Can The Repair Shop Experts Use A Ranalah? 

Repair shop crowd look like thoroughly good folk!

Amazing! I work for National Express bus group in the West Midlands . I’ve worked with the company since the early eighties when it was WMPTE when we had our own works and preformed midlife overhauls of our vehicles. The West Bromwich garage has what has survived of the sheet metalwork dept, with an English wheel . Three of my colleagues who have worked there since nearly corporation days are some of the most talented, skilled men I have known and I am sorry it is a dying trade, and a skill that will be lost in time if it wasn’t for people like yourselves keeping it alive! When I began work I helped complete a re-bodied Triumph TR2 all in aluminium made by the Bodywork apprentices. Myself being a fitter helped with mechanics , but I was always gob-smacked by the hands on and tactile skill of the “sheeties” Love the channel and love the repair shop

The BBC could do a lot worse than make a documentary about the history of wheeling machines and Doms resurrection of the Ranula.

Oh my god, I’ve never needed anything more in my life that a mini-Ranalah! Can’t wait.

"We've nailed it. Look at that". Sums-up the situation perfectly. And now a mini-Ranalah; you could use it to make new panels for your Dinky toys!

These videos will be a testament to the quality of the final product, no one can say they aren't the best they could possibly be! I'll definitely be buying a mini Ranalah when they are available!

Loved the Ranalettes - such a cool little keepsake. Nice to see the van was a simple fix too!

Hi Dom, great video. Ooh, desktop Ranalah 🤔, I feel a set of spoons coming on 😊!

What fun! The apprentice becomes the master! You can really tell the quality of someone by how well they can take on the role of student when they are used to being the ultimate resource and the humility and good humor of these two gents who are new to wheeling have my total respect. What a joy it must be to work with these two! Two guys I'd really like to buy a pint. Also, I find it a comfort that there are people like yourself who insist that some critical aspect of a creation be perfect. Not just close, Perfect. That kind of passion and dedication is all too rare and is really wonderful to see. You can be sure that these new Ranalahs will not only be treasured by their new owners but by owners for generations to come and all because of your attitude about doing it right and the quality and value it will impart. Thanks for taking us all along on this journey, Dominic. My absolute favorite channel!

that was very enjoyable. just guys in a shed learning and laughing

hello my you guys are great i amm 76 years old was mechnic all my life i watch your video,as maney as i can

Love the mini Ranalah, I was hoping you would create something like this to sell. Nice work Dom, I am in awe of your progress with this project and look forward to the updates.

Gutted for you at the start Dom when you said you were still having problems with the lower wheels but delighted for you when you said you had it sorted (🤞🤞🤞) good news on the camper. Sunday is not Sunday without your videos. Keep it going mate 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Saw your video of dismantling the huge Ranalah in the old motor cycle workshop. Now this. It's great to see people still working with their hands and keeping old skills and machinery alive and working. At my last job before I retired we had equipment that was older than I am. Machines with bakelite switches and massive electric motors. I took a lot. of pride in keeping them going. In a lot of cases with a bit of skill they could produce results better and quicker than more modern machines.

Dom love your work great to see you sharing and teaching the Ranalah.

Dom. Your enthusiasm is so contagious, it jumps out of the monitor at me. It's an absolute delight to watch. your chanel is so natural. Best of luck matey from down under.

Love one of the miniatures - looks great! If it all works.... and I can afford it Dom!

Glad you're nearly sorted out with the lower wheels. Really loving the baby Ranalahs - still couldn't use one, but I might buy one just to add a bit to the project pot. We've all been enjoying the content that you put our way. Keep it up Dom & friends. ; - )

I would just love have an audiobook spoken by Pete.. any book, no specific one. My god, what a voice!!

G’day mate. If you want to fix that pitting on the wheels you could spray weld it and skim it on the lathe. All the best 👍🇦🇺

Great news on your 3 wheels!

Thank you for another great video Dom. Love the mini Ranalah. I wouldn't worry about adding little wheels, looks great as is. You've got enough on

Would look nice as book ends.

Brilliant video again, Dom! Those mini Ranalahs are great - and would be fab for craftspeople who make jewellery and other small metal pieces. I'm sure loads of creative people would love one.

Great vid Dom. Good to see you so happy on so many fronts. Will be good to see your 'Ranchineas' and if they really work ....

Great idea with the mini Ranalah, so pleased to see you final get to the finish line with the design and build, what a great achievement.

Lovely to see that the lower wheels are being honed to perfection - and Repair Shop folk trying their hand at something new. And then the mini-Ranalahs! Wondering if the mini-Ranalahs would work on card or maybe foil for some different craft work...

Well done Dom, you have done well to persist with the bottom wheels to get them perfect, you must be chuffed!

It's all becoming very real. You've all done fantastic work bringing them back to life. I love the idea of the small version's, they'll become collecters items with luck. Big well done to you all and have a great week.

