Single Compression Scrap Metal Baler, O/No. 6610, c.1950

Order 6610 for William Redfern Ltd., c.1950

Size of the box;  72″ x 36″ x 32″.  Size of bale 36″ x 18″ x 18″.

Cover ram power 220 tons.  Horizontal ram 190 tons.

Final specific pressure 42 tons/sq.ft.  Working pressure 1500 psi & 2240 psi.

65 HP two-stage Fraser and Deri-Sine pumps.

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Click on the hyperlink to see other Notable Orders from the 1950s.

If you remember designing, machining, fitting, installing, maintaining, or working with this machine please share your memories at the bottom of the page by clicking on the words Add a comment about this page.

Comments about this page

  • The sixth photo was taken in Bay 2 of Hydraulic (Fitting Shop) 2. The fitter pictured with the machine is, I’m sure, Arthur Jones.

    I remember Arthur from my time in Hydraulic 2 in the latter part of the 1960’s. In those days he was working on lighter things, pumps and valve assemblies. He was a quiet man but good with his hands, and once showed me a length of chain he had carved out of a piece of wood, and each link was completely moveable!

    He must have also had a lot of patience! In front of Arthur and the Baler is the wall of the Finished Parts Store, where Wally Windridge ‘held court’! As with the spares bench, you’d often hear a lot of laughter coming out of Wally’s stores as it was a place where people would stop for a chat as they passed by!

    To the left of Arthur, just past the entrance to the stores, you can see a crane driver holding or pulling one of the ropes with which you operated the overhead crane. Each movement of the crane was controlled by pulling down on the appropriate rope, up/down, left/right, forward/back, on/off. There were 2 cranes in the bay. I can’t really remember what capacity they were, but I would guess at 10 ton and 15 ton. If there wasn’t a driver available we would drive the cranes ourselves.

    I was once told that, a long, long time ago, a street ran along where Bay 2 stood and that the stores area was the stables of an inn which eventually became the Time Office, the Despatch Office and some other offices behind. I had my initial interview for my apprenticeship in one of the back offices with Geoffrey Moreton in the summer of 1964. Having been told the story about the street/road and the inn, I could see from the style of the building that it could quite well have been true. I did contact Gloucester Council at the time of F&P’s demolition to ask if this was being investigated from a historical point of view, but didn’t really get anywhere, so maybe I’ll never know! Chippy Aston

    By Graham Aston (02/08/2013)
  • As ever, thank you Chippy for adding these memories – they really bring the photograph to life! Arthur Jones must have been a long-serving Fitter and taught you a lot about the job as an apprentice and the how Fielding’s had been years before you joined?

    It would be great to hear more about Wally Windridge – what he was like, and any other stories you remember about him – and what his Stores were like inside.

    Your comment about the history of the site has piqued my interest. We’ve got maps of the Fielding’s site online here:

    http://www.fieldingandplatthistory.org.uk/page_id__137.aspx

    But I’ll see if I can’t find some older ones at the Archives which might answer your questions…

    By Ollie Taylor (02/08/2013)

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