WAR FINISH

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

As an apprentice in 1963,  we had in the “school” some milling machines with “War Finish”  cast into their frames.  Basically a precision machine where non critical surfaces were left as cast.

This turned up at home the other day, no idea where it came from but was interested to see that even simple items like a pencil could be produced quicker and utilise less material during a time of shortages and stamped “WAR DRAWING” .

Bob

[Andrew CrowParticipant @andrewcrow91475]

A nice bit of nostalgia there Bob, like you I started my apprenticeship in the early sixties, but I was still working on a Holbrook lathe in the late seventies that had a “war finish” label on it. It was still being used until the 1990’s long after I had stopped earning my living on the tools.

Andy

[Neil AParticipant @neila]

That brings back memories. When I started work in the early sixties many of the filing cabinets had a “war finish” label attached, they were painted a sort of dark brown. They were still in use forty or more years later. “War Finish” did not mean low quality, it was just meant to denote that no resources had been wasted in their production.

It also reminds me when I was very young, late forties, my mother did outwork for a clothing manufacturer, each garment had a “utility” label sewn on, it consisted of two circles with a segment cut out of each. I think they were still used in the early fifties, I’m not sure when they ceased to be used.

I also have one or two pencils with the word “utility” stamped on them, not sure where I got them from, possibly from work. I keep them as an object of interest, not for use.

Neil

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