Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral Now and Then Stone Manganese Marine (SMM PROPELLERS) Ltd

_Ste_'s picures of the pneumatic hammer are here, and more pictures and information on SMM here.

The photographs in the link aren't the machine or trimming shops that caused all the noise. They are of the Blacksmiths as you can see the forge in the background. The hammer was used to bend the thicker mild steel rods into shape for the foundry for the upper parts of the mould ( you can see a mild steel frame work on one of my photographs). Most of the mild steel rods were bent using a block and sledgehammer and bruit force by the moulder and labourer which is one of the jobs I hated but some of the rods were about 3 inches diameter.
The chipping hammers that caused all the noise were about 24 inches long and hand held. They worked like a carpenters plane but the blade moved very fast and chipped the metal away, hence all the claims for white finger. I can still remember the smell of metal dust as I walked past the sheds.

Another 14 photographs added to the link, mostly showing castings taking place

Excellent pics and good topics afterwards, nice one crew.

Dose anyone know when they started making prop's in Birkenhead ?, and also where the old records and pictures from the works went after it closed there must have been endless paperwork and pictures taken over the years.

Not sure what year SMM came to Birkenhead but it was during the war after the London foundry was bombed,they brought their own workforce with them , some of whom were still there when I worked there in the early '80's. Cameraman will have more of an idea as he seems to have researched the company.
SMM as a company still exists so maybe the paperwork/pictures care archived somewhere ?

I wrote to The Manganese Bronze co and asked if they had any info, i was after good copy of pictures i had seen in an old magazine article on propellers, they replied pointing me in the direction of SMM, and guess what.....they told me to write to Manganese Bronze as that's what the company was called at the time of the pictures. That was about twenty odd years ago now though !.

I did however find out that one of the official photographers for the company in times past was someone called Elsam Mann and Cooper who where in Liverpool, but i never followed that up !.

Amazing to see how nonchalant they all are, standing (what looks like) just inches away from molten metal being poured!
Also I am curious to know, if you know, what was the success or failure rate for such casting jobs? I mean, did any ever go wrong, like maybe, cracks appearing during cooling / solidification, or anything like that? I am sure they had it all down to a pretty fine art by this time and probably got a pretty high yield, but any such failures would presumably have been financially, pretty damaging...

I worked for a small company who did apart from other things casting. (Nothing on the scale of SMM), it was all very relaxed, i can recall we only had one visit from a Health and Safty bloke who was pretty happy with our procedures and went off satisfied !.

However i do remember him saying that we where highly unlikley to see him again as he was up for retirement, he also said he was the only one left for the north of Englnad who coverd foundries and he wasn't being replaced !.

As can be seen in this pic SMM/manganese Bronze where well equipped in case of an accident !.

My Dad worked here for over 40 years from the 1960s until it's final (production) demise about 8 years ago. He'll love to see these pictures.

Casting failure was very rare. I do remember one when the mould blew due to side wall failure which caused 30+tonne of molten bronze to pour out into the pit. This was a bit hairy, a few pops and bangs and a lot of people running down the foundry, me included.The vent pipe that let any gas out dropped into it, and due to moisture content, shot off like a rocket through the foundry roof like a missile. It took months to clear the pit using electric arc lances to burn out the metal.
Another one, before my time, was told to me by another moulder, Peter Rawlinson who was from Aintree. He said a load of local Big Wigs, the mayor and lady mayoress and high ranking Naval officers were all sat down on tiered benches during a cast. The mould started leaking out big time and the lads started clearing off. The visitors just sat and watched until Peter ran over and said in his usual scouse humoured accent "YA BERRA F*******FF IF YA KNOW WHATS GOOD FOR YA. I think they got the message.
As for the history, The Manganese Bronze and Brass company started making props at this site in the early 1940's having moved up from London due to the Blitz. As Zigzagwanderer said, some of the lads came up with the firm, I think George Weeks snr was one of them. I have some historical records somewhere, will have to dig them out. The company started by producing copper nails for the sailing ships amongst other things in the 19th century. I will scan some more documents tomorrow

Founded 1881, just found this info on this link
http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/wiki/Manganese_Bronze_and_Brass_Co

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Did your Auntie Jackie work there?