Season 4 Episode 26 | The Repair Shop (Full Episode)

[Music] in the repair shop today start the engine a miniature tractor is saved from being put out to pasture brilliant on you while Compass expert Barry tackles his oldest ever assignment you can see it is clean I wish I look that good after 100 [Music] years today's first hopeful visitors are Sandy and Steven Richards from Cornwall they've brought along a very fragile Keepsake for the attention of Ceramics expert Kishon Ramsey hello hello hi hi I'm Jay Hello nice to meet you I'm Sandy all right Sandy hi s so what have we got in the Box um it's my mom's plate um it has her photograph on it my father had this made for my mother many years ago right may I take it look yes this is your mom this is my mom Catherine Catherine known as Kathy but it's obviously been in the wars yes it has my mother and father they were immigrants from Ireland and they came over to London sto noon we lived in a street where there were many different nationalities and Mom became became quite the matriarch of the road what road in ston um it was Alan Road in ston I lived on lboro road did you so did I I lived on laundry Road number 49 32 man you were neighbors so we must have been Neighbors at some point was that that I would have been in stoon in the 80s ' 80s yeah seriously yes that's when I was there from the 70s up to the yeah' 70s to 80s those roads those people the best times I had yeah they were yeah and I remember that the elders as well so your mom would have been one of those they looked after everybody yes even if you weren't related whether he was different racing all that it was like that's me uncle there was a proper days they W they were weren't they yeah do you know where your dad bought this or when he bought it no idea no my father had it made for her it was a token of his love because he said she had the most beautiful face and high cheekbones and um as a child I only know it's as broken oh really but obviously has some sentimental value because you've kept it for quite a long time yes broken State as well yes she had a stroke and um she lost her sight and she couldn't walk and she couldn't feed herself so I spent a lot of time with her and I gave up my job and um I continued to care for mom um up until 5 weeks ago when she passed away oh so yeah so um and that's how I want to remember her and not the the person that she looked before she dies oh okay okay Sandy and Kathy had such a wonderful relationship they were like best friends wonderful The more I've looked at it the more I just feel I I would love to have that on the wall or on my shelf so I could look at it every day and remember her do you know who fixed this then cuz obviously it was broken and then someone's put it back together I don't think anyone would own up to it no one it's a shame it's you know the breaks go right through her face it looked like at some point the the lips have actually been sort of re retouched it might well have had some more color originally it's black and white but actually her hair was dark and her eyes were electric blue oh really so she was a very stunning lady she had really Irish blue eyes as they say yeah I mean she sounds like an amazing woman and um we will take great care of it cuz it's obviously incredibly precious I will do the best job that I can I'm not expecting Miracles really not yeah thank you for bringing in thank you thank you okay bye-bye I've spent many years just putting my finger across her face um and especially in the last few weeks I just feel really attached to it so just to be able to see the photograph just slightly clearer without that crack running all the way through would be amazing I think it's a real challenge but I'm really hopeful if anybody can fix it it's cash then she's from my NE of the wood I know that small world I know I know but this there's a lot of things wrong with this then really isn't there my initial concern is the photograph looking at the sort of damage that's on it already that's quite unstable I'm going to have to try and get that apart without damaging the print it's a small plate but there's a lot a lot involved actually have you done one of these before then no okay no um so it sounds like you've got your workout I have yeah yeah I'll make a start thank you this is actually it's kind of filling me with fear a little bit because it's actually going to be quite tricky so it's it's quite daunting because I have to take it apart to actually clean it I don't want to disturb or lose any of the the photographic image of of Kathy I think this is probably just plaster a little bit of animal glue but I think that these bits are just going to pick off I've also got all this sort of damage around here that someone tried to store I really don't know what this is almost like rubber see this just bends yeah that's just going to come away now there is going to be some trial and error but this holds so much emotion for Sandy I'm going to have to proceed quite [Music] carefully the next item through the doors is a little more robust Nicola Clore under her niece Emily a hoping mechanically minded David bville can help restore an heirloom that traveled the globe with Nicholas's father hello hello there hi I'm Steve hi I'm Nicola right what we got in the box right well this is a 70y old model of a Fergie Ferguson tractor that um my father used after the war the Box itself makes the tracks if you pull yes that's it oh yes yes it's not just a box it's not just a box no this was a Ferguson tractor and used for well we think as a demonstrator when my father first went over to uh Africa right he took this as a Salesman for Ferguson tractors to take out to Farmers to show them how these new new plows worked because at the time apparently these plows were revolutionary new plows right so this is the demonstrator yeah this isn't a toy at all no no it's definitely not a a toy so because obviously your father couldn't drive around with a tractor to demonstrate it so no we have got some photographs of um my father on a tractor on a Ferg um taking off uh