Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[phatomch]

A brief extract from my mam and dad's book "A Wandring of Gypsies"

i would love to read this tom but amozan is out of stock, gonna order it up

[The_duke]

A brief extract from my mam and dad's book "A Wandring of Gypsies"

i would love to read this tom but amozan is out of stock, gonna order it up

Waterstones would seem to have it

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=4499484

[boldie]

Sigh, now that I finally have the books Red starts posting the contents on the forum....FML

[tikay]

With an afternoon to kill in Luton, a challenging assignment one might think, before tonight's 6pm Tourney re-start, Tom & I went wandering this afternoon.

Ding had suggested to me a week or two back that there was a Musuem of sorts in Luton, so we went looking for it, & discovered a quite beautiful little haven of all things old at a place called Stockwood Discovery Centre, less than a mile from Luton Town Centre.

We saw Gypsy caravans, old cars, penny-farthing bicycles, dray's, biers, this, that & the other.

And then suddenly, hung on a wall, we saw this. I think it's fair to say Tom was almost welling up when he saw it. So thank to Ding for the "tip", & I'll let Tom tell you what it is. (Yes, yes, we can all see it's a bicycle....).

[RED-DOG]

It's a grinding bike, and the sight of it filled me with nostalgia. My dad reads this thread, and he saw that pic and decided there and then that he would make one. I hope he does, because I know it will become a family heirloom.


My dad, writing about his father (my grandad)  explains it better than I can, so below, in his words, is a brief description of a grinding bike.




"Dad would be off on his grinding 'bike for a day sharpening. His 'bike would have a grindstone clamped to the frame in a bracket. Wired into the back wheel would be a rim made from a large pram wheel with the spokes removed. This rim took a belt to drive the stone. Jinney Band, a kind of cord, usually procurable from ironmongers’ shops, was used for the belt. Should Jinney Band not be available, builder's line would do.

To complete the contraption, a stand was fitted to raise the back wheel from the ground and keep the 'bike upright when in grinding mode. Grinding finished, it was only necessary to slip the belt off, push the 'bike off its stand and it was ready to ride as an ordinary 'bike, the stand now forming a carrier.

Dad was very good at his job and had regular customers in many areas. He would sharpen not only knives and scissors, but garden shears and lawnmowers too. I accompanied him often and learned a trade that has stood me in good stead on many occasions."

[Rod Paradise]

I don't know why, but I'd a vision in my head of a large stone wheel - a couple of feet across - of course that wouldn't be practical but having seen a hand turned grinding wheel once that's what I was expecting.

[Karabiner]

I don't know why, but I'd a vision in my head of a large stone wheel - a couple of feet across - of course that wouldn't be practical but having seen a hand turned grinding wheel once that's what I was expecting.

You must have sturdy bikes up your way Rod.

[tikay]

I don't know why, but I'd a vision in my head of a large stone wheel - a couple of feet across - of course that wouldn't be practical but having seen a hand turned grinding wheel once that's what I was expecting.

You must have sturdy bikes up your way Rod.

Lol!

Them Scots are all muscle, it's the porridge. Brains are on order.

[Rod Paradise]

I don't know why, but I'd a vision in my head of a large stone wheel - a couple of feet across - of course that wouldn't be practical but having seen a hand turned grinding wheel once that's what I was expecting.

You must have sturdy bikes up your way Rod.

Lol!

Them Scots are all muscle, it's the porridge. Brains are on order.

Oi!! Watch it - I'd have you up in front of the Racial Equality Council if it wasn't too much of a compliment to you southern folks

Hadn't given it too much thought - but having only seen & used one grinding wheel I had that kind of thing in mind.

[kinboshi]

You'd need Chris Hoy to peddle the bloody thing!  No wonder his thighs are so big if he trains with one of them.

[redsdad]

tikay's picture of the grinding bike brought back a number of memories and has inspired me to get on with a project I've long promised myself I would do one day. Thanks tikay

Mrs R and I spend much of the summer-or what passes as summer now-a-days-,tootling round the canal system in our thirty year old CaraCruiser. But during the winter months I like to find something to keep my from spending too much time sitting in front of this laptop or watching TV.

In the passed I've built an aviary or some bird breeding cages, and on occasion I've spent the winter tidying up an old boat or caravan. Anything to get me outside and doing something. The little boat I have at the moment is in good nick and I've done what needs to be done to get it through the BSS (boat safety scheme) and so was at a loose end..

Making a grinding bike will be an ideal project for me. I'll have to get abot a bit, visit car boot sales and such to track down the right bike and the old prom wheel that I'll need. This I think will be the hardest part. The bike I would like to find would be an old sit-up-and -beg with 26" wheels and rod brakes. The pram wheel needs to be from an old pram-the ones that had fairly big wheels. I've found a picture of one but weather or not I can post it here remains to0 be seen.

I've never made one of these contraptions but have seen many made and have used my dad's on countless occasions. It would be easier if I were to use some of the modern bits and pieces available today but I want to do it the way it was done when I was a boy. Using the things that were about at the time. We'll see how it goes.

I'll post a blow by blow accont on here with pictures when I learm how.


If I've done it right there shoukd be a picturer of the type of pram wheel I want. Fingers crossed
Tom

[Laxie]

You nearly had it.  Here ya go:

[Laxie]

Except that Rod fixed for you while I was posting.   

I own an old pram, but I'm not sure if the wheels are as big as these ones seem in your picture.  There's no rubber on them, just basic round metal wheels from what I can remember.  It's up in the attic at the minute, but if you think it might have a part you can use, let me know and we'll dig it out.

[Karabiner]

Hi Red's Dad, this is excellent news.

Having read, devoured even, both of your books which I found fascinating I am really looking forward to this next episode.

[redsdad]

Thanks folks for sorting the pictures--What did I do wrong?

Laxie. Thanks for the offer. Would it be possible for you to measure the wheels diameter? Did it originaly have rubber tyres? I supose it must have. Anyhow is there a groove to take the belt? Thats what matters.

Thanks again
Tom