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J Stead & Co.


RichardB

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Manor Works, Sheffield.

Makers of Songster needles.

If these were made of steel how come they all say "use once" i.e. play one side of a 78 then change the needle ?

More history/images required please.

Graces Guide

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J Stead & Co. wire manufacturers, hackle and gill pin manufacturers, Manor Works, Cricket Inn Road, Park (1919 and 1925)

Manor Works, Sheffield.

Makers of Songster needles.

If these were made of steel how come they all say "use once" i.e. play one side of a 78 then change the needle ?

More history/images required please.

Graces Guide

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John Arthur Stead, Director J Stead & Co, home Barnfield House, Hathersage (1925)

Manor Works, Sheffield.

Makers of Songster needles.

If these were made of steel how come they all say "use once" i.e. play one side of a 78 then change the needle ?

More history/images required please.

Graces Guide

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Songster Superb microphone 1930's ? here by Stead

Manor Works, Sheffield.

Makers of Songster needles.

If these were made of steel how come they all say "use once" i.e. play one side of a 78 then change the needle ?

More history/images required please.

Graces Guide

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Sheffield, world famous for its steel products, produced the Gilbert, Geisha, Ariel and Songster tins.

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Manor Works, Sheffield. Makers of Songster needles. If these were made of steel how come they all say "use once" i.e. play one side of a 78 then change the needle ? More history/images required please. Graces Guide
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NZ

Manor Works, Sheffield.

Makers of Songster needles.

If these were made of steel how come they all say "use once" i.e. play one side of a 78 then change the needle ?

More history/images required please.

Graces Guide

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If these were made of steel how come they all say "use once" i.e. play one side of a 78 then change the needle ?

The wear on the needle is constant and concentrated on the accurately made fine tip.

The wear on the record is spread out over many metres of groove wall.

While playing a 5 minute record, the needle tip gets 5 minutes of abrasive wear while each piece of the groove is "worn" only instantly as it passes beneath the needle tip.

The rate of wear depends on hardness (not strength) of the materials, assuming they are both "smooth" (ie, not cutting surfaces like a file). Steel is actually quite "soft" as hardness makes it brittle. Shellac, used for 78rpm records which were played with steel needles, is actually quite hard which is why the records were so brittle and easily broken. If the record surface is harder than the needle then the needle will take a proportionately higher amount of the wear.

With vinyl records (a soft material, not brittle, but easily damaged by scratching instead) played with a diamond stylus (the hardest natural substance) this situation is reversed putting more wear onto the record surface, - however it would take a lot of plays to put a significant amount of wear onto any needle sized portion of the groove due to the very small time the needle remains in contact with it, the wear is not concentrated at a point but spread across the entire record surface. Wear was further reduced on these records by using very low stylus pressures, something that was not always done with 78's, especially with mechanical gramophones were the weight of the horn often beared down on the needle.

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On 20/02/2012 at 18:22, RichardB said:

J Stead & Co. wire manufacturers, hackle and gill pin manufacturers, Manor Works, Cricket Inn Road, Park (1919 and 1925)

There is currently an invoice for this firm on Ebay dated 1931  - EDIT Just noticed that the date has been changed to 1931, possibly from 1921.    -----------       https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/352533107027?ul_noapp=true

1931_invoice_j_stead_and_co_manor_works.jpg

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On 11/12/2018 at 20:02, RLongden said:

As a buyer for my company in the 80’s, I used to purchase from Steadfast Tools, who used to specialise in screwdrivers, many of which we had own-branded....

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/J._Stead_and_Co

i never realised their origins and I think they were eventually swallowed up by Neill Tools?

J Stead and Co became part of the Balfour Darwin Group in 1961! The Plumbing firm I worked for carried out the plumbing maintenance for the group and during the long cold winter of 1963 i think I worked at most of the group's premises.

The Sheffield Forge and Rolling Mill at Millsands and a Wire Mill at Kellam Island.

Andrews Toledo on Neepsend Lane.

Wardsend Works on Penistone Road and a Stockyard on Livesey Street.

A Forge and Rolling Mill at Beeley Wood and the Fitzwilliam Works on Sheffield Road, Tinsley.

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On 11/12/2018 at 19:04, boginspro said:

There is currently an invoice for this firm on Ebay dated 1931  - EDIT Just noticed that the date has been changed to 1931, possibly from 1921.    -----------       https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/352533107027?ul_noapp=true

1931_invoice_j_stead_and_co_manor_works.jpg

Obviously pre-Tippex days, as the poor lass in the typing pool couldn’t spell ‘Thornton Road’ correctly either?

Nice to see list and chain discount pricing. With over 30 years in purchasing of industrial supplies, it was always slightly baffling that we would buy say nuts and bolts at list -25% -10% -73% and in pre-computer days, working out a stock order of 100+ lines was a pain in the backside! lol

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On 20/02/2012 at 18:13, RichardB said:

More history/images required please.

Songster Box " The Loudest Needles Ever Made "

songster_needles.jpg

songster_needle_box.jpg

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On 13/02/2019 at 23:17, southside said:

J Stead and Co became part of the Balfour Darwin Group in 1961! The Plumbing firm I worked for carried out the plumbing maintenance for the group and during the long cold winter of 1963 i think I worked at most of the group's premises.

The Sheffield Forge and Rolling Mill at Millsands and a Wire Mill at Kellam Island.

Andrews Toledo on Neepsend Lane.

Wardsend Works on Penistone Road and a Stockyard on Livesey Street.

A Forge and Rolling Mill at Beeley Wood and the Fitzwilliam Works on Sheffield Road, Tinsley.

I am assisting solicitors to investigate how a gentleman diagnosed with an asbestos disease was exposed to asbestos during his working life.

He worked at 

Sheffield Rolling Mills Ltd 1969/70 to 1972/73

and

Andrews Toledo Ltd.1966/67 and 1968/69

Can anybody assist with any information please as to asbestos in these workplaces.

Thank you

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