Thanks Dom (and Pete) - I wanted to see it in 'learning mode'. This is it. (I'll wait for the full tutorial when you have all three lower wheels! Please. )

Great to see you teach the master a new skill,

Working Ranalah's and VW's. Pure Joy!

Wonderful video!!! Congrats on the tiny Ranalahs too,

That panel was beautifully smooth

So good to see the advancement you have made with the Ranalah & wheel set up. It was good to see the others using it at the repair shop & also good to see the VW start. Roll on next weeks show. Take care.

Salesman samples are rather collectable this is a great one !

So pleased and hope that these are the ones and you can start selling not only the Ranalah, but can sell sets of wheels to people worldwide! Proof hard work pays off!

Well done Dom it’s been a long journey but definitely a great success, congratulations. Kind regards, Richard.

What a fantastic video this week and a great laugh. Looking forward to the next one

Hi Dom, I get just as excited as you, glad things are coming together, can't wait fantastic. All the best Brian 😃

Wow, if Luchia is coming to help, you must have a painting master work in mind or some outrageous painting scheme! I hope both 😁

You need to get all the experts on there, am sure the ladies would have cracked it earlier. Glad the wheels are finally ready, a bit of an expensive nightmare but worth it especially for the reputation of the wheel. Looking forward to seeing a finished Ranalah stands. Might have to do some serious grovelling to the Mrs's.

Hi Dom,sell the castings so model engineers can make there own.I did own a ranalah so it would be nice to have a keepsake. Good to see your passion for them

Great video Dom, glad you got the lower wheels sorted and hopefully Geoff will approve them as good enough, loving the mini Ranalaghs what a great idea, hopefully they'll sell well be great to see how much they'll retail for after expenses

Thanks, Dom.

Wonderful as usual, Dom!

Great videos Dom, loving them.

Another excellent video. Can't wait for the next one.

Another super video Dom. Great idea taking a Ranalah down to the Repair Shop, and what fun see the other "Experts" at the Repair Shop having a go. Looking at your latest delivery of two more wheeling machines, an idea, may I have the overall dimensions of one of your Ranalahs please. Height and width at the widest part, plus weight (roughly) if possible. I am thinking with a little research you can offer this information to customers. Then if they order one and have their own van you will be able to tell them if it will fit inside. Saving a fortune on delivery charges. Just an idea.

I can see you doing courses down the road to teach people how to use those machines. Key rings, badges, T-shirts will be in the online store soon lok

Fantastic video as always Dom great to see the Ranalah project coming along nicely wow the mini Ranalah look's brilliant well done. In my mind's eye I can see how useful they would be to the salesman of the day the guys down at the repair shop made me laugh, great show great guys keep up the great work ♥️👍👍👍

When you first had issues with the bottom wheels, I was going to suggest getting a toolpost grinder for your lathe to iterate with. I didn't get around to posting, sorry. Refurbishing pitted top wheels like the one at Repair Shop should be easy and cost effective with a toolpost grinder. For the loose Babbitt on that Ranalah, a couple or gentle taps with a suitable drift, probably a hollow drift (with shaft installed) should tighten it up until you want to re-cast the Babbitt. Toolmakers rap punch and die sets that way as part of the resharpening process, prior to grinding and shearing in. Cheers

Thought I spotted your Ranalah in the background of the Repair Shop the other day when David was repairing the barrel organ. Turns out I did! 😆 I think you might sell more mini-Ranalah's than full size ones.

Speaking of the mini rannulah’s. There was a repair shop episode where a ladies dad was a tractor salesman and went to Africa with a miniature working model of one with a plough attached.

Zen and the art of ranalah usage

Amazing progress dom .loved the Pete and David section .the desk top Ranalah has a built in bottle top remover .how clever 😀🤣

Love it

Dom. In the last Just Jane video filmed by Neville Wheldon they used a mini English wheel on a pannel they were making in the Lancaster rebuild. So they are used in an Industrial context

100% up for pre ordering a miniature 👍

LOVE THE MINI WHEELING MACHINES

More great content Dom. Not sure if anyone's left the cc on RU-vid put they clearly need to learn more about Ranalah. The system has called it; Iran alert Rattle a Runners Ramblers.....and so on 😂

The problem is that your using CNC to make them, which thinks in steps, making for small ridges in the profile. Using a ball tool on a lathe to profile them would result in a near perfect curve. Then after hardening them, use some sort of lathe/surface grinder(I'm sure such a thing existed historically, prehaps just by mounting the lower wheel on bearings on the surface grinder, and allowing it to spin freely as the surface is ground) to smooth and prefect the surface of the wheels. That is the stage that you'd be best to add any flat to the wheel.

Congratulations!

I've been thinking how badly I want a Ranalah, but have absolutely no need for one. Now I can have one!

