Wigan Album

A couple of shovels and what look like rack drills outside the shop.

That reminds me of the old saying of 'how do you confuse an Irishmon'

answer

"stand two shovels against a wall and then tell him to take his pick"

This was an era when miners provided their own tools An old miner related to me how, they would go by bicycle to a certain brickworks to collect a hard brick or two, most suitable to use as wedges when propping. No helmets or safety boots then

Those spades were bulldog no 3s and were the colliers favourite. The drill rigs were still in use when I worked at Stones pit. We had no compressed air there so any drilling away from the face was done with one of these.

My hats off to ya Mr Foster.

Correct me if I'm wrong Fred. Didn't we drill a hole through, near the top of the shaft of our tools, and push a metal rod through, with a pad lock on one end, and a large bend at the other end, to stop the rod being drawn through. I know we had to by our own tools, usually from the pit stores. It is such a long time ago, I may be mistaken.

Fred and Albert good to read your comments At as Mike Harding would say " Your still on the Right end of the shovel"

Albert, the tool rod had a slot at the end where a "Prid" went through and then a lock was put through the hole in the prid. This was to secure the tools as colliers had to buy their own tools. At Stones colliery we had old Billy who sharpened pick blades, made tool rods and wedges. The colliers paid him out of their own pocket.

Thanks Fred. I recollect we had to secure the tools at the end of the shift by using this rod system, as you couldn't cart the tools out with you. I remember, being in the tunnels, we had to provide our own basic tools, and we got them from the pit stores. I can't remember precisely, but I think you could have the price of the tools bought, stopped out of you wages. It's such a long time ago.

I remember my dad bringing his tools home from pit,he must have been changing pits.there was a 7lb hammer,pick,spade and saw.They were fastened with one of those clips.He put a new shaft on the hammer and burned a hole in the shaft so the clip would go through.I still have the hammer and the pick head.