In Polish CNC factories, when we produce something of little importance and you don't have to worry about tolerances, we say "no one will shoot from it" . and feel so sorry for the workers in this factory who can't say that
Sorry mate. In polish lots of nouns are feminine. For example milling machine is "frezarka" (feminine), a simple machine (maszyna) is feminine as well.
During a tour around this factory I've been told that the reason behind it is that the workers tend to care more for their machines (maintenance, cleaning and such) if those machines are given some sort of personality, in this case achieved with giving those machines various female names.
Wow! I'm an engineer at the company that makes that hammer forging machine. Very cool to see it in action. I'd love to get you in contact with them if you want to learn more about the process and history of it! Something very interesting about the process is that while it looks like the barrel is constantly spinnin in the machine, it actually stops rotating before every hammer blow, which happens many times a second! And while we call it "cold hammer forging" the material can still reach temperatures up to 400 degrees Celsius. Also that "blue housing" is actually what we call the "Hammer Box" very original name I now 😂
My grandmother worked in this factory and one of her tasks were to test the zero on rifles, she used to mention these zeroing ranges that she always talked about as these "tunnels" where rifle was centered in a clamp/vise in hole in wall. As a kid I had trouble imagining what she meant and what exactly it looked like since it was so different from how I knew shooting range looked; now I wonder if these zeroing ranges visible on video for MSBS are the same she zeroed AKs at. I can't wait to show her the video
Once more showing why our favorite old guns are no longer in production. They would either have to keep all those old machines set up in a huge factory, or convert all of the processes to modern methods. Either way, not worth the cost for the small volume of demand. As a retired engineer, these factory visits are fun to watch.
If someone could come up with better ways to convert old school designs, I can imagine what a wide variety of beautiful limited run reproductions that would be possible.
I remember reading somewhere that the AK was designed to be made cheaply and quickly... but only when produced in large volumes by big factories. Now I see why. A lot of production steps, each requiring an individual machine. Just for the stamped receiver there are so many steps to make. The GROT upper receiver is a MUCH more complex shape, but you put a piece of extruded aluminum profile into a single CNC, press the button and a few minutes later the part pops out.
@@thelaughinghyenas8465one of the bigger expenses in starting up limited production is designing and building all the fixtures to hold the parts as you machine them. If you end up making tens of thousands of the reproduction guns then it isn’t very much money per gun but if you only make a thousand it drives the price up of each gun by a not insignificant amount. I was always told “if the l machine isn’t cutting, you’re not making money” I think metal 3D printing will be the most viable option for small reproduction runs
I am an electromechanical engineer, if in my student days they had told me that heat treatment is like aging and wood to whiskey, I would have understood it much faster hahahaha. Greetings from Argentine Patagonia.
The similarity ends when the holding (or cycling) process has changed the material to the desired crystalline structures. What's missing is the constriction so it can't move anymore and keep that state and that the parts won't warp significantly. Pursuading someone with a torch into a room and quickly closing the door so they can't leave.
@@ddegn The ancients would see the barrels as magic wands. You point it at someone, say a quote from a holy book*, fire flies out from the tip and your enemy falls dead. * "You will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee!"
As someone who's worked in the progressive stamping industry I really appreciate your factory tours! Thank you for helping to foster an appreciation for manufacturing.
I find it fantastic that they've recognised your dedication and effort you put into spreading knowledge and make people appreciate weapons and showed you their factory.
Fun fact. The old FB Radom factory was located in the very city of Radom. Trees grew on its roof. It was such anti-aircraft protection during the Cold War.
Man, it's amazing how revolutionary stamping was. That receiver steel is hella floppy, but a few grooves, a ridges. Stiff as a board. I remember Ian V. Hogg describing the pre-stamping method of making guns as "You start with a large block of steel, and remove anything that isn't a gun."
@@StevarooniAnd that was a variation on the old hermetic idea that the divine is trapped within the mundane, and can be reclaimed through the process of negation. It relies on the belief that the universe once existed in a state of primordial unity, and that divinity itself is a lack of distinction. The problem with this thinking, as far as it's adopted as a creed, is that the "divine" isn't really contained within man. The holy trinity is a model which is much more encumbent to reality. I think that the fact that the realities of gun manufacturing have facilitated a shift from milling alone to milling, stamping, and casting is a good metaphor for this. Edit: It's a good metaphor, but it falls off. The "modern" esoteric interpretations include syntheses of gnostic/hermetic principles and the holy trinity. The first interpretation of the biblical trinity as residing in the state, individual, and ideal as the primary historical forces is actually what delineates "modern" philosophy, as it predicts an eventual creation of heaven on earth by way of equating the godhead to collective history. The aptness of the metaphor here would be that life isn't all manufacturing. Even if you can identify a trinity in creative processes, that doesn't mean that the trinity is itself a creative conception, or that you are a divinely creative entity by way of it.
Similar to the time GM took up making 1919 and M2 Browning MGs in the last great unpleasantness. After the "tour", the Browning rep asked the GM techs what they thought. The dry reply from QM was something like: "You guys don't make guns, you make swarf (metal shavings). Guns are a your BY_PRODUCT. Forgings, stampings, Investment casting and Direct Metal Moulding have altered the manufacturing landscape when it comes to mass production. One-off, "proof of concept" stuff is still usually done the "old" way, but if the design is "good", mass production starts with a lot of "late nights", slaving over hot keyboards and software like "Catia" or its offspring, Solid works, or similar toys.
