‘Made in Sheffield’ A sure sign of good quality and durability. I’m lucky enough to have various woodworking tools plus various spanners, grips and wire cutters etc… all made by various manufacturers in Sheffield. All will outlive me. Only my personal opinion, but there’s something special about these small pieces of British craftsmanship and manufacturing.
Absolutely! I find myself in a similar position, and happy to say I've saved a few from the scrap bin and brought them home with me. I'm always kind of in awe of the lifespan of these tools, I'm holding something that is probably on it's 3rd ''owner'' and I'll likely not be it's last. When they're pulling my skeletised remains down off the mountain these tools will still be going strong. And when they have someone's name stamped on them (planes moreso) I'm just like... Who WERE you!? These tools keep their secrets, as they will keep ours.
Perfectionists. I never would have guessed so much would have gone in to making those augers, past the initial forging. It seems like it was an attitude of being the best. Master craftsmen.
As an apprentice in our first year we all made a pair of footprints. After making them but before assembly we had to case harden the jaws in a furnace after pakking them in carbon powder. This hardened the outside by the carbon infusing under the heat into the skin of the steel. The lower jaw was then polished up and fitted into the sheet metal handle. Once it was all together I realised the I had cut the teeth in the wrong direction on the lower jaw. But they were really butchers tools as it made a mess of pipes or steel rod you wanted to turn/hold. They looked the part even though they didn't walk the walk. I was an Apprentice Marine Engineer, so not a lot of use as most things you used spanners or sockets. It was BSW in those days and I had a set of Bedford Chrome Vanadium spanners -Made in Sheffield 1/4 - 3/4 in open jay and rings. Made for a heavy tool box whichnwas also,steel with 1 1/2lb hammer, chisels,, scrapers, fox wedges. They will last forever, still got a few, but rarely used as it went to A/F then to Metric. The 55° BSW thread is still the strongest as the other two are 60°.
I'm a 60+ year old Australian plumber and gasfitter got my thumb screw 7" 9" and 12" footies in the late 1970s during my apprenticeship, and back in 1981, a plumber I worked with during my apprenticeship on the day of his retirement when he was in his early 70s, gave me his old 9" and 12" with the movable bolt which are now about 80 years old. I've got some other footprint tools as well, a few different masonry chisels, a lumpy hammer, hacking knife.
18inch dolphin nosed cranked tin snips.i have other sizes and patterns but as a metal roof mechanic these are the most go to tool. Never loaned to any other trade and the cuting edges are therefore nick free and have not been resharpened in 54 years.
It looks like they still make tools in Sheffield - although no Augers, mostly hand tools now. I imagine that the manufacture of Augers is much quicker, cheaper and consistant on automated machines that they're now made overseas.
With maybe a few exceptions, the men in this video have all passed. Good to see craftsmen instead machines making things. MEGA = Make England Great Again!
And it's a pleasure to use these still today. I have many old tools that I restore and use, why I've been asked? Because I think of them that had the skills to make and them that used them before me, never let the old ways die or the memories of them before us! A tip" give them a coat of shellac this will keep the rust of them when not being used!
Not just the quality tools and those who made them disappearing, but the men using them also, speaking as a man who has some experience. Less and less young lads going in to carpentry and plumbing ECT. Sad to see. I've a big collection of hand tools myself, all the good old brands footprint included. I often pick them up at sales here and there for next to nothing, I think people don't know how to use them any more, unless it's got a battery pack forget it.
I used mine this week, hand turned and well over 100 years old to bore four bolt holes in a six inch post. Worked wonderfully well in the quiet of a country field in Norfolk. Gate swings easily!
I still have my footprint grips after being in the heating and plumbing industry since 1978 ,these tools are much better than the water pump pliers you see today. Thank you footprint 👍
Greeting from Australia, Now I understand why Footprint tools cost a fortune here, in the nineteen sixties and early seventies and even possibly before my time of buying tools. I still have a few footprint tools 4 plus decades on.
Unbelievable amount of work to make an auger. This is why we should preserve them, even if we don't use them any more. I am so proud that I own three full sets.
I got some footprint chisels for my birthday at the age of about 13 in 1974. I have spent most of my life as a carpenter joiner and I still have those same chisels among many others. They still get used almost everyday. The steel is of such good quality.
I'm an ex-Army mechanic, and my tool cabinet 'magically' has about 20 Footprint tools and files in it, all with a pretty little 'crows foot'. Some of them date to the 1940's. My favourite is a small pry bar that was designed to open tins of paint. I was told that this was issued because too many screwdrivers were being broken opening tins, as well as the eye injuries from the flying screwdriver tips. My files are used regularly, and have not lost their edge in the 40 years I've been using them.
Dangerous screw drivers indeed , a tradesman told me about a collegue who would walk while flicking his screwdriver on its head on the concrete floor and catching it. One day it hit a small crack and bounced back awkwardly spearing the fleshy part of his nostril , he never did that again. Another was demonstrating his sharpening skills by shaving under his chin with a chisel, somebody accidentally bumped him and it penetrated into his mouth, yes it was surgically sharp indeed !
@@number1genoathe chisel one is terrifying. I had a 3/8 chisel fall on my foot when I was barefoot bc I was disorganized. Didnt hurt since it was sharp but I think a 1/2 in or 3/4 wouldve done some real damage.
The two guys working in sync on the hammer is so freaking impressive, I don't think I've ever been nearly that coordinated with a co-worker. You really have to get along with someone to do that.
Footprint is one of those names that became synonymous with a specific tool (pipe wrench pliers) I remember actually making a pair from scratch as an apprentice. A lovely old video and not a pair of flip-flops in sight. 😂
I remember driving up that steep road a few years ago and being shocked at how many household names were written on closed factories. I try to buy British but there's not a lot of UK tool manufacturers out there now. King Dick is one of the last
My dad engineer at British Electric, designed belly tanks on lightning aircraft , he and his supervisor were going around machine shops in England, to see who had the capabilities to manufacturer parts for the TSR2 bomber project.the machine shop they found to accomplish machining titanium, still used machines driven by a overhead belt system.
