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The Price Of Old Windlasses


cheshire~rose

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2 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Dare I suggest now would be a good time to stock up on ordinary cast monoblock steel windlasses while they are cheap? Like this.

They've stopped making them now apparently, and the fabricated steel ones are totally inferior. 

s-l1600.jpg

Bugger, the two like that we left on 'the dog house' when we sold it, but kept the shiny aluminium ones we bought for if we ever hire again..

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Its really nice - I think its off an old well.

 

I've got some of my collection of windlasses and other toys in my cwdf gallery if anyone is interested :)

 

Goodness me 10 years ago. Tempus fugit

 

 

Why  can't I add a clickable link to my own gallery ?


This page

 

www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/gallery/album/117-my-magnet-finds/

 

 

Edited by magnetman
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8 hours ago, RLWP said:

23735964_10155750823909070_2531723544605

If you are going to put that in use the handle will require a lot ot of work or serious blisters will be the order of the day

8 hours ago, RLWP said:

23735964_10155750823909070_2531723544605

If you are going to put that in use the handle will require a lot ot of work or serious blisters will be the order of the day

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Bit of an anoraky comment but I would suggest the corrosion on it is not due to it having been in the canal but due to it always being fitted to whatever it was used for and therefore having been outdoors all the time resulting in it being "weathered".

 

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9 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Dare I suggest now would be a good time to stock up on ordinary cast monoblock steel windlasses while they are cheap? Like this.

They've stopped making them now apparently, and the fabricated steel ones are totally inferior. 

s-l1600.jpg


Point of order, but surely if it is cast, then it is iron, not steel?

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Thanks everyone for their comments.

I have had a miniature version for several years, I think it's possible either Retford & Worksop Boat Club or Chesterfield Canal Society may have had a batch cast for trophies or souvenirs many years ago and I know a few local enthusiasts who have one but it was the first time I had ever seen one "in the flesh" so to speak and just wanted to own a little bit of Chesterfield Canal Heritage. 

It is a genuine Chesterfield windlass and it was donated to the auction by a local chap who has been boating on The Chesterfield for a good number of decades (but doesn't remember exactly where he came across it) 

I won't be doing much in the way of cleaning it up because it is so heavily pitted there would not be much meat on it my the time I got it looking anything like those lovely shiny ones in the earlier photo. I have no plans to use it either. It will lightly cleaned with some wire wool and waxed before going on display. 

I don't believe I paid over the odds for it, at £15 I feel it was about right - but would have paid more, especially as the funds raised by the auction were being split between a local hospice and to buy the club a scaffolding tower for future maintenance work. I think I may have been saved from spending more because there were just two of us who wanted it and the auctioneer has one in his garage which he said he will sell for £15 to the other guy. 

Many people were buying things and immediately giving them to me for me to sell for Chesterfield Canal Trust - because they are generous like that! Some of it exactly the stuff that boaters are after like a twin tub washing machine, a single tub washing machine and spin dryer and other stuff that is just really nice like this which I am told is a "Scarborough Reel" 

23755154_10155749484869070_5883551654399

 

I also won this:

23621650_10155750412834070_7977698541035

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On 19/11/2017 at 09:11, alan_fincher said:


Point of order, but surely if it is cast, then it is iron, not steel?

 

I don't actually know how it is made.

It looks as though its die cast rather than sand cast, but I don't know if that would be done using steel or iron. If cast in iron I think welding the handle in might not be straightforward.  Others here will know more than me about this. 

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7 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:


Point of order, but surely if it is cast, then it is iron, not steel?

The head is cast (probably iron but could be cast steel) but the handle is mild steel which is arc welded to the head. It's not a single piece windlass.

 

 

That pattern (MtB's pic) can be adapted to be a single by cutting the big socket off. Makes quite a nice light key that way. I did one but lost it on the Northampton arm years ago.

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19 minutes ago, magnetman said:

 

That pattern (MtB's pic) can be adapted to be a single by cutting the big socket off. Makes quite a nice light key that way. I did one but lost it on the Northampton arm years ago.

That's a shame, I guess the magnet didn't find it then!

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1 minute ago, magnetman said:

I didn't have a decent magnet in those days !


Your windass is a lovely looking piece of iron by the way :)

 

Thank you

It is a bit different to most regular old windlasses but they always did things a bit different on The Chessie - I mean it may well have been used to work a Chesterfield Boat through the locks and they have a mast and sail!

