final assembly George Baker would pick up completed engine with number stamped by engine assembly foreman and do the final fit of mag cowl and propstands place on to a bench where two guys would then assemble the bike to the spec of a sheet of paper from the cycle assembly foreman ( Ted Hampshire) no exhaust , speedo or batterys on assembly these where done by the despatch dept. after road test when done forman would then stamp frame numbers on UFM and RFM then the checker (Eddie Cox )would go over all nut and bolts to check and with small brush and black touch up paint go over bike the bike was then handed over to the road test section foreman ( Jim Sugg ) each tester had his slave exhaust speedo and battery fill with oil and petrol and start by kick start there were no rolling roads all minor jobs were done by testers even down to replacing pistons if they nipped up after fity mile road test bike signed off by Jim Sugg and handed over to despatch about one in ten bikes were given extened road tests a further hundred miles.
vincent factory
- Thread starter david bowen
- Start date
Vincent factory techniques
Mildly amusing that after a long discussion on jtan about Vincent paint, concluding that they were dipped, MPH this month confirms from the works manager that most parts were indeed dipped, including tanks.
I believe that this was true of most motorcycles until the introduction of (cheap, quick-drying) cellulose paint, which was sprayed. This is just speculation on my part, and I'd be interested to read the speculation of others, and even more interested if someone actually knows.
I confess I was a bit disappointed, imagining hours of painstaking work with 1,000,000 grit wet and dry. Nope. Dunk it, drip it, bake it, line it and put the transfers on! And I know that while I might occasionally be allowed to use "her" oven to fit bearings, filling "her" bath (I'm a shower man) with Pinchin and Johnson's finest to dip a tank is probably a no-no. Even if I avoided dripping black paint on the bathroom carpet.
Tom
Mildly amusing that after a long discussion on jtan about Vincent paint, concluding that they were dipped, MPH this month confirms from the works manager that most parts were indeed dipped, including tanks.
I believe that this was true of most motorcycles until the introduction of (cheap, quick-drying) cellulose paint, which was sprayed. This is just speculation on my part, and I'd be interested to read the speculation of others, and even more interested if someone actually knows.
I confess I was a bit disappointed, imagining hours of painstaking work with 1,000,000 grit wet and dry. Nope. Dunk it, drip it, bake it, line it and put the transfers on! And I know that while I might occasionally be allowed to use "her" oven to fit bearings, filling "her" bath (I'm a shower man) with Pinchin and Johnson's finest to dip a tank is probably a no-no. Even if I avoided dripping black paint on the bathroom carpet.
Tom
Marston Sunbeams used the dip technique
http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/GeorgePeck/EnamellingDept.htm
Have a read of this link out of interest..John
http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/GeorgePeck/EnamellingDept.htm
Have a read of this link out of interest..John
That URL does not work (any more...). Try this, I think it's the one you meant:
http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/GeorgePeck/EnamellingDept.htm
It just shows how effective and relatively simple the original technique was, and yet in this day and age we wouldn't think to go to that kind of trouble to paint our bikes. Well non of us are mass producing them are we.....? The finish we achieve on modern restorations would be far in excess of the original, over restored if you like. Sadly some of the products used then are so hard to find now.....Such as cadmium plating.....If you can find someone to do it, will they do a good job, not lose anything, or damage anything. I find the paint side of resto's not a big issue so long as you have someone to do a good enough job. It's the hardware that is the biggest headache, as most these days are either zinc plated or stainless. Thanks very much for the factory info David, It is always very interesting and much appreciated. Cheers for now........Greg.