Memory! In 1979, as stage carpenter for the Traverse Theatre Company, I was building the stage set for the first production of 'Animal' by Tom Mcgrath, in a temporary theatre for the Edinburgh Festival. I had to incorporate a bunch of vertical telegraph poles into the set, joined together with a bunch of horisontal (almost!) steel scaffolding poles passing through the telegraph poles, with holes drilled in situ, by me hanging from ropes , using a 1 1/2 inch hand auger ordered from Footprint Tools, turning it with a 2' 6" wooden pole , at more than 2 hours a hole I seem to remember. Never occured to me then just how 'manual' the manufacturing process was !
I have a 2' firmer chisel by Footprint tool, also some countersink driven by a brace. Good tools. Thanks for posting this very interesting aspect of tool making.
I bought a Footprint wrench at the car booty for £3. Such a quality item! I’ve also picked up some unusual look wrenches made by King Dick. Hope to restore them soon!
I used to have a pair of Footprint pliers which I bought with my first apprentice wages in Bolton 58 years ago. I never found out what jobsworth nicked them, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're still in use today. Amazing footage. The manufacture of augers has change a lot since then, it's all automated. No loving hands touch them, no worker pride or skill involved anymore.
I worked in a factory very similar to this one just over 40 years ago and this has brought back some happy memories. I think it's wonderful that the Ken Hawley collection exists to preserve our proud engineering past and long may it do so! Thank you for uploading this video.
Worked in Sheffield 20 year ago and there was an amazing tool shop tucked away in the big shopping centre Meadowhall I’m sure or similar it was a pure Aladdin’s cave and hope it’s still there 🏴
A Sheffield born boy here from the East End but escaped to the Colonies 54 yrs ago. Never realizes that there were so many manufacturing steps involved in making a wood auger. Bought an hand auger many years ago before cordless drills were common so that I could drill holes in farm fence post to fit gate hinges but to my shame it was made in Japan and still used occasionally. Would be interesting to know what manufacturing methods the Japanese used and compare. Had the pleasure of meeting Ken Hawley while visiting Wortley Top Forge back in 96 while on holiday in the UK although way back in the mid 60s I had spent a few quid buying tools from his shop in Sheffield. All credit to Ken ( died 2015) for his massive tool collection and recording the manufacturing processes.
Japanese tools very much are quality tools. I would put them aside any UK, German, USA quality tool. Great craftsmen, if you see Japan stamped on anything, buy it.
I got a lot or ex BT footprint screwdrivers I bought at a electrical sale about 20 years ago . I still use them almost daily . They have never needed replacement or even sharpening
In the late 90's I would visit my blacksmith friend who had a shop by Stan Shaw's workshop on garden street. I would walk past the footprint drop forge and it was fascinating. My blacksmith buddy would put a cup of water on his anvil, and you would see the ripple and then hear the hammer strike a moment later!! I've been in America for 23 years now. I went back to have a look on Google maps at Garden street. I was horrified to see that the old drop forge at the bottom of Garden Street has been turned into flats!!! Gah!! Sheffield was still a wonderland to a metalworking nerd back then. I found a pair of massive forging dies for Fairbairn Sykes daggers and carried them home in a wheelbarrow!!! The ghosts of the old forges will never leave the city!!!
Unfortunately most of the works are gone and have been replaced by expensive flats for the younger generation of IT workers. I work at one of the last metal bashing factories and all the experienced guys have retired and have been replaced by button pushers and young kids with degrees who can’t do anything unless the computer says so. Also we are strangled by health and safety who are desperate to stop anyone going near a machine in case they cut a finger! Sheffields character has been lost
Having seen this, I am amazed that I could afford to buy them at the time. (I was working at the University in 1993, as a metallurgist) and restoring a medieval house as a hobby.
Good to see this and good to hear that my home town of Bolton was active in engineering development (about 3.25 minutes in). Sadly, nearly everything has gone from our town - once one of the biggest cotton spinning/weaving towns on the planet (look up Swan Lane Mill on the internet - the biggest spinning mill in the world, the buildings still exist and Fred Dibnah worked on its main chimney years ago). Amongst my treasures, I have a 1” footprint augur, beautifully made. Some 8/9 years ago, a group of us oldies made a visit to Sheffield and Kelham Island Museum - absolutely fantastic day out. Nearby is also a very friendly pub with the same name. I highly recommend visiting the museum. 👍🇬🇧👍
Swan Lane mill was at the top of our street, Bridgeman Street. My dad , his three brothers and his dad were all engineers at Hick Hargreaves and Dobson and Barlow. All sadly gone.
@@davidwallwork3623 All sadly gone, Hick Hargreaves’s and Dobson and Barlow were two of the world class engineering companies in Bolton. You will know Wandsworth Lifts - excellent lifts, asset stripped by (I believe) Otis and now shabby commercial units. Best wishes from a fellow Boltonian. 👍
In my grandparent's barn there was a rusted out auger like these of about one inch and a half in diameter that was used in the old times to drill holes in large tree stumps where black powder was packed in to blow them off the ground to clear land for agricultural use.
My father in law GRC was a kid in the 1930's here in NZ, his parents ocassionally employed an old woodsman to fell large trees and split them. He said the old guy had the shakes real bad so if you gave him a cup of tea most of it would be in the saucer in seconds but as soon as he picked up an axe that stopped and he could wield it with incredible precision. He would bore a hole in the felled log, fill it with black powder then plug it with clay and you had to get the right balance with the firmness of the plug for a successful splitting. One day he let GRC have a go and the plug wasnt particulalry firm, when the powder exploded the plug shot out at high velocity and just missed his mothers head as she rounded the corner of the house :-)
@@chapiit08 In the USA dynamite was availible in every farm store up to around the 1960s. It can still be purchased special order but there is paperwork, taxes, costly shipping, and most stump removal is now preparing for construction so digging machines will be availible on site.