My grandparents came to the US from Poland. My dad worked in the aerospace metals heat treatment industry and was very proud of his polish heritage. He had an FB Radom-made 98 Wehrmacht Mauser which he was especially proud of in spite of its Nazi markings. The precision, fit and finish of the Radom Mauser made those produced by other countries look like farm implements. Enjoyed the plant tour and how they have retained some of the original plant's heritage.
There is a remark of this in a cult (and really well made) Polish series 'Four Tankers and Dog'. In one of episodes there is scene where pre-war Polish cavalryman examines a Mosin rifle and says 'it knocks', and then remarks 'a Mauser from Radom didn't knock'. This is righfully, or not, countered with an answer of younger cavalryman who says; 'But this in exchange, is not afraid of sand. I can put a fistfull of sand into it, shake, and it will shoot.' I'm guessing the creators wanted to adress the half-German Polish accuracy of west-Poland and the Soviet attitude of making it work not perfectly but under any conditions. If you didn't watch it, but can't be bothered to watch all 20 or so episodes, I highly recommend episode 13 "Zakład o śmierć" (Death Bet). It's a Fury-level 40 minutes movie about the tankers being captured by the Germans, their tank disarmed, and they're offered a chance to be let free if their disarmed T-34 survives a charge against prototype low caliber anti-tank cannons. It's shown beforehand, that T-34 can't survive the firepower, although the driver who also built it, believes that 'Ginger' (the tank, the best T-34 ever built) can take it, and they charge through the test field with help of clever manuvering and help of a Polish spy who tells them how to use the test field layout to shield the tank. It's episode 13 out of 20 so I can tell you they obviously survive, but when they are about to escape the test field, the guy who built the 'Ginger' is so furious he turns the tank around and charges straight on the prototypes and destroys them in ramming attack, but in consequence Ginger has to take fire from Flak-88, and leaves the field loosing its turret and with damaged engine. Then they continue fight for two more episodes (capturing some buildings and arsenal), and eventually Ginger dies.
Polak Polakowi wilkiem. Nam procesów produkcyjnych nie pokazują, gościom z zagranicy jak najbardziej. Dlatego też Kaczyński jest gorącym przeciwnikiem wolnego dostępu do broni palnej dla Cywilów wg. modelu Amerykańskiego, o czym powiedział na wiecu wyborczym w listopadzie. Mentalność marksistowska trzyma się u nas mocno, dlatego też w związku z tą ideologią produkcja zabawek u nas w kraju idzie marnie - jeden pistolet, dwa karabinki. Spójrz na Ceska Zbrojovka - idą pełną parą. Obalcie marksizm w Polsce a Fabryka się rozwinie, będą robić wszechstronne zabawki, a zabawki dostępne będą dla każdego.
@@TomPL-yd9pt niestety to mentalność ludności. Jedyna konfa coś tam przebąkuje o powszechnym dostępie do broni , ale maksymalnie osiągają kilkanaście procent poparcia.
@@Polones12 konfederaci "już od dawna pod stołem" są w kieszeni pisiorów. czwarty rok machają paluszkiem do kamer i głosują jak pan nakazał - naród to widzi i notuje
@@TomPL-yd9pt masz rację - angolom można pokazać obiekty strategiczne ale polak filmujący z chodnika budynki jest szpiegiem i ścigają go policją. wystarczy zobaczyć Audyt Obywatelski żeby chcieć walnąć pięścią w stół i nie jednego odsunąć od koryta.
@@DerUnbbekante Very true, they make dreams into reality. There is magic in CAD too, I can model things that can never ever be made and make them look like they will work. 😂
I have to tell you that Grot is hard to find even in Poland. The majority of production is going to Ukraine, then the rest goes to Polish military and other uniformed forces which is already not enough and some units still keep using Beryl. Civilian versions are very far from priority. They are only made irregularly in small batches. And many shops are already selling them as preorders. It means that clients leave the money for the promise they will some day get it.
I love modern Europe. A film about a Polish factory and i spotted machines and material made in at least 6 other European countries. We really are growing together.
Most of this equipment comes from the '60s...'80s, and the Comecon (Council of Mutual Economic Assistance) made sure the industries in different countries of the Eastern bloc got the gear they needed, if it couldn't be made domestically. So, apart from our own machines, we had Soviet, GDR, Czechoslovak or Hungarian stuff. If the Comecon couldn't cover the needs, then Western machines were imported.
It became impossible - my brother's lookalike appeared in Poland😁 Radom Mausers and BARs, produced before the war, were works of art, just like VIS pistols. Greetings from Poland Ian!
As someone who works in a metalworking factory it's always interesting to see the processes other factories use, mine is very much on the 'old school' analog side!
Wow, learned a whole lot in this video for instance how modern barrels are made! I would have never, ever guessed that barrels are just hammered into place around a mandrel. And that machine that translates scale and copies an engraving?! How cool! Again, never would have guessed that's how it's done. Thank you Ian!
Polska Fabryka 🤘🏻 Thanks for showing these processes once. we all talk about the terms, but actually seeing it get done is also necessary for full understanding
Wow, thanks. Not only informative, but I think this is by far your best tour video, and one of your best put-together videos overall. Thanks for the effort and to FB for the access.
I work in factory automation, and i get to see stuff like this a lot. And it's always fascinating to me. Not only what the machine is doing and making, but that it does it to inhuman tolerances, and at inhuman speeds.
As much as I love the guns and history, it is just as cool to see how you go from raw metal to finely tuned machine. These tours are great. Thanks Ian!
This is fantastic! I love the factory tours, especially being an educated tool- and diemaker (Moulds as specialty) tradesman, currently working as an Industrial technician (Machinist). It is rare to be able to get a factory tour of a weapons factory. I know these factory tours are difficult to set up, but they are very delightful to watch! Thanks, Ian.