an airplane he always talked about being the first person to take Fergie over to um Africa right my father would have only been 22 I mean the idea now doing something like that when you're only 22 my mom was a couple of years old she was 24 but to then go and live in the bush would have been absolutely amazing and I think they were going into the unknown for them to go out there I think was very very brave yeah well even nowadays at the age of 22 and 24 it would be so back then you can't really imagine what it was like for them it was quite an adventure really to have this something that he loved and something that he worked with on such an adventure you know we've all got an emotional attachment to this CU it it does take us back to and both our grandparents you know it's not just bill it's joy as well cuz they went on the adventure together it's really important to all of us yeah sure he was quite a larger than life character and this in many respects um is represents something that that he loves so much yes um that it's brought it's brought him to life as far as the the grandchildren are concerned because they did miss out not knowing that their grandfather so this gives that sort of connection so obviously the tractor is fairly well worn and um it seemed better days but what would you like us to do with it I think the the the main thing for us is to to see if the windup mechanism which it refers to in the Box as a label say windup tractor if you can get that wind up to work again and it to be red and shiny again and it would be good to put the seat back on a lovely little red seat bit uncomfortable that yeah yes yes so um what do you think then David I think we got to work cut out but I think it's um I think it's possible okay thank you very much for bringing this in delighted thank you to meet you take care it would be amazing to see it working that would be the Pinnacle for us but if they can't make it to actually move but just to see it in a a shiny state would be fantastic as well and what a legacy for my father and for for his his children and his grandchildren it's a beautifully beautifully made model but uh unfortunately over the years the uh the tractor itself looks as though it's been dropped this linkage is bent quite severely another main problem is this is the winding handle for the Clockwork mechanism um and it's in the position of the starting handle on the fulls size tractor so this is where you would have started the engine um what this does is this winds um a long coiled spring um which is effectively the drive shaft to the um rear axle the first process really is to start cleaning it it's um it's quite Rusty and um and then that will allow us to then start looking at the parts which are bent that need the major works I'm going to use a rotary wire brush to take off the remains of the old paint and um and then the [Music] rest [Music] having separated most of the old repairs on the cherished decorative plate kon's about to tackle the join that goes right across the middle I need to get this apart it's really unfortunate that the damage has actually been sustained through Kathy's face I'm going to proceed really really carefully because obviously there's so much sort of emotion tied up in this piece and I just don't want to do any sort of damage I'm going to try and take this apart but what I'm first of all going to do is see if I can just remove that excess adhesive with some acetone on a cotton wall swab I would expect for the old adhesive to actually start to soften if it was going to um react to the acetone it's still actually sounding quite brittle but I'll keep going I'm actually going to see if I can ease the ease the pieces apart this is actually quite exciting um the first stage um appears to be happening oh actually look at that goodness right before my eyes I have success so these other pieces here are actually going to be a bit more tricky because they are much tighter together [Music] I'm absolutely delighted that this is now in pieces and I can move on to the next stage um which is hopefully less time consuming just cleaning all the brake edges and getting it ready for bonding [Music] I think actually this has come up really beautifully so I'm actually quite looking forward to getting it back together and and starting to see um Kathy's face coming back so there's something slightly stopping that from going together so it might be that I've actually just missed a tiny bit of adhesive just going to have a close look so it seems really picity but there is something stopping that from going together beautifully there is no point just thinking that'll do I need to get that better it's amazing actually you think that you'd be able to see something with your eyes but actually your fingertips are so sensitive you put something together and you can almost feel that actually just isn't quite right which is why I don't like wearing gloves when I'm working because you just you need that that sensitivity with your fingertips I think I felt something actually just down here coming off right let's see if this goes together better now yeah it's fine that's good yeah I'm happy with that right ready to um get sticking so yeah this is really fiddly this is kind of almost hold your breath territory there we go it's a really nice feeling when you actually get all the pieces together and there's a kind of a locking feeling where everything aligns and suddenly there sort of very fragile sort of piece of ceramic suddenly regains its strength it becomes whole and it becomes strong and it's it's a really nice sensation and this will just slide down into the [Music] joins next to test the repair Shop's experts Steven M of werer he's brought a military instrument with a long and venerable history for the attention of Master saddlemaker Susy Fletcher and magnetic instrument expert Barry Phillips hello I'm Susan I'm Sten lovely to meet you Sten I'm Barrett nice to meet you Barett so what have you brought into the repair shop today I have bought my 1970 wildor one Army Compass originally issued to a gentleman