Interesting, but archaic and so labour intensive. You can see why they all went out of business. I too will have a greater appreciation of these tools and the efforts that went into manufacturing them. I live in a built up urban area, surrounded by rural land. Every single farm would have had sets of these on hand, and today, its nothing to see massive Sheffield augers at the scrap yard - still perfectly usable, and available for a few dollars. Rescue them when I can, but how many do you need? Also of interest is the technique of creating the twist. I've been thinking of creating a larger size Archimedian drill for drilling long holes through sandstone. The video gives some good tips, some will save some time down the track. Thanks to Ken, and thanks to the trust for posting and keeping these videos out there.👍
Sheffield tool companies didn't go out of business, they were put out of business by lack of Engineering and other trades closing down, not requiring the tools, Maggie Thatchers policies to close down manufacturing in Britain, lack of apprenticeships in Britain in a multitude of trades , so nobody needed tools, allowing the tool shops to be flooded with cheap poor quality tools from Japan, Eastern Block and eventually China. The same thing happened in the US. A good set of tools, especially Made in Sheffield regardless of trade, lasted you your lifetime and then some if looked after, sharpened, not abused. You only have to watch u-tube videos to see a lot of these jockeys haven't a clue how to use tools correctly. I have my grandfathers hand saw, it must go back to early 1900, yet it still cuts , yet the so called tradesmen of today they buy a cheap saw from B&Q and throw it away after the jobs done. The other thing in those days , there was plenty of work for all the men, no talk of 'we cannot get the trained staff' or ' they don't want to work' like now. Girls 15 -21 did a lot of the office work , worked in shops and actually knew what they were selling unlike now when the standard reply is " have you looked on our website ' or similar. In most families there was one wage earner and everybody lived within their means, no credit cards, no foriegn holidays they couldn't afford, you went home to a cooked lunch or dinner. Ladies could cook and maintain the house. No free school meals except for the very few. No breakfasts at school, no foodbanks. Companies trained apprentices, when they finished after 5 years they would after leave and find a similar job elsewhere , but there jobs elswhere, and a new craftsman from company A would get a job at company B and so on, and you would make your mark as a craftsman at company B. As all companies trained apprentices, then there was always a supply of new fresh talent. Once companies got greedy, usually taken over by one trading on the stock market and with an influx of graduates that hadn't a clue, they stopped training apprentices, then complained they couldn't get the skilled staff as people started to retire. It is a case of 'You reap what you sow". Apprentices now and the so called craftsmen just haven't got the skills or the ability to think as they are recruiting from the bottom of the gene pool.
In the video series showing the restoration of the Tally Ho (Sampson Boat Company) Leo Golding demonstrates how a wood auger naturally tracks straight through very long deep in wood such as for the keel bolts etc, perhaps it is in slight tension as it Pulls itself forward ? In my experience all other drill types are more prone to wander in this application.
The carbon footprint of manufacturing long lasting quality at home in the UK is far less than that of importing short lived cheap imitations from the other side of the world.
Brilliant. I once had about twenty of those. They came with a large antiquated woodworking lathe I bought from a shipyard back in about 1985. I cant remember where they went. Great film. Cheers Tony
Great video, please let's see more. BTW, Footprint Tools was founded by my 3rd cousin Thomas Richardson Ellin, the scion of the Ellin family of steel & tool manufactures from the late 1700's.
Great record of skilled craftsmen using time honoured traditional practices. Also a reminder why British manufacturing got outcompeted and is now in a museum.
That's insane, how many operations was that? 25, 26? There is something to be said for quality tools and workmanship but the amount of man hours spent just making one auger is staggering..
The difference is, these tools will still be usable when they are 100 years old. The tools made in China with a few steps are landfill in a few years, if you're lucky.
Wonderful video, very glad to have seen it and to show others i know who will appreciate or learn from it. Thank you for making and sharing it. I understand and even embrace changes in manufacturing, but there is much to learn and remember from those who have gone before us. They had pride in their work and strived for perfection, something lacking in the modern world sadly. Thank you again for this insight.
Purchased in 1974, I still have my 10” yellow Footprint tinsnips. Such quality steel, done lots of heavy work on 16 gauge sheet metal and still going strong.
Most of my hand tools are 'Made in Sheffield'. Gordon, Steadfast, Footprint, Wilkinson, etc. Some are 50+ yrs old. I served my apprenticeship with the CEGB and we were only issued British made tools. My King Dick spanners are still used almost daily.
Y´know, "Made In (West)Germany" had once a good ring, too. Look at the Saba Werke or the hole knife/blades trade in/around Solingen. You Brits once had a good thing going, just as we did. I very much appreciate British stuff, I own some Radford (Arthur Radford) audio amps. Mr.(Sir) Radford once made the finest, low noise audio gear. The TT-100 tube/transistor hybrid in 1977 went for 700 Pounds… Now Britain is overrun by aliens and the former glory faded to a warm&fuzzy memory, just as Germany and my dreams of world domination. Kind Regards
I have a VBW socket set that was my late father's. It was made in West Germany and has a railway wagon logo stamped into the red metal box. It's very good quality and must be old as he had it as long as I can remember. I always thought it was strange he had German tools when we lived near Sheffield.
year ago I had a lot of footprint tools I liked the sort of pipe grips I just knew them as footprints great items lasted years and still going strong in the tool box
I’d absolutely love a set of these augers straight off production. I’m gonna keep an eye out for a set of footprint augers but they’ll be rusted and blunt by now, I’ll get them operational tho!
Shocking how primitive this process is for the time. The company must have eventually come to their senses and invested in better technology because they are still in business thank goodness. I have loads of Footprint tools i bought mostly secondhand over the last 50 years and use them regularly. We should do more to celebrate our successful manufacturers.