It would be fantastic if you could also visit the ZM Tarnow factory or at least show off some of their guns. They have always been in the shadow of the FB even though they are a much more versatile company, making way more different types of guns.
A real pleasure to watch. Thank you to the Radom guys for letting you film the manufacturing process, and thank you Ian for filming and explaining it for us. Really interesting stuff.
That proof firing jig is super cool!! I always wondered how they tested barrels without the rifle fully assembled. It reminds me of the Mythbusters episode where they were testing bullet penetration in water.
And rightfully so. We have to make enough to arm our growing Army and The Territorial Defence Force. Weapon stockpiles must albo be filled, so our reservists would be issued Grots if a time of need comes (and so that we can finally retire the last of the 7.62 AKs that still sit there). Not to mention the guns sent to the Ukrainians.
Yes the exacting heat treatments are absolutely essential to get correct - otherwise you end up with a very expensive pile of items that look like guns but can't cycle ammunition because the bolts or barrel extension lugs are either too brittle or too soft so parts bend, deform, or shear off. It's a series of exacting procedures. Also an emphasis on the QC/testing department is essential for any production run on an assault rifle project. 😊
The guy at 14:05, definitely has the world's greatest job. I wish that were my job, lucky guy. Seriously great video, I've been wanting to see something like this for a long time.
2:10 prototypes, tweaks, and proof of concept stuff is still done on conventional machines. One off part can be done in hour, sometimes simple thing are done in 10 minutes, complicated in few hours. If it works, than tehnologist is consulted and software for CNC is made. If you make CNC software for prototype that may or may not work, and needs lots of tweaks, you loose lots of time and money.
Very cool factory tour. I actually noticed that CMM machine is from ZEISS which is a company that I assemble PCB's for at work! Really cool to see where our hard work goes to.
OMG! FInally! I waited for it since, FB announed your visit in facebook post half year ago XD I enjoyed watching it very much. I hope you liked your visit in Poland.
I had to smile seeing those old vertical mills. I recently visited the facility that replaced my university's old Machine Tool Laboratory, where I spent many happy hours working as a tool crib attendant for my undergraduate workstudy gig, and while it's undeniably a much better-equipped and generally more impressive facility, the only things I saw there that made me actually happy to see them were the Bridgeports from the old MTL, transplanted into one corner of the new one's much bigger, shinier tool room. It was like visiting someone's fancy new house and being reassured that they still had the same old dog. :) (The new place may be a soulless corporate-sponsored shopping mall, but it sure does have a lot of cool stuff. Kind of makes me want to go back and finish my MET degree. I jumped ship for the humanities partway through, out of what my father called an unresolved phobia of earning a degree I could actually make money with.)
Its hilarious to me as a machinist that i can go to Poland have no idea what anything saids but be able to work on those machines. Theyre exactly the same as any other.
Guarantee you I'd crash the thing at least once adapting between US Customary units and Metric. But yeah, a FANUC is a FANUC. It's fun to think we all speak G-Code.
I am not a gun enthusiast but I always enjoy watching your videos. For some people, just taking a weapon and watching them being fired is enough. But with you, it is also about how they work and, as in this video, how they are made. I especially liked seeing the old stamping machines that are still being used today. As the son of a Production Engineer I thank you for making videos like these, covering subjects others might ignore or just brush over.
7:20 Great tour. When I was working at Thompson/ Center Arms, the shooting room was right beside the men's room. One night I was sitting in there when they fired a 45/70 . Constipation was not a problem. LOL
Unprecedented axcess to the production floor. I was gonna mention those cnc machines being named with ladies names but someone beat me to it. Polish maintenance men are such romantics!
Thanks. Great tour. I hope you learned some Polish on your trip. Don't be too quick to dismiss the dated equipment. As long as each work station has a regular spot check (statistical process control) they can tell when they need to replace bits, or recalibrate the cutter. I worked in an optics plant that was still using grinding equipment from the 1940s without any problems. You just need to inspect the output.
As a metallurgical engineer, I can confirm that proper heat treat is super important for many materials. I recall an incident some years ago at a foundry where we found a heat treat process issue and asked for a few loads of steel to go back through the furnace for a second round of heat treating; the cleaning room supervisor was confused and said, "but they got hot, didn't they?" I think we successfully explained what happened by using baking cookies as an analogy: the wrong temperature and/or the wrong time means you either still have dough or you've burned the cookies. Great factory tour!
Great Video Ian! I am a civil engineer, but have always been fascinated with all aspects of engineering, including machining. Your behind the scenes videos of the manufacturing processes for these kind of specialty items are always fun to watch. When the presenter is so enthusiastic about the processes he is describing, it really makes the whole thing more interesting and fun.
This is really cool video specially for me .I was born in Pionki Poland. My father right after college of Politechnika Gdańska worked in this factory .He was running tool room .Also at that time this company had evening technical high school where my father was teaching of the technical subjects few evenings a week. Four the past 45 years I live in Chicago but I would love to take tour of this company some day.
Times we're living... Before 1989 just for doing a photo of the factory from outside, one would go to prison or at least was stopped for serious questioning on the police station. Today we can have a full tour and see it on RUclips. A bit more freedom we have, I guess :) Thanks for that.
Mighty interesting! The Łucznik works used to be much larger, making not only weapons, but also bicycles (including the "PWU typ XX wz.35" military bike from the interbellum and WWII times) and sewing machines. I see the "Fire in the hole!" treated VERY literally here :)
Very cool, it's amazing how far firearm manufacturing has come. When looking at the old presses and dies you start to get an appreciation for the life of previous generations.