called um Captain Catal of the royal field artillery okay um which has a few faults on it but is a thing of to me I think a great Beauty yeah so Stephen 1917 how did it come to you well this was given to me by a gentleman called well I only know him as Mr Mason I never found out his very's name but he was a captain in the Royal engineers in World War II and he taught me surveying in 1973 and we were talking about Hill walking and climbing and hiking and he came in the next day and he handed me this and he said well I'm on a bound to give this to somebody who interested in Hill walking because that was how he received it he was given it to Captain Catal which means in turn I'm on a bound to pass it on to somebody else I hate if a piece of equipment can still be function and it's got to use should be used can I have a look at it oh yes please thank you what do you actually want us to do to this well this it should it should stay up when you up bears right so you can take a sighting the car doesn't move so there's something wrong with the pivot and the je assembly um but again till we get inside we won't know what that is and then the biggie I suppose is the radium paint on the inside radium was used as the glow-in-the-dark element of watches and Compasses from the 1900s until the 60s doesn't glow anymore no but it is still potentially hazardous that like radiation yes it's not it's not huge no I mean that can be dealt with and then I suppose if suie could do something for this leather case I'd be most grateful cuz this strap used to be a lot longer it used to sort of go around like that and hang just at the waist yes it's beautiful absolutely beautiful unfortunately leather does suffer through time and use and um that's going to be a little bit tricky to save if you're going to be using it but I'll see what I can do so why now are you wanting this I suppose I've got to find somebody to pass it on to so before I can do that it's got to be it's got working anding safe and working so once that's happened then I can find somebody pass it on to and my job is done all right stepen well this is a a lovely challenge for us both challenge so yes that is the oldest I've ever seen that um so that is quite so so yeah that gives us something to work on brilliant thanks so much Stephen we'll be in touch thanks [Music] goodbye when I hold the composite it always reminds me of its long history um the fact that it's served in two World Wars It's a momento of those two Wars but it's it's a useful thing in its own right and it's such a beautiful piece of equipment it'd be really sad for it not to function anymore I think you've got the harder part to do um mine hopefully is going to be straight forward then again you never know do you never know the radium is going to be the first thing that's got to be done sealed so that we can stay near it and use it radium's luminous Green Glow comes from the small amount of radiation it naturally emits but sealing the radium with a coat of heavy lacquer makes it safe so that's something that you have to do fairly regularly you and your case well yeah it's um it it is a lovely lovely case I have to see what I'm able to do with this strap it's in a bit of a sorry state but um that's what we're here for is it so uh I guess we get it started shall we y good luck okay considering it's 100 years old it's in excellent condition the worry is there are two parts in the the compass which can stop it working the worst scenario is that one of them is broken but until I get that top bezel off I can't be totally sure to be honest to get the bezel off we use this it's a Broken haxa Blade we force the blade in and there is the ring exposing the card so the card will then lift out exposing the workings of the compass so I think the the best thing now is if I paint the dial to make it inert it's only background radiation but it would be safer to do that as the next [Music] operation [Music] David is also well on track with his restoration having cleaned up the demonstration model tractor he can attend to repairs beginning with the little seat it's just taken it's still got the original solder on it so um it was only a case of heating it up and just making sure that it's um sitting in the right place so now we've got the seat attached and the next thing which was missing was the starting handle on the front of the tractor now I've made a new starting handle so that fits that fits nicely into the original hole um but this needs just soldering on the starter handle attaches to a spring inside the tractor so when it's wound up it rotates the rear wheels Nicholas's father would have been turning the original handle and winding this tractor up to demonstrate it to the farmers out in in Africa it's quite a quite a nice feeling to beholding that and imagining how many how many tractors did this little model actually sell hopefully the family are going to um really appreciate that and um and that connection with it this starter mechanism isn't the only moving part of the tractor which needs David's attention so at some point the model has been dropped and um unfortunately it's bent some of the linkages which hold plow so what I'm going to do now is just very gently straighten out these linkages it's always a tense moment when you're bending something back of this age because it's difficult to actually see if if it's starting to fracture that will now sit nice and even both sides I'm happy with that [Music] now on the other side of the repair shop Kon is about to start reconstructing the decorative surround which is completely missing from one side of the plate what I'm going to do is to take a mold of this area here that's actually missing I'm going to use a modeling material it's um pretty versatile stuff you know it works beautifully so I am actually just kind of gently easing it into the Pierce section just to make make sure that I do pick up all the detail that I need yep that's gone off quite nicely and actually that's uh that's a really lovely impression that's been taken there kishton mixes an epoxy resin to fill the