Hi. Great vid. Mini machines! Great idea.

Pouring the Babbitt for the mini-Ranalah should be entertaining!

Dom you could start your own line of tools. The Ranalah line of tool and also could make a arbor press.As my cousin always says “ love it while you got it “ . God Speed !

Would love a mini Ranalah to go with my full size Kendrick, please keep us informed on their progress

Loved your latest You Tube video Dom, Contrary to the saying- you can't teach an old dog new tricks (Sorry Pete 🤣) great to see you all having fun with the Ranalah 👌😊

@Dominic Chinea fabulous, the most telling shot of any was the reflective one at 15.55 because yyou can see the edge reflection and the transition between the worked and unworked reflective surfaces as well as how smooth the poliching action is. Fantastic work Dom. Now as a possible future product @MN543MN mentions a mini ranalah, well how about a bench top or vice mounted version. maybe using the same lower wheels with a different top wheel ....if that would work.

Thought I saw a Ranalah lurking in the background at the Repair Shop!

New subscriber here, I'm so impressed with the Ranalah project you're working on. Your commitment and enthusiasm is truly appreciated!! I'm doing some research now if I can enter ab English wheeling course somewhere in the Netherlands😉

I think Pete's converted,another great video Dom always interesting 😎

They look wheelie brilliant.

Love the idea of the mini one 😁 can't wait to see what they will cost but suspect I'm really going need one 😁

I’d love a mini Ranalah!

Very very cool 👌🏻

Thanks

The mini ranalahs are screaming for a collab with joe pie from advanced innovation

Love the small one. Would it actually work? Just a thought. Be well.

Thank you.

You NEED to take Pete down to meet Geoff!

Can you do a write up with what you are doing so far and send to the Merton Historical Society - they may have further information from their previous journals. I dont think there is much in Merton Library Service as much of what was Merton Libraries chucked out a lot of their stuff in 1966 ( Mitcham Library retained is local collections of documents but the border was about 200 yards away from Ranelaghs Works )

These mini Ranalaghs could be used in hand to hand combat, perhaps? And have you considered a half scale one with a two foot throat??

Take a look at what Chris at Salvage Rebuilds does, he has a couple of older vehicles and mainly uses dollys to shape but I think he has wheeling skills too ( though normally busy with dent pulling on moderns)

Congrats again, Dom on the Ranalah Journey. (I wonder if the mini-ranalahs will out sell the full size version?). You and Pete sharing the machine reminded me of the spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp - haha!

Just posted you at work on a hot day in AUG

I watch videos over and over love them. I want a Ranalah stand and a mini Ranalah if there’s any way I can afford them on this side of the pond . God Speed !

As a retired spring maker, as I was watching you using the Ranalah I was wondering if you've considered using a forming oil on the sheet? I think it might help the process and improve the finish. Just a thought. Anyway, I'm really enjoying your videos.

Great video as usual, do we assume you have now sold some or one or two Ranalua. Would love one of the mini ones.

Hopefully all is well now with the wheels Dom...I'd like one of the small Ranalahs, where will we be able to buy them?

Dom, the boys at Retropower near Hinkley(who have a RU-vid site) use a modern English wheel. Perhaps you might be able to re purpose modern wheels.

Have the large wheel welded or metal sprayed just enough to fill the holes then re machined to original spec ☺️

Great video. Don't those VWs sound nice. I want a big Ranalah and a little one. 😃

The cooperation and commitment that enabled the production of the bottom wheel set was augmented by the use of digital technology, if you've got it use it ! but the question I ask is, how did they develop this correct profile over a century ago ?

yay baby Ranalah's lol

Since there seems to be no 'springs' involved, I'm guessing the wheels rely on the slight flex of the cast iron to apply the needed pressure on the work piece, or is there a 'hidden' compression spring in the lower wheel carriage? 🤔

Had noticed the Ranalah in the back ground. What process would the original Ranallah designers have used to come up with the specifications for the lower wheels. Is there any historical documentary evidence. Wonder if anyone has any paper gems in their lofts? Anyway thank you for your videos. Have learned loads from them and also now watched every episode of Repair Shop!

Did that well worn/pitted top wheel leave marks on the aluminium? Things always look better on camera so it was hard to see. My modern machine has a ding in the top wheel that used to really worry me but it's never actually seemed to matter. I've not noticed any marks from it. Maybe if the pressure was higher but being a welded box machine perhaps there is too much flex in it for the pressure to ever get that high? Still seems to work OK. I'm no expert but I can make usable panels on it. But then I am not going for mirror finish either. The mini ones look cool! Glad you came up with some small thing to go along with the project/revived name.

dom have you thought about making a 1/4 size ranalah fot making seal panels and patch panels etc some thing more portable all i see on the net is the chinese junk also have you thought about making steped wheels for the ranalah for making swage lines and cheers from down under