I feel a lot of national pride as a Czech firearm enthusiast but I'm also extremely happy to see amazing weapon companies in Poland, Slovenia and other parts of Europe. It's nice to see how much knowledge, skill and technology is being developed and used here.
Welcome to Poland Ian! Great to have you here :) I hope you not only came to Radom but you could get to see some great museums we have. Thanks for this interesting video!
This was amazing! It's really mind boggling how much time and effort goes into making a firearm much less MANY firearms! The guy at the test firing booth must be a crack shot with that many rounds down range!
Great factory tour Ian and Fabryka Broni interesting to see the hammer forming start with a larger than bullet diameter hole and use such a short mandrel.
Yet another great video. Thank you very much, Ian. I'm very happy to see the inside works of the factory that I've learned so much about through the years, and one that played (and still plays) such an important role in firearm development in my country.
Very cool, love the fact that they still have the old equipment, you don't really see much of that anymore. Kind of takes the art of machining out of the equation, but for a production facility, reducing costs of mistakes, and the speed of production increased makes CNC the way to go. The speed of any production line, I don't care what it is your making, french fries, or even arms; is dictated by your slowest machine.
I really enjoyed this video. As an industrial electrician in Australia I've seen plenty of milling machines and lathes with similar green paint, now sitting right beside CNCs. Fun fact Czechoslovakian milling machines are beige.
Wow, just think how far this channel has gone! From simple one-man videos (which a wonderful, nothing wrong with that), you are now recognized globally. Kudos
In Polish CNC factories, when we produce something of little importance and you don't have to worry about tolerances, we say "no one will shoot from it" . and feel so sorry for the workers in this factory who can't say that
Lepiej dopasowanego powiedzenia do sytuacji nie dało się znaleźć XD
Not only CNC, pretty much in every production facility.
confirm - but please not of low importance
we wouldnt say that about guns :D
It would be very ironic to say that in any firearms factory. At least there high precision and tight tolerances are their forte.
A w fabryce części do pociągów mówi się „nikt nie będzie tym latał”
Fun fact. Every single CNC has its own female name. Honorata, Rozalia, Marianna...
No dude machines?🙁
Kind of italian female names?
Sorry mate. In polish lots of nouns are feminine. For example milling machine is "frezarka" (feminine), a simple machine (maszyna) is feminine as well.
@@edm192ah the Karen line
During a tour around this factory I've been told that the reason behind it is that the workers tend to care more for their machines (maintenance, cleaning and such) if those machines are given some sort of personality, in this case achieved with giving those machines various female names.
Wow! I'm an engineer at the company that makes that hammer forging machine. Very cool to see it in action. I'd love to get you in contact with them if you want to learn more about the process and history of it! Something very interesting about the process is that while it looks like the barrel is constantly spinnin in the machine, it actually stops rotating before every hammer blow, which happens many times a second! And while we call it "cold hammer forging" the material can still reach temperatures up to 400 degrees Celsius. Also that "blue housing" is actually what we call the "Hammer Box" very original name I now 😂
Nice. Always wondered how any of that looks from inside but knew next to nothing despite living less than 15 kilometers away from the factory itself.
same although I live a bit further away. always wondered how modern it would look like inside.
Feel like they would do tours, no? I would want to tour it, if i visit some day :[
A free tour with a purchase?
@@kirbyculp3449 Get to -pick your own lobster- proof fire your own barrel?
From America here, that sounds cool. Ummm, but what's a "kilometers" har har.
My grandmother worked in this factory and one of her tasks were to test the zero on rifles, she used to mention these zeroing ranges that she always talked about as these "tunnels" where rifle was centered in a clamp/vise in hole in wall. As a kid I had trouble imagining what she meant and what exactly it looked like since it was so different from how I knew shooting range looked; now I wonder if these zeroing ranges visible on video for MSBS are the same she zeroed AKs at. I can't wait to show her the video
Now that's cool...😎 To have a Grandma that test fired AK's...lol
That’s awesome we love fb Radom here in the us I wish more polish guns were made and available we like wbp also especially me as a ak fan
i don't think they're the same tunnels. New factory building was opened in 2014 and old one was sold.
@@damian3292 ah well, so probably not. Seeing the old machines made me think that maybe it's the same
Gives a new meaning to "From Grandma, With love"
Once more showing why our favorite old guns are no longer in production. They would either have to keep all those old machines set up in a huge factory, or convert all of the processes to modern methods. Either way, not worth the cost for the small volume of demand. As a retired engineer, these factory visits are fun to watch.
If someone could come up with better ways to convert old school designs, I can imagine what a wide variety of beautiful limited run reproductions that would be possible.
I remember reading somewhere that the AK was designed to be made cheaply and quickly... but only when produced in large volumes by big factories. Now I see why. A lot of production steps, each requiring an individual machine. Just for the stamped receiver there are so many steps to make. The GROT upper receiver is a MUCH more complex shape, but you put a piece of extruded aluminum profile into a single CNC, press the button and a few minutes later the part pops out.
time flies, progress flows.
@@thelaughinghyenas8465 I would settle for a data package and my own personal at home CNC.
@@thelaughinghyenas8465one of the bigger expenses in starting up limited production is designing and building all the fixtures to hold the parts as you machine them. If you end up making tens of thousands of the reproduction guns then it isn’t very much money per gun but if you only make a thousand it drives the price up of each gun by a not insignificant amount.