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I think your "new" windlass is wondrful Jan, and quite unusual. I have seen an old photo somewhere of a similar one being used on the K&A many years ago.

As for cleaning, it can be done quite easily without sanding etc, but by reverse electrolysis, which removes all the loose rust but leaves the iron intact. After cleaning, a good coating of beeswax (or preferably Rennaisance wax) will protect it from any further degredation, if you are interested i can let you have details of the process.

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1 hour ago, alan_fincher said:


Point of order, but surely if it is cast, then it is iron, not steel?

 

10 minutes ago, RLWP said:

Cast steel is a real thing

Richard

Agreed. Cast steel is used quite commonly in the manufacture of heavy usage items. We have a park bench with cast steel frames in in our Village play area. Using cast steel for a Windlass would be quite appropriate as they can face serious stresses across a small section

Edited by David Schweizer
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1 hour ago, David Schweizer said:

I think your "new" windlass is wondrful Jan, and quite unusual. I have seen an old photo somewhere of a similar one being used on the K&A many years ago.

As for cleaning, it can be done quite easily without sanding etc, but by reverse electrolysis, which removes all the loose rust but leaves the iron intact. After cleaning, a good coating of beeswax (or preferably Rennaisance wax) will protect it from any further degredation, if you are interested i can let you have details of the process.

Thank you very much, yes I would like to do clean it us without losing any of it's original "meat" I can probably Google how it is done but if it is not too much trouble for you to share the method there may be others who read this who can make use of it too? 

I know you always have the knack of using terminology I can understand too!

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1 hour ago, carlt said:

How much do you want for the reel? 

Last night people were finding them on eBay for £50 to suggest that is what I should be asking but in reality just because you can find something for sale at that price does not mean it is worth that price so I searched today and see similar items that have already been cleaned up a bit are going for more like £15 + postage 

I want to sell it in the condition it is in and let someone else do the "cleaning up a bit" so how does a tenner sound? 

It won't cost much to send with MyHermes (I think £4 ish?) or I can take it to someone going to Luff banter who may be able to get it to you?

 

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3 hours ago, RLWP said:

Cast steel is a real thing

Richard

The stem post and stern post of Yarwoods built G.U.C.C.Co. Ltd. and F.M.C. Ltd. narrow boat are made from cast steel, or at least that what the detailed drawings I have state, and I imagine this will be the same for the Harland and Wolff Ltd. narrow boats (excluding the wooden ones of course) :captain:

 

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23 minutes ago, pete harrison said:

The stem post and stern post of Yarwoods built G.U.C.C.Co. Ltd. and F.M.C. Ltd. narrow boat are made from cast steel, or at least that what the detailed drawings I have state, and I imagine this will be the same for the Harland and Wolff Ltd. narrow boats (excluding the wooden ones of course) :captain:

 

You would have thought someone who owned two Yarwoods built G.U.C.C.Co. boats would have known that. :lol:

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33 minutes ago, pete harrison said:

The stem post and stern post of Yarwoods built G.U.C.C.Co. Ltd. and F.M.C. Ltd. narrow boat are made from cast steel, or at least that what the detailed drawings I have state, and I imagine this will be the same for the Harland and Wolff Ltd. narrow boats (excluding the wooden ones of course) :captain:

 

The stem "irons" on Rickies are forged steel.

I haven't found much data at all on the manufacturing processes of wooden boat ironwork, it seems it just turns up at the yard and the builders wrap wood around it.

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2 hours ago, cheshire~rose said:

 

I want to sell it in the condition it is in and let someone else do the "cleaning up a bit" so how does a tenner sound? 

It won't cost much to send with MyHermes (I think £4 ish?) or I can take it to someone going to Luff banter who may be able to get it to you?

 

A tenner plus postage sounds fine (rounded up to £15?).

Is Paypal okay?

I've just bought a lovely split cane pier rod which it will look lovely hanging off.

I don't suppose you have a photo of the back do you?

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7 hours ago, BWM said:

Thanks for the picture, I was struggling to visualise it. I can understand the appeal as it's certainly unusual. 

It is a most handsome and distinctive piece - I am not sure if the twirl (or whatever) adds anything to its efficiency in action, but I reckon there would be a market for repro's of this.

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