When I worked as a civil engineer, a site shutting joiners tools consisted only claw hammer, handsaw, spirit level and a couple of these augers. Simple times.
I’m a sparkie nothing better grips conduit lockrings etc etc than foot prints walked past a family run tool store closing down in Edinburgh 20 year ago they had last two pairs left in window so I grabbed them still used to this day
The surprising thing to me is that not once did I see anybody take a measurement to check the accuracy of the work! These guys are true craftsman, but it’s quite easy to see how even the most basic form of automation could do this job faster, and better. The company must’ve paid these folks pittance in order to remain profitable.
And this is why tools that now cost £3 used to cost £30. Nothing in there (apart from the butt welder) would have been unfamiliar to someone from 1910.
@@pauljeffs7 Longevity is only a matter of maintenance, owners don't respect the £3 items or they think it is cheaper and easier to replace rather than to keep oiled and sharpened. Just look at the knives in a typical home kitchen, might be suited to cut warm butter, never touched a stone since first purchased.
Most augers now don't have eye holes and just fit in the modern cordless drills which have exceptional power and speed control , but the rest is the same. The next time you see a 1 inch auger on sale for more than £20 and think it's expensive consider what it takes to make it
how many hours in front of that multi tool hammer before getting a cup of tea? that's some serious work .all automated now.amazing skills by all employees .
I didn't quite get the screwing and normalizing steps. How they put the thread on the tip or what those thin white hot things were in the normalizing step
That is a surprising amount of skilled hand-work, it's pretty-much the same process a lone blacksmith would use, just with slightly more specialised tooling.
Excellent, very interesting little film, have some of this long standing co's tools myself,top quality! Unfortunately our Globalist political class irrespective of the flag they fly,do not want this type of highly skilled industry any longer in this country! Thanks for posting.
As someone who's been sharpening kitchen knives and scissors and whatever else with files rather than stones for years, just because it is so much quicker, this is extremely vindicating :P
I suspect many tool factories putting out high quality tools well into the late 90s were this outdated and had that much hand manufacturing. The final days of craftsmanship.
@yuglesstube Our political class have a lot to answer for. They seem to have no idea about the importance of keeping strategic industries in the UK. The likes of Tony Blair pushing for 50% of school kids to go on to university, just to end up in debt and out of work or stacking shelves in the supermarket. This is typical of the mentality that has seen skilled jobs go and industries sold off to the highest bidder or shut down. The UK has just lost its capacity to produce steel. Our last coal fired power station has just closed and Scotland is about to loose its main oil refinery. No one in Parliament seems that concerned. Apparently, by spending billions of pounds of OUR money, this government is going to create thousands upon thousands of exciting new skilled jobs through the manufacturing of wind turbines and solar panels etc…. Problem is, the vast majority of those jobs and manufacturing will be in China, not the UK. The UK is fast becoming a second world nation.
From a time when quality was of utmost importance, we made the finest tools and Britain was truly great
These fellows look miserable and they are all overweight and unhealthy.
‘Made in Sheffield’ A sure sign of good quality and durability. I’m lucky enough to have various woodworking tools plus various spanners, grips and wire cutters etc… all made by various manufacturers in Sheffield. All will outlive me. Only my personal opinion, but there’s something special about these small pieces of British craftsmanship and manufacturing.
Absolutely! I find myself in a similar position, and happy to say I've saved a few from the scrap bin and brought them home with me.
I'm always kind of in awe of the lifespan of these tools, I'm holding something that is probably on it's 3rd ''owner'' and I'll likely not be it's last. When they're pulling my skeletised remains down off the mountain these tools will still be going strong.
And when they have someone's name stamped on them (planes moreso) I'm just like... Who WERE you!?
These tools keep their secrets, as they will keep ours.
I will never let another hand made auger go rusty again...wow...just wow!
Perfectionists. I never would have guessed so much would have gone in to making those augers, past the initial forging. It seems like it was an attitude of being the best. Master craftsmen.
I was an apprentice Gasfitter in 1969, my pipe grips 6”, 9” and 12’s all made by Footprint - I still use them❤
Same here ..get the footprints boy..great tools
As an apprentice in our first year we all made a pair of footprints. After making them but before assembly we had to case harden the jaws in a furnace after pakking them in carbon powder. This hardened the outside by the carbon infusing under the heat into the skin of the steel.
The lower jaw was then polished up and fitted into the sheet metal handle.
Once it was all together I realised the I had cut the teeth in the wrong direction on the lower jaw.
But they were really butchers tools as it made a mess of pipes or steel rod you wanted to turn/hold.
They looked the part even though they didn't walk the walk. I was an Apprentice Marine Engineer, so not a lot of use as most things you used spanners or sockets. It was BSW in those days and I had a set of Bedford Chrome Vanadium spanners -Made in Sheffield 1/4 - 3/4 in open jay and rings. Made for a heavy tool box whichnwas also,steel with 1 1/2lb hammer, chisels,, scrapers, fox wedges. They will last forever, still got a few, but rarely used as it went to A/F then to Metric. The 55° BSW thread is still the strongest as the other two are 60°.
@@CurrabegObSame here…Made in England. When we had a manufacturing industry 👍
I'm a 60+ year old Australian plumber and gasfitter got my thumb screw 7" 9" and 12" footies in the late 1970s during my apprenticeship, and back in 1981, a plumber I worked with during my apprenticeship on the day of his retirement when he was in his early 70s, gave me his old 9" and 12" with the movable bolt which are now about 80 years old.
I've got some other footprint tools as well, a few different masonry chisels, a lumpy hammer, hacking knife.
18inch dolphin nosed cranked tin snips.i have other sizes and patterns but as a metal roof mechanic these are the most go to tool. Never loaned to any other trade and the cuting edges are therefore nick free and have not been resharpened in 54 years.
