Even I wouldn't have dug out that close ...and they're supposed to be builders. :C
Going right back to apprenticeship , the electrician & I made up a foot switch at the bench for the tool setters to inch down the 1000 ton press while having hands free . We'd wired in a socket to duplicate the inching facility . The sparks sent me to the press shop to try it saying " Ask the setter before you do anything " I was about 16 then .
Setter was working on the next press , further up were all the big wigs , Directors etc discussing something or other ...... I asked the setter if I could plug in the foot switch and try it , the safety doors would be open for inching .......he said yes bring it over to make sure it did a full cycle .
Just to explain , this particular press pressed out motor bike telescopic forks , cold , from a billet .... inside the die an ejector follows the press ...down then follows up to eject the finished fork . The setter hadn't adjusted the ejector rod , so it went down , the press tool entered the empty die , returned up ....the ejector dropped to one side underneath , and burst the die off the press bed as the directors approached .
Fair play , the setter immediately said I'd asked & he'd given the OK to run the press . There was a right bull & cow over it but thankfully not my fault .
Photos of the actual presses are below , the place was used for a film apparently , years later , I found it on the web. They also pressed out , by cold extrusion , the steel casings for starter motors & generators ( Lucas for the Longbridge car plant )
