Development of the Wadkin RB Surface Planer.

[Vann]

The fourteenth batch on the Batch List:

Batch A 2572 - RBs 834 to 905 - 72 machines commissioned 23rd June, 1950:
RB 839, test 41647, of 1952 - New Zealand - Wadkin Ltd. cast tag;
RB 849, test 41831, of 1952 - New Zealand - Wadkin Ltd. cast tag;
RB 858, test 41973, of 1952 - New Zealand - Wadkin Ltd. cast tag;
RB 876, test 42337, of 1952 - New Zealand - Wadkin Ltd. cast tag;
RB 884, test 42634, of 1952 - New Zealand - Wadkin Ltd. cast tag;
RB 886, test 42636, of 1952 - New Zealand - Wadkin Ltd. cast tag;
RB 893, test 42643, of 1952 - New Zealand - Wadkin Ltd. cast tag.

The first thing of note is the introduction of the 3rd type of fence.


This fence is the basic fence off the larger Wadkin RD surface planer (12" & 16"), but without handwheel adjustment. This fence has two gates, as opposed to the single gate on the first and second types of RB fence.


Note that it required a modified infeed table with a larger (and possibly repositioned) landing for the fence mounting.

The same fence was also used on the Wadkin RM planer/thicknesser.

These machines have the following features:
- 3rd type of fence, making its debut;
- 4th type of handwheels - cast aluminium, 3-spokes (same as batch A-2469 and A-2547);
- base casting with opening in boss for pushbuttons (same as batch A-2320, 2372, 2469 and A-2547); and
- base casting with opening for standard (and wider) electric control gear door (same as batch A-2469 and A-2547).

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Vann]

I've quietly been adding more RBs to the lists, but the thread has slowly been dropping down and might soon be on page three :shock: :eusa-snooty: It needs a bump.

So here are two more RBs, early ones, to add. RB 308 and RB 349.

RB 308.



RB 349.


Both surface planers appear to share the same features:
- second type of fence (with distinctive "classic" tall link);
- second type of handwheels - cast, knobbed; and
- base with no electrical provisions (no switchgear cabinet, no opening for "On/Off" pushbuttons), and therefore have the arched opening at rear.

In fact the biggest difference is that one was built in Wadkin & Co. days (pre-1936), while the other was built by "Wadkin Ltd".

RB 308, test 5098, of March, 1936 - United Kingdom - Wadkin & Co. cast tag; and
RB 349, test 7634, of Sept., 1937 - United Kingdom - Wadkin Ltd. tin tag.

Edit: test dates confirmed for these two machines.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Vann]

I've quietly been adding more RBs to the lists, but the thread needs a bump.

As part of a separate project, I've been working on establishing Test dates for Wadkin machines leaving the Green Lane works in Leicester. This has taken on extra importance as Wallace has decided to discontinue his wadkinrestorations website, so there is no longer a quick reference for dating Wadkins.

Working with a contact at the firm who hold Wadkins records I've been working through the 1930s to establish Test dates for early machines (the wadkinrestorations site started at 1937). I have recently received information on test dates for 1932 and an RB surface planer turned up as tested early that year.

RBA 200, test 1493, of 2nd February, 1932.

I'll add it to the lists on previous pages.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Guineafowl21]

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/wadkin-planer-old-british-iron-with-motor.138896/

Another one for sale here, @Vann

 

[Wolf]

The seventh batch on the Batch List:

Batch A 2258 - RBs 534 to 557 - 24 machines commissioned 30th October, 1945:
nil.

Another one where I haven't found pictures of any machines from the batch.

Cheers, Vann.

I have RB 540 if its of interest?

 

[Guineafowl21]

Are you still about @Vann? I found this. Not sure if it’s an RB. Seems to have a rack for advancing the fence.

 

[Trevanion]

Are you still about @Vann? I found this. Not sure if it’s an RB. Seems to have a rack for advancing the fence.

That's a Wadkin Bursgreen FS, which was originally the Bursgreen JR before Wadkin bought them. One thing to note is the parallelogram adjustment on the infeed and outfeed tables rather than incline ways.

 

[Vann]

I have RB 540 if its of interest?

Hi Wolf. Sorry, I haven't been here for a while.

That Wadkin RB of yours was made in 1947. If you have some more photos I'd appreciate seeing them.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Vann]

Are you still about @Vann?....

Hi Gf. I haven't been here for far too long.

I must get around to finishing this thread (one day, one day...).