Real craftsmanship there.
Footprint and other Sheffield brands are still the prized posessions of many craftsmen around the world.
Yes - I’ve got numerous Sheffield-made tools, many of which I bought in Sheffield when I lived there in the 70s.
My dad hardly ever smiled, but when he was in a machine shop or sailing he always had a smile on his face,
Tragic that this country no longer makes any tools. We used to make the best tools in the world
Who wants that job?
It looks like they still make tools in Sheffield - although no Augers, mostly hand tools now. I imagine that the manufacture of Augers is much quicker, cheaper and consistant on automated machines that they're now made overseas.
@@wcswood - Who wants your job?
@@MikeyCanuck123 I don't really have a job.
@@wcswood - I'm not surprised.
With maybe a few exceptions, the men in this video have all passed.
Good to see craftsmen instead machines making things.
MEGA = Make England Great Again!
Loving the bloke at 10:50 - no computers, no specialist measuring kit, just his eye and a hammer to get the auger straight.
And it's a pleasure to use these still today. I have many old tools that I restore and use, why I've been asked? Because I think of them that had the skills to make and them that used them before me, never let the old ways die or the memories of them before us! A tip" give them a coat of shellac this will keep the rust of them when not being used!
I second that. ...... Breaks my heart to see old tools at boot sale, where I know that if I do not buy them, they will be in a skip.
Not just the quality tools and those who made them disappearing, but the men using them also, speaking as a man who has some experience. Less and less young lads going in to carpentry and plumbing ECT. Sad to see. I've a big collection of hand tools myself, all the good old brands footprint included. I often pick them up at sales here and there for next to nothing, I think people don't know how to use them any more, unless it's got a battery pack forget it.
I use a Footprint hand drill every day, a quality item.
This is why when I find a footprint tool I salivate ...beautifully made tools who's quality is unmatched today
I used mine this week, hand turned and well over 100 years old to bore four bolt holes in a six inch post. Worked wonderfully well in the quiet of a country field in Norfolk. Gate swings easily!
Fashing, Fettle, Fay Surface, Love those old english technical terms and when it comes to boat buliding they went crazy !
Quality is rare.
Quantity is everywhere.
I still have my footprint grips after being in the heating and plumbing industry since 1978 ,these tools are much better than the water pump pliers you see today.
Thank you footprint 👍
Greeting from Australia, Now I understand why Footprint tools cost a fortune here, in the nineteen sixties and early seventies and even possibly before my time of buying tools. I still have a few footprint tools 4 plus decades on.
Unbelievable amount of work to make an auger. This is why we should preserve them, even if we don't use them any more. I am so proud that I own three full sets.
I use mine. Its actually less work to use a bit and brace for drilling holes in wood than a battery powered drill, and you have a lot better control.
Pura vida great documentary I like vintage hand tools made in Sheffield ,☺️☺️☺️🤩🤩
Me too!
I got some footprint chisels for my birthday at the age of about 13 in 1974. I have spent most of my life as a carpenter joiner and I still have those same chisels among many others. They still get used almost everyday. The steel is of such good quality.
I'm an ex-Army mechanic, and my tool cabinet 'magically' has about 20 Footprint tools and files in it, all with a pretty little 'crows foot'. Some of them date to the 1940's. My favourite is a small pry bar that was designed to open tins of paint. I was told that this was issued because too many screwdrivers were being broken opening tins, as well as the eye injuries from the flying screwdriver tips. My files are used regularly, and have not lost their edge in the 40 years I've been using them.
Dangerous screw drivers indeed , a tradesman told me about a collegue who would walk while flicking his screwdriver on its head on the concrete floor and catching it. One day it hit a small crack and bounced back awkwardly spearing the fleshy part of his nostril , he never did that again. Another was demonstrating his sharpening skills by shaving under his chin with a chisel, somebody accidentally bumped him and it penetrated into his mouth, yes it was surgically sharp indeed !
@@number1genoathe chisel one is terrifying. I had a 3/8 chisel fall on my foot when I was barefoot bc I was disorganized. Didnt hurt since it was sharp but I think a 1/2 in or 3/4 wouldve done some real damage.
The two guys working in sync on the hammer is so freaking impressive, I don't think I've ever been nearly that coordinated with a co-worker. You really have to get along with someone to do that.
Footprint is one of those names that became synonymous with a specific tool (pipe wrench pliers) I remember actually making a pair from scratch as an apprentice. A lovely old video and not a pair of flip-flops in sight. 😂
as a time served brickie footprint line pins were the only respectable pins to have in your kit. they last a lifetime.
I remember driving up that steep road a few years ago and being shocked at how many household names were written on closed factories.
I try to buy British but there's not a lot of UK tool manufacturers out there now. King Dick is one of the last
Footprint just moved premises, they still operate.
My dad engineer at British Electric, designed belly tanks on lightning aircraft , he and his supervisor were going around machine shops in England, to see who had the capabilities to manufacturer parts for the TSR2 bomber project.the machine shop they found to accomplish machining titanium, still used machines driven by a overhead belt system.
Memory! In 1979, as stage carpenter for the Traverse Theatre Company, I was building the stage set for the first production of 'Animal' by Tom Mcgrath, in a temporary theatre for the Edinburgh Festival. I had to incorporate a bunch of vertical telegraph poles into the set, joined together with a bunch of horisontal (almost!) steel scaffolding poles passing through the telegraph poles, with holes drilled in situ, by me hanging from ropes , using a 1 1/2 inch hand auger ordered from Footprint Tools, turning it with a 2' 6" wooden pole , at more than 2 hours a hole I seem to remember. Never occured to me then just how 'manual' the manufacturing process was !
I have a 2' firmer chisel by Footprint tool, also some countersink driven by a brace. Good tools. Thanks for posting this very interesting aspect of tool making.