I was always told “if the l machine isn’t cutting, you’re not making money” I think metal 3D printing will be the most viable option for small reproduction runs
I am an electromechanical engineer, if in my student days they had told me that heat treatment is like aging and wood to whiskey, I would have understood it much faster hahahaha. Greetings from Argentine Patagonia.
The similarity ends when the holding (or cycling) process has changed the material to the desired crystalline structures. What's missing is the constriction so it can't move anymore and keep that state and that the parts won't warp significantly. Pursuading someone with a torch into a room and quickly closing the door so they can't leave.
That hammer forging machine is damn near magic.
Is it done cold?
@@paulbrancato8262 Yes. (Well, not in the common meaning of the word "cold" of course :-)).
After hours it's used to produce magic wands.
@@ddegn The ancients would see the barrels as magic wands. You point it at someone, say a quote from a holy book*, fire flies out from the tip and your enemy falls dead.
* "You will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee!"
Made in Austria😀
As a machinist from Poland this was really cool to see! Thanks!
We want more content like this Ian.
Absolutely.
If only other mfcg companies would grant Ian free entry...
I agree and want to upvote you, but I will not. I hope you can understand why.
As someone who's worked in the progressive stamping industry I really appreciate your factory tours! Thank you for helping to foster an appreciation for manufacturing.
Far, far too many people take the complexity of manufacturing for granted.
Run from 20 ton to 120 ton Minster and Komatsu presses 5 days a week
Nice that you work in progressive stamping industry instead of conservative stamping or liberal stamping 😁
I find it fantastic that they've recognised your dedication and effort you put into spreading knowledge and make people appreciate weapons and showed you their factory.
Fun fact. The old FB Radom factory was located in the very city of Radom. Trees grew on its roof. It was such anti-aircraft protection during the Cold War.
Man, it's amazing how revolutionary stamping was. That receiver steel is hella floppy, but a few grooves, a ridges. Stiff as a board.
I remember Ian V. Hogg describing the pre-stamping method of making guns as "You start with a large block of steel, and remove anything that isn't a gun."
That's a cool variation on a sculptor's credo that he cuts away everything that _isn't_ the statue.
Not just "a sculptor", the divine Michelangelo himself said that!
@@undergroundman4646 Oh! He was a skilled sculptor or something, then. 😉
@@StevarooniAnd that was a variation on the old hermetic idea that the divine is trapped within the mundane, and can be reclaimed through the process of negation. It relies on the belief that the universe once existed in a state of primordial unity, and that divinity itself is a lack of distinction.
The problem with this thinking, as far as it's adopted as a creed, is that the "divine" isn't really contained within man. The holy trinity is a model which is much more encumbent to reality.
I think that the fact that the realities of gun manufacturing have facilitated a shift from milling alone to milling, stamping, and casting is a good metaphor for this.
Edit: It's a good metaphor, but it falls off. The "modern" esoteric interpretations include syntheses of gnostic/hermetic principles and the holy trinity. The first interpretation of the biblical trinity as residing in the state, individual, and ideal as the primary historical forces is actually what delineates "modern" philosophy, as it predicts an eventual creation of heaven on earth by way of equating the godhead to collective history. The aptness of the metaphor here would be that life isn't all manufacturing. Even if you can identify a trinity in creative processes, that doesn't mean that the trinity is itself a creative conception, or that you are a divinely creative entity by way of it.
Similar to the time GM took up making 1919 and M2 Browning MGs in the last great unpleasantness.
After the "tour", the Browning rep asked the GM techs what they thought.
The dry reply from QM was something like:
"You guys don't make guns, you make swarf (metal shavings). Guns are a your BY_PRODUCT.
Forgings, stampings, Investment casting and Direct Metal Moulding have altered the manufacturing landscape when it comes to mass production.
One-off, "proof of concept" stuff is still usually done the "old" way, but if the design is "good", mass production starts with a lot of "late nights", slaving over hot keyboards and software like "Catia" or its offspring, Solid works, or similar toys.
My grandparents came to the US from Poland. My dad worked in the aerospace metals heat treatment industry and was very proud of his polish heritage. He had an FB Radom-made 98 Wehrmacht Mauser which he was especially proud of in spite of its Nazi markings. The precision, fit and finish of the Radom Mauser made those produced by other countries look like farm implements. Enjoyed the plant tour and how they have retained some of the original plant's heritage.
There is a remark of this in a cult (and really well made) Polish series 'Four Tankers and Dog'. In one of episodes there is scene where pre-war Polish cavalryman examines a Mosin rifle and says 'it knocks', and then remarks 'a Mauser from Radom didn't knock'. This is righfully, or not, countered with an answer of younger cavalryman who says; 'But this in exchange, is not afraid of sand. I can put a fistfull of sand into it, shake, and it will shoot.' I'm guessing the creators wanted to adress the half-German Polish accuracy of west-Poland and the Soviet attitude of making it work not perfectly but under any conditions.
If you didn't watch it, but can't be bothered to watch all 20 or so episodes, I highly recommend episode 13 "Zakład o śmierć" (Death Bet). It's a Fury-level 40 minutes movie about the tankers being captured by the Germans, their tank disarmed, and they're offered a chance to be let free if their disarmed T-34 survives a charge against prototype low caliber anti-tank cannons.
It's shown beforehand, that T-34 can't survive the firepower, although the driver who also built it, believes that 'Ginger' (the tank, the best T-34 ever built) can take it, and they charge through the test field with help of clever manuvering and help of a Polish spy who tells them how to use the test field layout to shield the tank.