I'm also thinking of doing a thread on dating Wadkins - as Wallace no longer has his website. I currently have a Wadkin dating thread on the Canadian woodworking forum, but that forum is having so many technical problems that I can't post there anymore.

As for your planer, Trevanion is right, it's a Bursgreen/Wadkin-Bursgreen product.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Guineafowl21]

As for your planer, Trevanion is right, it's a Bursgreen/Wadkin-Bursgreen product.

Cheers, Vann.

It’s still sitting under a sheet in the barn awaiting restoration. A winter project, maybe, just not sure which winter it’ll be

 

[Vann]

...One thing to note is the parallelogram adjustment on the infeed and outfeed tables rather than incline ways.

For what it's worth - I don't know about the Wadkin-Bursgreen factories (who built Guineafowl's FS), but Wadkin's Green Lane works in Leicester, only ever built one model of planer with parallelogram adjustment. That was the 6" wide RR that replaced the RA in 1949, and continued in production until ~1955, when it was replaced by Wadkin-Bursgreen's 6" BFT planer.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Guineafowl21]

For what it's worth - I don't know about the Wadkin-Bursgreen factories (who built Guineafowl's FS), but Wadkin's Green Lane works in Leicester, only ever built one model of planer with parallelogram adjustment. That was the 6" wide RR that replaced the RA in 1949, and continued in production until ~1955, when it was replaced by Wadkin-Bursgreen's 6" BFT planer.

Cheers, Vann.

My W-B FS (post #86) is 9”.

 

[Vann]

My W-B FS (post #86) is 9”.

I thought it might be. A friend, and fellow Waddie, has a 9" FS - manufactured in 1956.

It looks every bit as good as a "real" Wadkin, though I'm not sure I've ever seen him use it.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Guineafowl21]

I thought it might be. A friend, and fellow Waddie, has a 9" FS - manufactured in 1956.

It looks every bit as good as a "real" Wadkin, though I'm not sure I've ever seen him use it.

Cheers, Vann.

Mine is no.: FS /2.59361 and says Wadkin Bursgreen on it. It’s missing the main guard and post so that photo will be useful for making a copy. It does have a guard behind the fence, presumably for when you’re doing rebates.

 

[Vann]

If you want, I can get closer photos and measurements for you. Let me know if that will be useful.

However, I've just returned from my fellow Waddie's place (about 55km away). I usually spend an afternoon at his, once every 2-3 weeks, so it will be later this month before I go back.

By-the-way, it appears your machine dates to 1959 - going by that serial number. I don't know which of the former Burgreen factories produced those planers, but most likely Durham.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Guineafowl21]

If you want, I can get closer photos and measurements for you. Let me know if that will be useful.

However, I've just returned from my fellow Waddie's place (about 55km away). I usually spend an afternoon at his, once every 2-3 weeks, so it will be later this month before I go back.

By-the-way, it appears your machine dates to 1959 - going by that serial number. I don't know which of the former Burgreen factories produced those planers, but most likely Durham.

Cheers, Vann.

Thanks that would be helpful. No hurry at all. Just a few back-of-envelope dimensions so I can make something that looks about right and works - I’m not going for a classic car level restoration. It’s nice to know the age as everyone who comes in the workshop spots the old cast iron and asks that very question.

 

[Wolf]

Hi Wolf. Sorry, I haven't been here for a while.

That Wadkin RB of yours was made in 1947. If you have some more photos I'd appreciate seeing them.

Cheers, Vann.

Sorry for the slow reply, I'll be back home this weekend so will be able to get more photos then. Also got PKA 273, 1936 I believe, and an early JQ, No114, funny story with that one; it was missing the ID plate when I bought it, but an early Wadkin&Co JQ plate turns up on Ebay some months later and the paint splashes on the edges looked the same lurid blue as the machine is painted in, on closer inspection the green and blue splodges on the back mirrored the ones left where the badge used to be on my machine, so I bought it and it all the marks etc did match exactly, so it was the missing one, what are the odds. Went and bought a lotto ticket that week, but the luck didnt extend to that, sods law.

 

[Vann]

...Also got PKA 273, 1936 I believe, and an early JQ, No114...

If you put up the Test Numbers for each machine I can confirm the year of manufacture.

That was a lucky find with the JQ tag. Incidently, JQ 114 will have been just the 10th JQ built, as Wadkin started most serial with No.105.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Wolf]

Here's the photos, theyre not the best but hopefully show enough. Plus the tags off the JQ and PK.

 

[Vann]

Thanks for the photos Wolf.

JQ 114, Test No. 3091.
PKA 273, Test No. 4908.
RB 540, Test No. 28183.