I bought a Footprint wrench at the car booty for £3. Such a quality item! I’ve also picked up some unusual look wrenches made by King Dick. Hope to restore them soon!
Best woodwork chisels I ever had. Red handles. Wow.
28 operations for one auger bit, amazing.
Gaz Yorkshire.
I used to have a pair of Footprint pliers which I bought with my first apprentice wages in Bolton 58 years ago. I never found out what jobsworth nicked them, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're still in use today. Amazing footage. The manufacture of augers has change a lot since then, it's all automated. No loving hands touch them, no worker pride or skill involved anymore.
good to know this company is still in business
I worked in a factory very similar to this one just over 40 years ago and this has brought back some happy memories. I think it's wonderful that the Ken Hawley collection exists to preserve our proud engineering past and long may it do so! Thank you for uploading this video.
Worked in Sheffield 20 year ago and there was an amazing tool shop tucked away in the big shopping centre Meadowhall I’m sure or similar it was a pure Aladdin’s cave and hope it’s still there 🏴
A Sheffield born boy here from the East End but escaped to the Colonies 54 yrs ago. Never realizes that there were so many manufacturing steps involved in making a wood auger.
Bought an hand auger many years ago before cordless drills were common so that I could drill holes in farm fence post to fit gate hinges but to my shame it was made in Japan and still used occasionally.
Would be interesting to know what manufacturing methods the Japanese used and compare.
Had the pleasure of meeting Ken Hawley while visiting Wortley Top Forge back in 96 while on holiday in the UK although way back in the mid 60s I had spent a few quid buying tools from his shop in Sheffield.
All credit to Ken ( died 2015) for his massive tool collection and recording the manufacturing processes.
Japanese tools very much are quality tools. I would put them aside any UK, German, USA quality tool. Great craftsmen, if you see Japan stamped on anything, buy it.
Impressive highly-skilled work in dangerous conditions. We sure have it easy these days.
I got a lot or ex BT footprint screwdrivers I bought at a electrical sale about 20 years ago . I still use them almost daily . They have never needed replacement or even sharpening
INST 6.... short for screwdriver, instrument, no6... footprint tools are legendary
Ex BT employee, got a fulll set, including the augers :) (6mm, drilling window frames for the purpose of)
MOD were a big footprint customer too
Incredible that so much hand work went into those. Amazing.
In the late 90's I would visit my blacksmith friend who had a shop by Stan Shaw's workshop on garden street.
I would walk past the footprint drop forge and it was fascinating.
My blacksmith buddy would put a cup of water on his anvil, and you would see the ripple and then hear the hammer strike a moment later!!
I've been in America for 23 years now. I went back to have a look on Google maps at Garden street. I was horrified to see that the old drop forge at the bottom of Garden Street has been turned into flats!!! Gah!!
Sheffield was still a wonderland to a metalworking nerd back then. I found a pair of massive forging dies for Fairbairn Sykes daggers and carried them home in a wheelbarrow!!! The ghosts of the old forges will never leave the city!!!
Unfortunately most of the works are gone and have been replaced by expensive flats for the younger generation of IT workers. I work at one of the last metal bashing factories and all the experienced guys have retired and have been replaced by button pushers and young kids with degrees who can’t do anything unless the computer says so. Also we are strangled by health and safety who are desperate to stop anyone going near a machine in case they cut a finger! Sheffields character has been lost
This is awesome craftsmanship, bring back the Sheffield steel industry, the.best in the world.
Fear not there is still a wealth of skill left in this country practised by young and old.
I wish i took pictures of our warm forge back in the 80's.
Having seen this, I am amazed that I could afford to buy them at the time. (I was working at the University in 1993, as a metallurgist) and restoring a medieval house as a hobby.
Good to see this and good to hear that my home town of Bolton was active in engineering development (about 3.25 minutes in).
Sadly, nearly everything has gone from our town - once one of the biggest cotton spinning/weaving towns on the planet (look up Swan Lane Mill on the internet - the biggest spinning mill in the world, the buildings still exist and Fred Dibnah worked on its main chimney years ago).
Amongst my treasures, I have a 1” footprint augur, beautifully made.
Some 8/9 years ago, a group of us oldies made a visit to Sheffield and Kelham Island Museum - absolutely fantastic day out. Nearby is also a very friendly pub with the same name. I highly recommend visiting the museum. 👍🇬🇧👍
Swan Lane mill was at the top of our street, Bridgeman Street. My dad , his three brothers and his dad were all engineers at Hick Hargreaves and Dobson and Barlow. All sadly gone.
@@davidwallwork3623 All sadly gone, Hick Hargreaves’s and Dobson and Barlow were two of the world class engineering companies in Bolton. You will know Wandsworth Lifts - excellent lifts, asset stripped by (I believe) Otis and now shabby commercial units.
Best wishes from a fellow Boltonian.
👍
In my grandparent's barn there was a rusted out auger like these of about one inch and a half in diameter that was used in the old times to drill holes in large tree stumps where black powder was packed in to blow them off the ground to clear land for agricultural use.
dynamite was widely availible 1½" sticks for just that.
My father in law GRC was a kid in the 1930's here in NZ, his parents ocassionally employed an old woodsman to fell large trees and split them. He said the old guy had the shakes real bad so if you gave him a cup of tea most of it would be in the saucer in seconds but as soon as he picked up an axe that stopped and he could wield it with incredible precision. He would bore a hole in the felled log, fill it with black powder then plug it with clay and you had to get the right balance with the firmness of the plug for a successful splitting. One day he let GRC have a go and the plug wasnt particulalry firm, when the powder exploded the plug shot out at high velocity and just missed his mothers head as she rounded the corner of the house :-)
@@TheDuckofDoom. I don't believe that in Italy dynamite was ever sold to the public.
@@chapiit08 In the USA dynamite was availible in every farm store up to around the 1960s.
It can still be purchased special order but there is paperwork, taxes, costly shipping, and most stump removal is now preparing for construction so digging machines will be availible on site.
