T.T. RH18 RIVETING MACHINE

We think you will find this riveting!

This is as T.T. RH18 cast iron pedestal spin riveting machine manufactured by TMT Turner Machine Tools Ltd Birmingham.
These machines were used both pre and post-war by toy manufacturing companies like Dinky, Corgi and of course Budgie, for assembling their products.
This is one of our two machines that we still use during the manufacturing process, which has recently been meticulously restored to its original condition by master craftsman Clive Brooks. It still uses its original leather belt, drives, and flexible wooden elves, with the only modern concession being a new single phase motor!

[barryprice]

I worked for Turner Machine Tools from when I left school until I retired. I remember the RH18 machines and their larger versions, RH14, RH38 and RH34. The numbers represented the capacity, in fractional inches, of the machine. These machines were rivet hammering machines. They were phased out in the late 1960's as they were very noisy and created a great deal of vibration. The machine shown in the video would have been one of the last produced, (or reconditioned), as the red paint was not used until much later. I remember seeing one of the last RH34 machines on test. It was not bolted down and it 'walked' down the assembly shop as it was tested! Incidentally the wooden 'elve' referred to was actually a 'Helve'. This was made from American Hickory. This wood was very difficult to obtain and many alternatives were tried, without success. We often cut down helves from larger machines, which were not in such demand, to make helves as spares for the smaller machines. At the same time, Turners also manufactured Spin Rivetting Machines. Both of these types were later superseded in the 1970's by a range of machines known as 'Radial Rivetting' machines, although these could be more accurately be described as 'Orbital Rivetting' machines. In later years, Turner Machine Tools designed and manufactured 'one off' special purpose, semi automatic assembly machines for many industries. I joined Turners as a trainee Draughtsman in 1965 and left as a Director and Company Secretary in 2009.