Dating these early "Wadkin & Co." tags can be tricky, as the date is derived from the test number. There were three different test number sequences used before the change of name to "Wadkin Ltd" mid-1936.

PKA 273
In the first sequence, test 4908 was carried out in 1927 - however, the first PK/PKA didn't come off the production line until February, 1928. So we can eliminate 1927.

The second sequence never reached as high as test 4908, so we can eliminate that sequence as well.

That leaves us with the third sequence, where test 4908 was carried out in 1936 - and as PKA 267 was the final machine tested in 1935, that ties in. But we can get closer than that - test 4843 (a CK radial arm saw) was carried out on 5th February, 1936, while test 5029 (an RTA wood lathe) was carried out on 19th March, 1936. From that we can determine that your PKA was tested in late February or early March, 1936.

JQ 114
In the first sequence, test 3091 was carried out in 1925. However, the tag is the same style as on your PKA, with the second line reading "Leicester, England". Most first sequence tags only read "Leicester". So I believe we can eliminate 1925.

The second sequence never reached as high as test 3091, so we can definitely eliminate that sequence as well.

That leaves us with the third sequence, where test 3091 was carried out in late 1934.

RB 540
This one is easy. Neither the first, nor the second sequence, reached 28000 tests, so it has to be the third sequence. Third sequence test 28183 was carried out in 1947, probably around the middle of the year.

I hope that's helped you, not bored you to death .

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Vann]

Here's something that might interest you Wolf - a photo of the page from the test book for your RB.



There's not a lot of information there, but it tells you it was run for 6 hours as part of the pass out testing - and that it was tested, and passed, on 13th May, 1947 (at least I think it says "13th" as it's slightly smudged).

It's just plain luck that I had asked for the test pages for this and a dozen or so other RB surface planers.

Note the inconsistency in the classification: stamped "RB" but recorded as an "RBA".

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Wolf]

Thanks for the info, it's interesting to see this stuff, do those books and records still exist? Amazing they were kept really, especially being from so far back.
I'll try and take some better photos if they're of interest, the JQ in particular is quite different to the later ones, the dust port is only about 1 1/4" dia and it's below the table in the bottom of the disc housing as opposed to the the big 4" outlet up top on the later ones, there's also a lever on the back of the base that moves a flap in the column as far as I can tell, but it don't seem to have much effect on anything?

That and the PK will get a proper grey re-paint job eventually, the saw was going to be scrapped when I bought it, so I just concentrated on totally stripping it down mechanically and cleaning/de-rusting to get it running right first (everything bar the motor was stuck solid, and no switchgear present), luckily it's sweet as a nut now, table markings for the mitre are a bit worn from the rust sadly, but usable and accurate still.

Cheers

 

[wallace]

Thanks for the info, it's interesting to see this stuff, do those books and records still exist? Amazing they were kept really, especially being from so far back.
I'll try and take some better photos if they're of interest, the JQ in particular is quite different to the later ones, the dust port is only about 1 1/4" dia and it's below the table in the bottom of the disc housing as opposed to the the big 4" outlet up top on the later ones, there's also a lever on the back of the base that moves a flap in the column as far as I can tell, but it don't seem to have much effect on anything?

That and the PK will get a proper grey re-paint job eventually, the saw was going to be scrapped when I bought it, so I just concentrated on totally stripping it down mechanically and cleaning/de-rusting to get it running right first (everything bar the motor was stuck solid, and no switchgear present), luckily it's sweet as a nut now, table markings for the mitre are a bit worn from the rust sadly, but usable and accurate still.

Cheers

For the table markings try going over with a compass point, it helps highlight them again

 

[Vann]

...do those books and records still exist? Amazing they were kept really, especially being from so far back.

Yes they do. Unfortunately my contact, with access to them, has now retired.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Vann]

...That and the PK will get a proper grey re-paint job eventually...

From somewhere after 1936, Wadkin painted their machines in a mid-grey - roughly RAL 7011. But your 1934 and 1936 machines would have been a darker grey. The nearest I can find is a Resene (local NZ brand) colour "Shark".

In the photo below is a cavity that was completely hidden from light for 90 years while two casting were bolted together, on a 1926 built Wadkin. To the left of my finger is a spot of RAL 7011. To the right of my finger is a a similar sized spot of "Shark" - almost identical to the original colour.


Wallace says early Wadkins were black, but that must be earlier still.

Of course you may be looking to paint your machines pink...

...but maybe not .

Cheers, Vann.