mold she has just made recreating the missing border so looking at this little dish there's a sort of bless to it so I'm going to be adding quite a few um pigments to try and color match that [Music] so I'm going to introduce it this is a really nice part actually now I've got the color actually sort of pressing it into the mold it's quite satisfying it's a really nice s of material to work with won't really know how this is until I actually remove the mold so fingers [Music] crossed [Music] this is the moment of truth I'm going to see if I can remove the mold now that looks okay actually it's really nice to see this ho again so I think it's going to be um quite a transformation for Sandy to actually see this piece replaced I mean she will never have seen that in her living memory I don't think so so um yeah really relieved and and quite [Music] happy meanwhile the restoration of a compass which has seen action in two world wars is continuing a pace while bar tries to work out why the compass mechanism is jammed Susie is starting work on The Leather Pouch I'm getting ready to make the strap and uh cut my two strips off when we cut leather it creates a very sharp edge the top and the sides that edge is very very sharp so I use what we call um an edge tool it creates a just a lovely little round to that edge it's a it's a process that um actually adds that Finishing Touch I surprised the compass open bar must now meticulously dismantle and examine every tiny component you've got a 100 Years of wear and there must be something in there that could stop we call it friction it's when the card doesn't return to a given site the card is the circular rotating section of the compass which Points North this often gets clogged with dust and grime so Barry needs to clean the tiny elements it's just a simple piece of bamboo and all you literally do is wind it down push it right down take it off when you look at the P you can see it is clean I wish I look that good after 100 years when Steven brought the compass in this bearing Wing which is the main part of this Compass was stuck the significance of this is that you set this to the bearing that you you want to walk and you know that you're not varying from that line so this is the most important part this has to work I don't think it's rotated for a long time I'm scraping the bezel which is brass just to make sure that there's no bur which could have been causing the degree ring not to [Music] move [Music] with the bearing ring now moving freely Barry can address the loose hinge and for that he needs a helping hand Steven I don't know if you can help me with this because it's lovely isn't it it is a very nice instrument that is a tapered pin yeah it's already beginning to to get loose yeah do you have a a stock pin that might be that size yeah I've got plenty of brass all right let's see if that does it that's it yeah that solved a big problem right thank you Steve no problem at all fantastic more metal magic as David's about to perk up the paintwork on the 70-year-old model tractor the gray color has gone on really nicely the wheel arches the seat and the Bonnet um are then going to be sprayed red it now looks the part but how does it plow time for a test drive so D got it s yeah we're getting there we're getting there they coming I know yeah yes tight schedule mate tight schedule is it working it is working yeah and it does actually plow but we need something to put in this trough well like Earth and stuff well yeah but it's going to be messy so I don't I don't think we can use got sers there we go oh fantastic saving that for a rainy day oh that's great yeah it won't be dirty we're just going to put some of that in there yeah that's is it really going to plow though yeah yeah yeah that's what it was designed to do all right all right let's see it there can I have a look at this look at that start the engine doesn't that look great that does great fun great fun I would want to buy a tractor when I saw something through that I would want to buy one yeah brilliant well done you all right well what we got to do we can't keep playing around with this let's just get this all cleaned up and then we'll cover it over yeah looking forward to seeing her father's beloved model Fergie is Nicola and this time she's brought along her brother Bill who also remembers the tractor from his childhood our expectations are that hopefully it's working um that would that would be great the tractor is part of my dad and my dad's been gone for 30 years so it's like bringing back as well a little bit so I'm excited about that hello hey there very well indeed thank you hello there and you are Bill all right bill so can you remember what it looked like when you brought it in oh very much so yes it was in a poor state of repair yeah but we've never well I've never seen it working my sister my other sister remembers it being shiny but right we have I don't have any recollection of it have a working of seeing it work so well what we'll do we'll um let you see it okay and then see if we've got it see if you like it okay ready [Music] yeah I didn't do I didn't do anything smartened it up a little bit oh yes yeah yeah so you want to see it work does it well the question is does it work well when you wind him out you've got to lift the back wheels off the off the track and then basically you just let it go so 3 2 1 there look at that that's quality in it it's just fantastic all your Christmases in one I'm sure you when your dad was given that from the you know the company he must have had fun with it he must I'm sure it would have been yeah they don't give you things like that to work with anymore so you think your dad would recognize oh gosh he would be over the moon with that he would be absolutely over the moon yeah we've certainly had a lot of fun with it you know it's it's been a great project up and they can be off off plowing yeah all right fantastic it's a bit of Legacy for the grandchildren that is a story that not many people can say that my granddad took tractors into Africa 70 years ago their story