I have several sets of footprint pipe fitting tools that I bought as an apprentice in the 60s. 😊
Interesting, but archaic and so labour intensive. You can see why they all went out of business.
I too will have a greater appreciation of these tools and the efforts that went into manufacturing them.
I live in a built up urban area, surrounded by rural land. Every single farm would have had sets of these on hand, and today, its nothing to see massive Sheffield augers at the scrap yard - still perfectly usable, and available for a few dollars. Rescue them when I can, but how many do you need?
Also of interest is the technique of creating the twist. I've been thinking of creating a larger size Archimedian drill for drilling long holes through sandstone. The video gives some good tips, some will save some time down the track.
Thanks to Ken, and thanks to the trust for posting and keeping these videos out there.👍
Rescue them, clean them up and sell them online to the world at a pretty penny. I'd take a look for sure!
Footprint haven’t gone out of business, they’re still going.
Sheffield tool companies didn't go out of business, they were put out of business by lack of Engineering and other trades closing down, not requiring the tools, Maggie Thatchers policies to close down manufacturing in Britain, lack of apprenticeships in Britain in a multitude of trades , so nobody needed tools, allowing the tool shops to be flooded with cheap poor quality tools from Japan, Eastern Block and eventually China. The same thing happened in the US.
A good set of tools, especially Made in Sheffield regardless of trade, lasted you your lifetime and then some if looked after, sharpened, not abused.
You only have to watch u-tube videos to see a lot of these jockeys haven't a clue how to use tools correctly.
I have my grandfathers hand saw, it must go back to early 1900, yet it still cuts , yet the so called tradesmen of today they buy a cheap saw from B&Q and throw it away after the jobs done.
The other thing in those days , there was plenty of work for all the men, no talk of 'we cannot get the trained staff' or ' they don't want to work' like now. Girls 15 -21 did a lot of the office work , worked in shops and actually knew what they were selling unlike now when the standard reply is " have you looked on our website ' or similar.
In most families there was one wage earner and everybody lived within their means, no credit cards, no foriegn holidays they couldn't afford, you went home to a cooked lunch or dinner. Ladies could cook and maintain the house. No free school meals except for the very few. No breakfasts at school, no foodbanks.
Companies trained apprentices, when they finished after 5 years they would after leave and find a similar job elsewhere , but there jobs elswhere, and a new craftsman from company A would get a job at company B and so on, and you would make your mark as a craftsman at company B.
As all companies trained apprentices, then there was always a supply of new fresh talent.
Once companies got greedy, usually taken over by one trading on the stock market and with an influx of graduates that hadn't a clue, they stopped training apprentices, then complained they couldn't get the skilled staff as people started to retire. It is a case of 'You reap what you sow". Apprentices now and the so called craftsmen just haven't got the skills or the ability to think as they are recruiting from the bottom of the gene pool.
Nothing archaic about it
In the video series showing the restoration of the Tally Ho (Sampson Boat Company) Leo Golding demonstrates how a wood auger naturally tracks straight through very long deep in wood such as for the keel bolts etc, perhaps it is in slight tension as it Pulls itself forward ? In my experience all other drill types are more prone to wander in this application.
I have a 12 " set of footprint pipe grips which must be at least 40 years old and in as superb condition and used all my working life .
The carbon footprint of manufacturing long lasting quality at home in the UK is far less than that of importing short lived cheap imitations from the other side of the world.
Cheap Crap from China (or India), just say No!
Brilliant. I once had about twenty of those. They came with a large antiquated woodworking lathe I bought from a shipyard back in about 1985. I cant remember where they went. Great film. Cheers Tony
Auger making. Not boring.
There is a whole lot to it.
Great video, please let's see more. BTW, Footprint Tools was founded by my 3rd cousin Thomas Richardson Ellin, the scion of the Ellin family of steel & tool manufactures from the late 1700's.
Great record of skilled craftsmen using time honoured traditional practices. Also a reminder why British manufacturing got outcompeted and is now in a museum.
Unions were resistant to change. And it has left nothing for the next generations. Greedy.
@@typhoon2827Globalism killed these places, not unions.
Wow! That was a skilled labor intensive process. The great tools of yesteryear.
That's not the way the Chinese do it today!
Excellent
Now we have carbide tipped hole borers and power tools, but those old tools and skills still work a treat!
That's insane, how many operations was that? 25, 26? There is something to be said for quality tools and workmanship but the amount of man hours spent just making one auger is staggering..
I was thinking the same.
The difference is, these tools will still be usable when they are 100 years old. The tools made in China with a few steps are landfill in a few years, if you're lucky.
@@xRepoUKx The trouble is they don't need to last 100 years.
Wonderful video, very glad to have seen it and to show others i know who will appreciate or learn from it.
Thank you for making and sharing it.
I understand and even embrace changes in manufacturing, but there is much to learn and remember from those who have gone before us.
They had pride in their work and strived for perfection, something lacking in the modern world sadly.
Thank you again for this insight.
I still use augers where I can and will always appreciate tools from all ages.
Often the old tool is the best suited to the job
I remember my fathers tool chest with Footprint tools in it. He was an engineer no wondehe bout them . Lasted him a lifetime.
I’ve got a few of these old tools (augers and spoon drills) - they seem to last forever if cared for!
Superb. Thanks! Lovely tools!
I still have a Yellow Painted Footprint Tin Snips that I bought circa 1960.
Amazing and all done by hand and eye
I have a green pair of tinsnips. Still cut very well.
Purchased in 1974, I still have my 10” yellow Footprint tinsnips. Such quality steel, done lots of heavy work on 16 gauge sheet metal and still going strong.
