Hawker tube squaring machine

Contraption

This is what we use for channels and the such with ours..Still a work in progress but does the job,well sorta.:D

Idiot not included:diablo:

Hurricane book

Thanks for the tip about the book, i already have it (thats how i saw the picture that started the threat!) its a shame there arnt more book out there with that many detailed pictues!

I squared a load of tubes using the machine Duxford developed for the restoration of the Sea Hurricane and static Hurri…it was a modified lorry jack with rollers

For a photo of the Hawker Restorations tube squaring machine see page 24 of the most excellent book ‘Hawker Hurricane..Inside and Out’ by Melvyn Hiscock. (Published by Crowood 2003).

The Hawker Res. example an exact copy of the original as used by Hawker’s at their Kingston works.

I would post a scan of the actual photo, but said author might come and ‘nut’ me or something..so best try and buy a copy!!

Chumpy.

I am sure, from time to time, there were and are visitors – but invited ones and not just the idle “curious” or the “spotters” on-spec. However, I feel your post rather implies that visitors were once welcomed and now are not. The fact is, this, like other operations of the same or a similar ilk, do not encourage or welcome visitors. Indeed, they have good cause to actively discourage them. It is a potentially hazardous workshop environment and therefore there are both safety and insurance considerations. Not only that, but there are very serious security implications and, very often, confidentiality issues in relation to client’s aeroplanes. Quite apart from all that, visitors are a distraction to the engineers and other employees and can hinder progress on often tight schedules. These operations are not enthusiastic hobbyists eager to share-all with the entire aviation fraternity but are multi-million pound engineering businesses. As such, they should not be treated as open-house free museums. The idle and unannounced visitor is likely to be given very short shrift. I am sure, FB, that you were not suggesting they should be granted free and unfettered access but I think it is important to realise that an open-door-anytime visitor policy does not exist. If I sound as if I am banging a drum for others, then I am. I have recently been made aware that the matter of “visitors” is an issue with several such undertakings. It is certainly an issue of concern to more than one historic aircraft restorer.

We did used to have a few visitors when I was there, hence why normally I would have suggested it. It was only the last time that I went to see the boss that I learned they no longer welcomed it – think it hapened to have something to do with the arrival of the Yak from Hawkers.

FB

Retrotrec is, obviously, a private company and there are probably few such organisations/companies who would welcome cold-call visits. There are 101 valid reasons why a company such as Retrotec would not want to see an influx of curious visitors, with all due respect!

Retrotec are the only ones that i know who have such a machine. Guy Black had had it for quite a while but had only just acquired the dies when i worked there back in 2003. You are quite correct, material is cold drawn through the dies entirely using man power (the lever arm on it is about 4ft long to draw the material). Easy machine to use. The Hurricane Tailplane spars have circular tubes slid inside hexagonal tubes with a push fit, this was about the only machine I’ve come across that makes this job relatively easy!

I would say, pop down to Retrotec, but I now understand that they don’t accept visitors any more.

FB

From what I,ve heard it,s some confounded apparatus that cold draws the pipe through a die.Have you tried looking at Engineering companies that do such work as they might have a machine that does similar work.