is is such a historical one that our children will be able to take forward as [Music] well also working to preserve family memories Kon has been been entrusted with the sensitive task of repairing a plate bearing the portrait of a beloved mother I'm just about to embark on the the most tricky part of this restoration this is the photograph of s's mom Kathy the final part really is just to actually touch in the little bits that have been missing this is a a a much loved mother um to Sandy and and um you know obviously it's a face that she's really really familiar with and you know you kind of just sort of stipple it in but you get like a little bit too dark or a little bit too light and all of a sudden the kind of face looks quite creepy or Sinister and it it's not going to look like the loved one that um Sandy is going to remember it's it's also very a recent loss so I'm quite I'm quite quite scared to actually do this and get it wrong so I'm just going to I'm going to make a suggestion of what should be there and I'm hoping that that will be [Music] [Music] right you have got an area of Shadow actually under the chin if I go to to actually put that detail in it's going to look like a beard so um I'm I'm going to leave that well alone and I'm just going to really go for the detail around the eyes so here when owner Sandy brought this cherished plate in it was ridden with cracks and bodged repairs and the portrait of Kathy was faded and worn now after hours of meticulous work it's been given a new lease of life and Sandy and her husband Steven have arrived to see kon's restoration for themselves the last couple of years have been very difficult it's painful to watch your mom deteriorate it was a very painful time for me but she would want me to keep going and the plate reminds me that I need to keep going good to see you again you're all right yeah hi come on over hello lovely to see you and you too been excited all day so um yeah we're here we're ready fantastic all right oh I don't believe that goodness how have you managed to do that why oh that that so much work I'm just so grateful thank you so much it's it's it's such a tribute to my mom and dad that's amazing wow see it like this my mom and dad will be smiling down on you oh thank you that's than you it's amazing I'm so grateful I will cherish this for forever that's how my mom used to look so that's what I wanted to hear cuz only you could tell us what Mom would look like yeah it would help me get what she looked like when she was passing away yeah thank you it's beautiful really far away want to give you a hug thank you k for every so welcome soome absolutely amazing thank you bless you feel very nervous about even touching I'm just thinking I'm just thinking that it's more than I expected her PL and her face are just beautiful and um I can cherish this forever it's all yours thank thank you so much bless you you take care thank you bye bye it will be on display in our home forever [Music] more [Music] morning you all right y bright and early and Susie is eager to get going on The Leather Pouch for the compass handed down through two generations of soldiers this is a little bit of a tricky job I've got to do on Steven's Compass case this stitching on this this strap that closes the case together has has gone needs to be replaced problem is I can't get my fingers inside the case to pull the needles through I came up with an old old method I used to use on uh forse harness and I think it's going to work so I've got my thread waxed in I've got one needle on it and I've got some very very fine fishing line here I created a loop now I'm going to push it through that hole with my thread that doesn't have the needle on I'm going to start pulling that nylon thread now I can remove that fishing line pull this all the way through so that's creating a locking Stitch so now I just need to go ahead and repeat that process 12 times Susie's got some work to do but her collaborator Barry is almost done with his half of the assignment when he brought the compass in the card wasn't moving I think it was probably something to do with dirt on the pivot or the sapphire that's been done I'm going to put the card back in and you'll see that it's swinging absolutely freely that is that is very good I'm very happy with the way it's gone we've done the radium that is now totally inert I think he'll be very happy with what we've done owner Steven was given this charming little piece of military history by an old colleague and he's returned to the repair shop to collect it Compass is important to me first a number of reasons I suppose it's the representation of History it's gone through two world wars so I'm hoping it will last another 101 years you know I just have this sort of a great idea of you know passing down time and I just like to imagine who will be using it next Steven great pleas to see you again how we doing very well thank you right so I guess you want to see what's underneath the blanket oh yes please the excitement build [Music] I'm lovely look at that that is beautiful no that is that is lovely thank you it's an old friend this one a very old friend wow that beautiful so when's the last time you had that work in it's probably it's probably about 10 15 years this has got so Tatty and falling un this is wonderful by the way yes yes Susie done that yeah thank you Susie that is a lovely job I'm very impressed it's hard to tell which were the original I know I know just a new let's see if it's long enough here we go then you got the Hat as well a it oh yeah you got to have the Hat brilliant all right okay thanks you take St now been United right Compass I'm really happy it's they've done a wonderful job uh it's you know it looks as almost as new I'm going to treasure it for as long as it's in my possession and then pass it on to somebody else who needs a good [Music] compass

Channel: The Repair Shop

Views: 85,825

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Id: bLP2xE1_ojY

Length: 41min 41sec (2501 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 23 2023