h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

!excellent article Pinniped!
thanks for a good read. Didn't know you were in Sheff.

one small point: under "the process enacted : Steel" in the 3rd paragraph

"...and limited the application of the product for drawing applications"

I think you should mention that 'drawing' refers to the process of pulling the metal out to form a wire by running it through decreasing sizes of dies.

Also a question : would 'Ken Barraclough' be the same man who taught me basic metallurgy, brazing and machine shop practice at Granville College back in the late 60's?

alec.

Hi Alec

Yep, Sheffield.
On the drawing point, I didn't just mean wire. Same point is true of sheet drawing. Basically the ductility was poor - I'll think about how to make the point in those terms.
I'm at a bit of a loss to know how far to go with this in various ways. I could get more metallurgical, or I could put in more social history. Or maybe it's long enough already!

Ken Barraclough? I wonder how I can check. I never knew him, though several of my friends and peers did. I think he worked at Swinden Labs. He died in 1990, leaving a remarkable collection of writings on the history of steelmaking. He was Dr Kenneth Charles Barraclough to be correct, and he was bearded, bespectacled, toothy and shock-haired judging by his dustjacket image.

He was also a champion of several local projects to preserve local industrial heritage, including Wortley Top Forge in particular. I think so, anyway. I'm a little hazy - this will need a trip to the library.

Pin

Pin

i'd forgotten that sheet is also drawn.

My teacher Ken B was not bearded...toothy yes but not bespectacled and shock-haired, although teaching day-release students at a further ed. college might have got to him in the end.

If you can send me an image i'm sure i'd be able to recognise him.
i'm alectrician 'at' bellsouth 'dot' net but i'll google his full name
and let you know.

You could certainly put more metallurgical AND social history into the article, if only you could do it without making it any longer
How about mentioning how the process was improved upon...from Bessemers converter
to simply buying the stuff from the koreans or wherever.
What has become of that entire area east of t'wicker arches?
My grandparents lived in 'Brightside' next to 'Shiregreen' but back then the names were but a joke. The ground would shake from the thump of the forge hammers and every building was BLACK...just black.

Before i found out how big the planet really is, my 'local' was the Beauchief Hotel on Abbey lane. It's really close to the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet where there was also a crucible furnace and water driven drop hammers. It was a ruin for most of my formative years and we kids used to sneak in there and wonder/wander about, but just before i left it was all done up and opened to the public.
I found a link to it from one of your links...if you haven't been there i can recommend it.

sorry Pin...way too much information for this time of night.

alec.

Hi Alec

You're preaching to the converted (not just in the Bessemer sense). I know Sheffield's industrial museums, including Abbeydale, pretty well.
North and East of the Wicker? You'd hardly believe it today. Except for the very north end of Brightside Lane, the black canyons are pretty well gone.

If you've got Broadband (or don't mind slow downloads) you'll like this site :
http://citysnapper.org/dm/
Dave Milner has done quite a job of photographically capturing the city. Chantrey, too - there's a link from the page above.

I did a (fairly cr*p) history of the entire steel industry some time ago. The slightly better version (unEdited) is called "An Unreliable History of Steelmaking". The EG's version is "Irreverent" rather than unreliable. I might do 'Bessemer in Sheffield' one day, though I have mixed feelings about the guy. He was a Londoner for a start. An Entry on the Cutler's Company might be a good way to bring it all in.

Have you read Harry Brearley's "Steelmakers"? Yes, the stainless HB, but he was a classy writer too. The account of a crucible meltshop there is a definitive social history. I could add nothing. I never saw it for real.

Still not got to the KCB book for a picture. Can't find any net images, but there are lots of Amazon-type refs to the publications.

Hi Pin

sorry about the delay in replying, i've been poring over Dave Milners pictures of Sheff.
Funny how a photo can be utterly heart-wrenching isn't it
And that's just from the pubs that i used to frequent.

Some fascinating pictures there...my old school (King Teds') though i am given to understand it is no longer an institute of torture.

TRAMS ?? When did they bring back the trams??
When did they knock the egg-box down??
When did they paint the Locarno Ballroom BLACK??
What is a 'winter garden'? i thought everyone in sheff had one!

(theses questions are not intended for you to answer pin, it's just been a while since i've been home)

Strange to read all the references on the web to "Brown-Firth" as i remember it as "Firth-Browns". My dad was a draughtsman there, and met my mum, who was a secretary at Hadfields, over the phone.

One of my dads scouting friends, who i remember as 'uncle Stan' was one of the stainless Brearleys, but i've not read the book you mentioned. However it's on my list.

Anyway, i'm off to check on your guide entries on steelmaking next Pin...



alec.