It's episode 13 out of 20 so I can tell you they obviously survive, but when they are about to escape the test field, the guy who built the 'Ginger' is so furious he turns the tank around and charges straight on the prototypes and destroys them in ramming attack, but in consequence Ginger has to take fire from Flak-88, and leaves the field loosing its turret and with damaged engine. Then they continue fight for two more episodes (capturing some buildings and arsenal), and eventually Ginger dies.
Elegancko.
Kłaniam się czapką do ziemi.
Po staropolsku.😉
Polak Polakowi wilkiem. Nam procesów produkcyjnych nie pokazują, gościom z zagranicy jak najbardziej. Dlatego też Kaczyński jest gorącym przeciwnikiem wolnego dostępu do broni palnej dla Cywilów wg. modelu Amerykańskiego, o czym powiedział na wiecu wyborczym w listopadzie. Mentalność marksistowska trzyma się u nas mocno, dlatego też w związku z tą ideologią produkcja zabawek u nas w kraju idzie marnie - jeden pistolet, dwa karabinki.
Spójrz na Ceska Zbrojovka - idą pełną parą. Obalcie marksizm w Polsce a Fabryka się rozwinie, będą robić wszechstronne zabawki, a zabawki dostępne będą dla każdego.
@@TomPL-yd9pt niestety to mentalność ludności. Jedyna konfa coś tam przebąkuje o powszechnym dostępie do broni , ale maksymalnie osiągają kilkanaście procent poparcia.
@@Polones12 konfederaci "już od dawna pod stołem" są w kieszeni pisiorów. czwarty rok machają paluszkiem do kamer i głosują jak pan nakazał - naród to widzi i notuje
@@TomPL-yd9pt masz rację - angolom można pokazać obiekty strategiczne ale polak filmujący z chodnika budynki jest szpiegiem i ścigają go policją. wystarczy zobaczyć Audyt Obywatelski żeby chcieć walnąć pięścią w stół i nie jednego odsunąć od koryta.
Being a mechanical engineer I love to see how things are made, great video.
I love my cad software but this is where the magic happens.
@@DerUnbbekante Very true, they make dreams into reality. There is magic in CAD too, I can model things that can never ever be made and make them look like they will work. 😂
I have an irrational amount of enthusiasm for the grot. Glad you’re covering it thoroughly. Really hope we get both caliber versions in the US.
You will have also bullpup version in the US available.
@@witkocaster I hope so!
@@atomicsmith People who knows say that it is coming into the US in 2024.
I have to tell you that Grot is hard to find even in Poland. The majority of production is going to Ukraine, then the rest goes to Polish military and other uniformed forces which is already not enough and some units still keep using Beryl. Civilian versions are very far from priority. They are only made irregularly in small batches. And many shops are already selling them as preorders. It means that clients leave the money for the promise they will some day get it.
@@darek4488 I’m sure that is true.
A Beryl has been on my short list for too long. Cool to see the inside of the factory.
I love modern Europe. A film about a Polish factory and i spotted machines and material made in at least 6 other European countries. We really are growing together.
Most of this equipment comes from the '60s...'80s, and the Comecon (Council of Mutual Economic Assistance) made sure the industries in different countries of the Eastern bloc got the gear they needed, if it couldn't be made domestically. So, apart from our own machines, we had Soviet, GDR, Czechoslovak or Hungarian stuff. If the Comecon couldn't cover the needs, then Western machines were imported.
As a retired machinist this a very interesting video.
It became impossible - my brother's lookalike appeared in Poland😁
Radom Mausers and BARs, produced before the war, were works of art, just like VIS pistols.
Greetings from Poland Ian!
As someone who works in a metalworking factory it's always interesting to see the processes other factories use, mine is very much on the 'old school' analog side!
Czyli pracujesz w najlepszej fabryce 👍
Thanks Ian and FB for allowing a tour. I have a better idea of what it takes to make my fire arms.
As a Bladesmith and Gunsmith I appreciate you mentioning how important correct heat treatment is when producing these products.😊 God bless you Ian.🙏
These factory tour videos are awesome. He should do as many of these as he can!
Wow, learned a whole lot in this video for instance how modern barrels are made! I would have never, ever guessed that barrels are just hammered into place around a mandrel. And that machine that translates scale and copies an engraving?! How cool! Again, never would have guessed that's how it's done. Thank you Ian!
Polska Fabryka 🤘🏻
Thanks for showing these processes once. we all talk about the terms, but actually seeing it get done is also necessary for full understanding
Polska fabryka hmm... bo na terenie Polski?Raczej ukro-polu.
@@tadeuszrosa7561 to tylko patriotyczny komentarz 🤷🏽♂️😅
Wow, thanks. Not only informative, but I think this is by far your best tour video, and one of your best put-together videos overall. Thanks for the effort and to FB for the access.
I work in factory automation, and i get to see stuff like this a lot. And it's always fascinating to me. Not only what the machine is doing and making, but that it does it to inhuman tolerances, and at inhuman speeds.
As much as I love the guns and history, it is just as cool to see how you go from raw metal to finely tuned machine. These tours are great. Thanks Ian!
This is fantastic!
I love the factory tours, especially being an educated tool- and diemaker (Moulds as specialty) tradesman, currently working as an Industrial technician (Machinist).
It is rare to be able to get a factory tour of a weapons factory. I know these factory tours are difficult to set up, but they are very delightful to watch!
Thanks, Ian.
It would be fantastic if you could also visit the ZM Tarnow factory or at least show off some of their guns. They have always been in the shadow of the FB even though they are a much more versatile company, making way more different types of guns.
