Building a Rolls Royce Radiator

[Roverlord off road spares]

I almost fell a sleep watching this LOL. What a painfully long and slow process. Building a Rolls Royce Radiator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiXSlWfcaHg&feature=youtu.be

[djam1]

Just like Britpart lol

[ATH]

I stopped watching after a couple of minutes. I suppose it's nice to see old craftsmen still doing their thing but they'll be replaced soon by a robot. And who will care? Certainly not Volkswagen/BMW or whoever owns them at the time as the bottom line is the only thing they care about.
AlanH.

[kenleyfred]

Similar care and attention to detail went into the hand making of my Defender.

Got to go now, just been distracted by that flock of pigs flying by my window.

Kenley

[knares]

i watched it all, brilliant

[Tins]

I stopped watching after a couple of minutes. I suppose it's nice to see old craftsmen still doing their thing but they'll be replaced soon by a robot. And who will care? Certainly not Volkswagen/BMW or whoever owns them at the time as the bottom line is the only thing they care about.
AlanH.

BMW own them. I can't see why anything would change. They delivered 4000 ish cars World Wide last year. 4000. If you think that that figure means anything to BMW you are mistaken, as they delivered nearly 2.5 Million cars over the same period. Rolls Royce is a matter of prestige for them, and they know if they muck around too much then they will lose that. Sure, underneath it's a 7 Series, but the people who buy them don't care about that. The entire car is hand built to order. No two are the same. That's why they cost what they do.

[ATH]

I'm thinking of when those old craftsmen die off Johntins. I'm certain the bean counters will look long and hard at how to get this sort of thing, which is probably the same throughout the models RR produce, done cheaper and quicker.
I also wonder if there are any apprentices coming along who would take that kind of care.
Who amongst the 400 buyers will give a stuff if the radiator is done by man or machine? Very few I suspect and they would only start caring if something like a BMW badge started appearing at the back..... or worse still one with wings atop that radiator. [bigsmile]
AlanH.

[Tins]

I'm thinking of when those old craftsmen die off Johntins. I'm certain the bean counters will look long and hard at how to get this sort of thing, which is probably the same throughout the models RR produce, done cheaper and quicker.
I also wonder if there are any apprentices coming along who would take that kind of care.
Who amongst the 400 buyers will give a stuff if the radiator is done by man or machine? Very few I suspect and they would only start caring if something like a BMW badge started appearing at the back..... or worse still one with wings atop that radiator. [bigsmile]
AlanH.

I hear you, Alan. I have a long association with RR ( the original one ), and I was mortified when it was broken up and sold. However, one must be realistic. There is no way RR and Bentley could continue to do the R&D needed to survive these days.

Bentley is flourishing under VW's ownership, but, in some way it's not quite right. There's something, I don't know, cynical perhaps in the approach. It's just another technical tour-de-force, like their efforts with Bugatti. There's hardly even a hat tip to their history. And some will say, "so what".

I believe BMW is doing better with RR. The old Crewe factory had to go, I know that, and the Goodwood facility is state of the art, but the old methods still prevail in the interiors, and the iconic RR touches. Sure, the hides are no longer the unique Connolly leather they once were, but that was, and I believe still is, a customer choice. Burr walnut is probably gone though, as safety takes precedence. Grrr.

The old crafts, I believe, will continue as long as there are people willing to learn. Apprenticeships are still offered. If the craft dies out, it will more likely be due to kids not being bothered. Still, RR has managed to keep up the standards for over 110 years, so I guess we should feel lucky to have seen it.

Oh, you ask who would give a stuff? Ask the Arab who bought a gold skinned Bugatti Veyron. That is the market these days, and they care very, very much indeed. For a month or two.

[ATH]

I truly hope those old skills do get carried forward but being a total cynic these days about virtually everything, I really can't see it happening. I did a 5 year apprenticeship over 50 years ago and took great pride in, towards the end of it, building gearboxes for pavers and graders etc. for the company. This was work usually reserved for the best tradesman in the factory.
I remember being shocked when a mate of mine, supposedly a skilled man, was given some boxes to build (purely because of his agitating and whinging about an apprentice doing it....) and used a hammer and chisel to burr up a shaft to remove slack from between shafts and gears instead of trying each to find the best fit.
His work was very bad and all because he just wouldn't slow down and try things properly, clean the parts or get things ready before he started the job. I was asked to fix what he'd stuffed (polite word for the forum) as he was married with a kid and it would cost him his piece work bonus to go back on the job and fix it but I as an apprentice wouldn't suffer.
And anyway I'd only spend the money on booze and birds according to them.......
Maybe the bonus system was the culprit trying to get the work done quicker, but knowing many of the blokes back then and suspecting companies only want to get rid of as many they can, I really can't see these old skills lasting much after the present craftsmen go.
Great pity but that's the way of the world these days.
AlanH.

