSW and this one is stamped to that end. You can make out the marks where I have used a ringer to double up on the fulcrum leverage, you know, moments about a point? Remember it all? When you started out your tools were of a special interest to other apprentices and I always thought that was good of them to show an interest however the real reason soon manifest itself, swopsies. Knowing near enough the contents of your toolbox when your back was turned an identical King Dick to yours would appear in your toolbox only this one would have its jaws sprung or bear flogging marks. It might be several weeks before you clocked this and more weeks to locate in whose toolbox your spanner lay. When you fronted up the person concerned it was of course all denied and the charge hand would then be involved. Prove it went up the cry from the accused apprentice. In those early days I did not realise the importance of stamping your initials on all of your kit. Well the other apprentice would say to the charge hand, I can prove its mine. Show me then the charge hand would say and out came my undamaged King Dick from his toolbox and it turning it over he would state, there, I kept telling you it was mine and sure enough stamped quite clearly the words " MINE " there was loads of spanners in various toolboxes stamped. " MINE " throught the ship and in the workshops ashore. A number one lesson to be learnt here alright if you wanted to keep your tools. I still have loads of kit from the old days, boxes of die nuts taps one two and plug, some of this kit would be taken from the stores of a ship you were working on, taken ashore and maybe over the years only one out of a set used. All probably out of date now but as I am still doing marine engineering who knows? Hated the metric changeover, to us over here it was a case of the " foreigners " telling us what to do. Bit like the nowadays EU we have had forced on us. New spanners, drills, taps ,dies, clock gauges, verniers, inside and outside micrometers, flow gauges, reamers, feeler gauges, crank grind sizes and liners all mm (Mickey Mouse) it was known as. Years of struggling trying to convert it all back to imperial so we could comprehend it. Still refill fuel tanks etc in gallons, daren't risk getting the decimal point in the wrong place, problem is as time goes by the person who takes the order doesn't know pounds shillings and pence, feet and inches and a two minute tel call can last half an hour just to refill the fuel tanks.

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:50 am
by Big Pete
The change over was dangerous, one of the first jumbo jets, Boeing 747s to have its fuel tanks calibrated in Litres volume instead of pounds weight, failed to take on enough fuel and flamed out half way across America. I understand the Pilot was a keen Glider pilot and managed to put her down on an abandoned WW2 airfield, but no one else could ever do it in a simulator.
Always caused confusion in the North Sea, most of the supply boats had cargo tanks calibrated in Cubic Metres so did the Rigs, but American Management on the rigs insisted that everything should be converted to Barrels...
Now we are pretty much used to the Metric system it would be crazy to change back, it is far better to have a single system in use world wide than Metric F&C, UN F&C, BS W&F not to mention BSP&T & NPT & T, B.A., and the Scandinavian Rohr system.
There were even 2 types of spanner and Hex head for the BSW/BSF series, one of the Wartime economy measures in the UK was to reduce the size of the Hex heads on all nuts and bolts. A pre war 1 inch bolt had the same Hex head size as a Wartime Utility and post War 7/8 inch bolt, it meant the same range of spanners could be used, but valuable steel could be saved making the bolts and Nuts.
Another Wartime economy measure still with us is Gold Braid on Dress Blue Uniforms, before the War the Braid went all round the Circumference of the sleeve, now it is only on the outside.
BP

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 1:15 am
by JK
The Gimli Glider. It happened over here. Within 3 weeks, pilots were being challenged in the simulators by losing all power and gliding the planes. It is astounding the plane was landed. The pilot was flying sideways at one point to cut airspeed.


http://youtu.be/WwMqDnBCBwc

This is better
http://youtu.be/3ffryZAd4Nw

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 2:58 am
by D Winsor
The Gimili Glider was the first and about 10 to 12 years ago another Canadian Pilot glided an A300 Airbus into the Azores with no fuel.The loss of fuel in this case was caused by a ruptured fuel line. In both cases the pilots were hailed as heroes for their flying skills
In the days of the old steam ships it wasn't unheard of for the crew to 'Burn the Furniture' to get to the next port after running out of coal. Try doing that these days!

Re: Amongst My Souveniers

Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 4:06 am
by Big Pete
Go back about 200 years and there was a purpose built steamer racing against a sailing ship with an auxiliary engine for the prestige of being the first ship to cross the Atlantic under Steam, If I remember they were the Sirrius and the Savanah, one of them ended up burning all its masts and sails as well as the furniture.

BP