Broń z Tarnowa w porównaniu z Radomiem to jak Mercedes do Opla...
@@PanProper Jestem z Radomia i jeżdżę oplem xd
A real pleasure to watch. Thank you to the Radom guys for letting you film the manufacturing process, and thank you Ian for filming and explaining it for us. Really interesting stuff.
Thanks for posting! Really cool to see the mix of traditional and modern machinery working together.
That proof firing jig is super cool!! I always wondered how they tested barrels without the rifle fully assembled. It reminds me of the Mythbusters episode where they were testing bullet penetration in water.
Fun fact. By 2025 FB Radom plans to increae production of MSBS Grot to 50 thousands per year.
Right now its 23k, and in 2024 will be 35k/year.
And rightfully so. We have to make enough to arm our growing Army and The Territorial Defence Force. Weapon stockpiles must albo be filled, so our reservists would be issued Grots if a time of need comes (and so that we can finally retire the last of the 7.62 AKs that still sit there). Not to mention the guns sent to the Ukrainians.
@@janwacawik7432 you need to check out feedback from ukrainians first, mate. the gun sucks as far as i know
@@adadadad8251 So far, the feedback from the Ukrainians is contrary to what you're saying.
@@janwacawik7432 too polite ukrainians maybe? i'm hearing about serious quality issues all the time
What is "fun" in that?
Yes the exacting heat treatments are absolutely essential to get correct - otherwise you end up with a very expensive pile of items that look like guns but can't cycle ammunition because the bolts or barrel extension lugs are either too brittle or too soft so parts bend, deform, or shear off. It's a series of exacting procedures. Also an emphasis on the QC/testing department is essential for any production run on an assault rifle project. 😊
Love the brass catcher at the firing station
Excellent video. It’s fantastic that you can get those behind the scenes details. Keep up the great work
The guy at 14:05, definitely has the world's greatest job. I wish that were my job, lucky guy. Seriously great video, I've been wanting to see something like this for a long time.
Thanks for showing the variety of old mills, brings back memories. I remember the shop getting its first CNC machine, a quantum leap in tooling.
Fabryka Broni "Łucznik" is NOT privately owned. It's a state owned in a form of so called sole-shareholder company of the State Treasury.
2:10 prototypes, tweaks, and proof of concept stuff is still done on conventional machines.
One off part can be done in hour, sometimes simple thing are done in 10 minutes, complicated in few hours. If it works, than tehnologist is consulted and software for CNC is made.
If you make CNC software for prototype that may or may not work, and needs lots of tweaks, you loose lots of time and money.
Awesome, thank you Radom for letting Ian do this video!
Very cool factory tour. I actually noticed that CMM machine is from ZEISS which is a company that I assemble PCB's for at work! Really cool to see where our hard work goes to.
OMG! FInally! I waited for it since, FB announed your visit in facebook post half year ago XD
I enjoyed watching it very much. I hope you liked your visit in Poland.
Love the video! Been waiting to see how my Mini-Beryl was put together and how the MSBS Grot’s I’ve handled are made!
Interesting how Ian emphasized the importance of heat treatment and bluing, was spot on.
That was a great look at the cnc side, also loved the old school machines.
Yet another great factory tour! 👍
Thank you to all who made it possible.
Great video. Thank you FB and Ian!
11:27 - the expression on that one guys face: "Oh great. Who is this loon?"
Wow what a surprise to see you in Poland ❤
wow, just yesterday read about a huge 180k+ order of assault rifles for this factory, and here's the video exactly about them!
I had to smile seeing those old vertical mills. I recently visited the facility that replaced my university's old Machine Tool Laboratory, where I spent many happy hours working as a tool crib attendant for my undergraduate workstudy gig, and while it's undeniably a much better-equipped and generally more impressive facility, the only things I saw there that made me actually happy to see them were the Bridgeports from the old MTL, transplanted into one corner of the new one's much bigger, shinier tool room. It was like visiting someone's fancy new house and being reassured that they still had the same old dog. :)
(The new place may be a soulless corporate-sponsored shopping mall, but it sure does have a lot of cool stuff. Kind of makes me want to go back and finish my MET degree. I jumped ship for the humanities partway through, out of what my father called an unresolved phobia of earning a degree I could actually make money with.)
You resolved your phobia, didn't you? All the best! Go for it.
The action/smooth movement on the barrel proof testing rig is just lovely.
Its hilarious to me as a machinist that i can go to Poland have no idea what anything saids but be able to work on those machines. Theyre exactly the same as any other.
Guarantee you I'd crash the thing at least once adapting between US Customary units and Metric. But yeah, a FANUC is a FANUC. It's fun to think we all speak G-Code.
I thououghly enjoyed this, I love it when companies open their doors like this. I loved the proof testing, barrel making, and firing quality testing.
I am not a gun enthusiast but I always enjoy watching your videos.
For some people, just taking a weapon and watching them being fired is enough. But with you, it is also about how they work and, as in this video, how they are made. I especially liked seeing the old stamping machines that are still being used today.
As the son of a Production Engineer I thank you for making videos like these, covering subjects others might ignore or just brush over.
7:20 Great tour. When I was working at Thompson/ Center Arms, the shooting room was right beside the men's room. One night I was sitting in there when they fired a 45/70 . Constipation was not a problem. LOL
Unprecedented axcess to the production floor. I was gonna mention those cnc machines being named with ladies names but someone beat me to it. Polish maintenance men are such romantics!
Thanks. Great tour. I hope you learned some Polish on your trip. Don't be too quick to dismiss the dated equipment. As long as each work station has a regular spot check (statistical process control) they can tell when they need to replace bits, or recalibrate the cutter. I worked in an optics plant that was still using grinding equipment from the 1940s without any problems. You just need to inspect the output.