PS. Younger bro is on the cusp of ordering a Bentley now his RRS Autobio is out of warranty....... I hope it lives up to his expectations.

[Tins]

I truly hope those old skills do get carried forward but being a total cynic these days about virtually everything, I really can't see it happening. I did a 5 year apprenticeship over 50 years ago and took great pride in, towards the end of it, building gearboxes for pavers and graders etc. for the company. This was work usually reserved for the best tradesman in the factory.
I remember being shocked when a mate of mine, supposedly a skilled man, was given some boxes to build (purely because of his agitating and whinging about an apprentice doing it....) and used a hammer and chisel to burr up a shaft to remove slack from between shafts and gears instead of trying each to find the best fit.
His work was very bad and all because he just wouldn't slow down and try things properly, clean the parts or get things ready before he started the job. I was asked to fix what he'd stuffed (polite word for the forum) as he was married with a kid and it would cost him his piece work bonus to go back on the job and fix it but I as an apprentice wouldn't suffer.
And anyway I'd only spend the money on booze and birds according to them.......
Maybe the bonus system was the culprit trying to get the work done quicker, but knowing many of the blokes back then and suspecting companies only want to get rid of as many they can, I really can't see these old skills lasting much after the present craftsmen go.
Great pity but that's the way of the world these days.
AlanH.

PS. Younger bro is on the cusp of ordering a Bentley now his RRS Autobio is out of warranty....... I hope it lives up to his expectations.

Times sure have changed, Alan. I remember, working for a BMW dealership, when all tools were Stahlwille, a mech getting sacked for using a shifter on a nut. I was gobsmacked. This was in 1978 or thereabouts.

I learned how to lap in gears, but I simply never had the patience. This showed me I was in the wrong job, but it took me years to see it.

I'm tipping your bro will love his Bentley, because they are amazing if he ordered the right one. It seems to me, however, that VW are trying to be all things to all ( rich ) men, and the mystique gets lost in the hype. I doubt W.O. would approve. Then again, Henry Royce wouldn't love BMW's efforts with his creation, but Charles Rolls would love it.

A chap who got a mention in another thread once sang "all things must pass". So it would seem.

[350RRC]

.................

A chap who got a mention in another thread once sang "all things must pass". So it would seem.

Dunno about that. I shaped surfboards (and did all the other parts of the process) for over 20 years by hand. Have recently been offered large sums to do more if the customer can video the process (i.e. no computer cutting, no profiling machine).

There not many around who can do this anymore. Seems like quite a few people value human skill.

Who would have thought that vinyl records would make a renaissance? The amount of musical information on one of those discs far exceeds the same recording digitalised, you just need an 'ear' and the right gear to play it.

cheers, DL

[Tins]

Dunno about that. I shaped surfboards (and did all the other parts of the process) for over 20 years by hand. Have recently been offered large sums to do more if the customer can video the process (i.e. no computer cutting, no profiling machine).

There not many around who can do this anymore. Seems like quite a few people value human skill.

Who would have thought that vinyl records would make a renaissance? The amount of musical information on one of those discs far exceeds the same recording digitalised, you just need an 'ear' and the right gear to play it.

cheers, DL

Fantastic! The line you quote, that I posted, is a line about the finality of things. If you can challenge that, or even stave it off, more power to you. Human skill is precious.

I think George's line will apply eventually even to you though. Make the most of it while you can would be my advice.

[350RRC]

Fantastic! The line you quote, that I posted, is a line about the finality of things. If you can challenge that, or even stave it off, more power to you. Human skill is precious.

I think George's line will apply eventually even to you though. Make the most of it while you can would be my advice.

I don't think it will. The world is a big place and there are people who have the interest and spare readies and want something special.

I've made some large timber gates (up to 4.5m span each) for wineries, etc that are all morticed and tenoned in a way that will see them last 100+ years with a bit of modern tech, glues etc. Didn't even get asked to quote for the last couple and they were cheaper than doing them in steel. I'm not greedy.

People will also pay big bucks for nice furniture that has drawers with proper dovetails. You can use a router to do part of this, but not the whole lot correctly.

cheers, DL