Got my 1st set of footprint pipe grips back in 1992... still going strong :)
I've never seen a shop seat like this before; but I like it! @ 3:10
Most of my hand tools are 'Made in Sheffield'. Gordon, Steadfast, Footprint, Wilkinson, etc. Some are 50+ yrs old. I served my apprenticeship with the CEGB and we were only issued British made tools. My King Dick spanners are still used almost daily.
Y´know, "Made In (West)Germany" had once a good ring, too. Look at the Saba Werke or the hole knife/blades trade in/around Solingen.
You Brits once had a good thing going, just as we did. I very much appreciate British stuff, I own some Radford (Arthur Radford) audio amps. Mr.(Sir) Radford once made the finest, low noise audio gear. The TT-100 tube/transistor hybrid in 1977 went for 700 Pounds…
Now Britain is overrun by aliens and the former glory faded to a warm&fuzzy memory, just as Germany and my dreams of world domination.
Kind Regards
I have a VBW socket set that was my late father's. It was made in West Germany and has a railway wagon logo stamped into the red metal box. It's very good quality and must be old as he had it as long as I can remember.
I always thought it was strange he had German tools when we lived near Sheffield.
year ago I had a lot of footprint tools I liked the sort of pipe grips I just knew them as footprints great items lasted years and still going strong in the tool box
I’d absolutely love a set of these augers straight off production. I’m gonna keep an eye out for a set of footprint augers but they’ll be rusted and blunt by now, I’ll get them operational tho!
Shocking how primitive this process is for the time. The company must have eventually come to their senses and invested in better technology because they are still in business thank goodness. I have loads of Footprint tools i bought mostly secondhand over the last 50 years and use them regularly. We should do more to celebrate our successful manufacturers.
That guy has a whole lot of trust in the guy controlling that drop hammer.
When I worked as a civil engineer, a site shutting joiners tools consisted only claw hammer, handsaw, spirit level and a couple of these augers. Simple times.
Loved this video.
My dad worked there for 40 yrs. George Dawson & my brothers Andy and Paul
I’m a sparkie nothing better grips conduit lockrings etc etc than foot prints walked past a family run tool store closing down in Edinburgh 20 year ago they had last two pairs left in window so I grabbed them still used to this day
Ahh the voice of northern authority. I have a new respect for the auger now.
Also have a brace and bit I will have a look at the auger that fits it !
Great footage. i am pretty sure the whole process is now more autonomous, cnc involved and more precise. but you never get the same feeling.
The surprising thing to me is that not once did I see anybody take a measurement to check the accuracy of the work! These guys are true craftsman, but it’s quite easy to see how even the most basic form of automation could do this job faster, and better. The company must’ve paid these folks pittance in order to remain profitable.
Great video. England used to make things.
I have an extremely thin mortice chisel made by footprint, its the only modern chisel I have that holds a torch to my collection of hand forged ones.
finally the algorithm found something worth watching
The days when you were allowed to have pride in your work are long gone.
It’s amazing what people are capable of when they are allowed-and not punished-for giving a shit.
And this is why tools that now cost £3 used to cost £30.
Nothing in there (apart from the butt welder) would have been unfamiliar to someone from 1910.
They might have cost 10 times more but they last 50 times longer.
Yep. No investment
Yes, and the auger itself would have been familiar to someone from 1000ad, not so much 1980.
Exactly what I was thinking.
@@pauljeffs7 Longevity is only a matter of maintenance, owners don't respect the £3 items or they think it is cheaper and easier to replace rather than to keep oiled and sharpened. Just look at the knives in a typical home kitchen, might be suited to cut warm butter, never touched a stone since first purchased.
Lovely stuff.
Most augers now don't have eye holes and just fit in the modern cordless drills which have exceptional power and speed control , but the rest is the same. The next time you see a 1 inch auger on sale for more than £20 and think it's expensive consider what it takes to make it
how many hours in front of that multi tool hammer before getting a cup of tea? that's some serious work .all automated now.amazing skills by all employees .
I didn't quite get the screwing and normalizing steps. How they put the thread on the tip or what those thin white hot things were in the normalizing step
My school St Vincents was just up the road from here.
True craftsman
When tools where made to a spec and not a price
That is a surprising amount of skilled hand-work, it's pretty-much the same process a lone blacksmith would use, just with slightly more specialised tooling.
I can't help wondering if this isn't ancient footage, but released in '93. Were they really doing things by hand so recently? Amazing skills.
Excellent, very interesting little film, have some of this long standing co's tools myself,top quality!
Unfortunately our Globalist political class irrespective of the flag they fly,do not want this type of highly skilled industry any longer in this country!
Thanks for posting.
As someone who's been sharpening kitchen knives and scissors and whatever else with files rather than stones for years, just because it is so much quicker, this is extremely vindicating :P
I suspect many tool factories putting out high quality tools well into the late 90s were this outdated and had that much hand manufacturing. The final days of craftsmanship.
Just find me a 20 year old in Britain today who’d be willing to do this sort of work (let alone have the skill).
We made no effort to train. Easier just to put them in a class and call it uni.
Made parents happy too
@yuglesstube
Our political class have a lot to answer for.
They seem to have no idea about the importance of keeping strategic industries in the UK. The likes of Tony Blair pushing for 50% of school kids to go on to university, just to end up in debt and out of work or stacking shelves in the supermarket. This is typical of the mentality that has seen skilled jobs go and industries sold off to the highest bidder or shut down. The UK has just lost its capacity to produce steel. Our last coal fired power station has just closed and Scotland is about to loose its main oil refinery. No one in Parliament seems that concerned. Apparently, by spending billions of pounds of OUR money, this government is going to create thousands upon thousands of exciting new skilled jobs through the manufacturing of wind turbines and solar panels etc…. Problem is, the vast majority of those jobs and manufacturing will be in China, not the UK. The UK is fast becoming a second world nation.
@@TheNobbynoonar it’s called neoliberalism and both parties are beholden to the doctrine.
My dad gave me some footprint pipe grips he rated them ( you could see they were beautifully made by hand I still have them