Woah. A one hand operated stamping machine. Bet the safety guy can't wait to convert that.
As a metallurgical engineer, I can confirm that proper heat treat is super important for many materials. I recall an incident some years ago at a foundry where we found a heat treat process issue and asked for a few loads of steel to go back through the furnace for a second round of heat treating; the cleaning room supervisor was confused and said, "but they got hot, didn't they?" I think we successfully explained what happened by using baking cookies as an analogy: the wrong temperature and/or the wrong time means you either still have dough or you've burned the cookies.
Great factory tour!
Great Video Ian! I am a civil engineer, but have always been fascinated with all aspects of engineering, including machining. Your behind the scenes videos of the manufacturing processes for these kind of specialty items are always fun to watch. When the presenter is so enthusiastic about the processes he is describing, it really makes the whole thing more interesting and fun.
I was born 2 miles from FB.
My father and father in law worked there.
Greetings from south shore of Lake Michigan.
Thank you
This is really cool video specially for me .I was born in Pionki Poland. My father right after college of Politechnika Gdańska worked in this factory .He was running tool room .Also at that time this company had evening technical high school where my father was teaching of the technical subjects few evenings a week. Four the past 45 years I live in Chicago but I would love to take tour of this company some day.
Cool stuff! I just bought an FB Radom Beryl 5.56. Hope to get it in the next week or two. Can't wait to get it- my first AK style rifle. Let's go!!!
Awesome tour of the process and machines, its a real treat to see in these places
This was fascinating. I really enjoy the factory tours.
GROT my new favourite, really liked the idea of keeping old school around. In case skynet tried to interfere.
Or Cylons.
The engraving machine at the end brings back memories.
It rememembers Stalin himself
I love how the AKs are still being made in some old school way, something really beautiful about that
Times we're living... Before 1989 just for doing a photo of the factory from outside, one would go to prison or at least was stopped for serious questioning on the police station. Today we can have a full tour and see it on RUclips. A bit more freedom we have, I guess :) Thanks for that.
Outstanding tour, very interesting. Really glad to see the different stages both old and new.
Wow, that hammer forging machine was cool. Had no idea that’s how that worked, and how it also puts the rifling in at the same time
Thanks Ian, great video.
Mighty interesting! The Łucznik works used to be much larger, making not only weapons, but also bicycles (including the "PWU typ XX wz.35" military bike from the interbellum and WWII times) and sewing machines.
I see the "Fire in the hole!" treated VERY literally here :)
A fantastic insight into FB's manufacturing possesses of firearms by Forgotten Weapons. Many thanks to FB for allow access to their factory.
Very cool, it's amazing how far firearm manufacturing has come. When looking at the old presses and dies you start to get an appreciation for the life of previous generations.
I feel a lot of national pride as a Czech firearm enthusiast but I'm also extremely happy to see amazing weapon companies in Poland, Slovenia and other parts of Europe. It's nice to see how much knowledge, skill and technology is being developed and used here.
I always love factory tours!
Welcome to Poland Ian! Great to have you here :) I hope you not only came to Radom but you could get to see some great museums we have. Thanks for this interesting video!
Był w zeszłym roku
This was amazing! It's really mind boggling how much time and effort goes into making a firearm much less MANY firearms! The guy at the test firing booth must be a crack shot with that many rounds down range!
This was a super cool tour, and thank you for bringing it to us.
I love seeing this. Would be cool to see some US factory tours like this. Thanks.
Great factory tour Ian and Fabryka Broni interesting to see the hammer forming start with a larger than bullet diameter hole and use such a short mandrel.
Yet another great video. Thank you very much, Ian. I'm very happy to see the inside works of the factory that I've learned so much about through the years, and one that played (and still plays) such an important role in firearm development in my country.
What a great video! Thank you Ian, and thank you FB! I wonder what else you have for us filmed in Poland?
As a novice bladesmith I think I have a uniquely deep sense of appreciation for heat treating. I liked your comparison to whiskey though.
This is easily one of the coolest things I've seen! As a fabrication/ welder I have such a love to see all the ins and outs of this! 😁
That was really cool, love seeing all the different processes that go into this
Really cool video Ian! It’s interesting to see the old machining tools vs the new CNC processes.
Very happy to see you visiting Poland 👍👌
Tour of pierogi factory next?
@@kirbyculp3449
🤣🤣
Pierog's factory dosn't exist, only home- hand made Bro, by ours grand mothers
Very cool, love the fact that they still have the old equipment, you don't really see much of that anymore. Kind of takes the art of machining out of the equation, but for a production facility, reducing costs of mistakes, and the speed of production increased makes CNC the way to go. The speed of any production line, I don't care what it is your making, french fries, or even arms; is dictated by your slowest machine.
Really cool video. Thank you for sharing this with us. As always great content.
I really enjoyed this video. As an industrial electrician in Australia I've seen plenty of milling machines and lathes with similar green paint, now sitting right beside CNCs. Fun fact Czechoslovakian milling machines are beige.
Wow, just think how far this channel has gone! From simple one-man videos (which a wonderful, nothing wrong with that), you are now recognized globally. Kudos
Nice to actually see the place where my Beryl was built.
I love how you pronounce "fabryka broni" ❤
Prawie bardzo dobrze
Wrong syllables stressed tho, it should be the first "a" and the last "i".
But that's nitpicking, no American in the world would know that.
@@StainlessPot shouldn't it be "o" in Broni?