Plastic pit helmets

[shropshirebloke]

Does anyone know when the modern polycarbonate style helmets were introduced? I'm trying to date an old photo in our local paper which is supposed to date from 1959 and several of the lads are shown wearing them - seems a bit early to me...

[John]

Dec 7, 2012 4:23:15 GMT -5 shropshirebloke said:

Does anyone know when the modern polycarbonate style helmets were introduced? I'm trying to date an old photo in our local paper which is supposed to date from 1959 and several of the lads are shown wearing them - seems a bit early to me...

They may well have been coming into the coal mining industry around that time, but I only recall those Huwood style pressed cardboard type and the brown what looked like bakelite types right up to 1966, then white plastic ones started to appear in the colliery stores. Those were worse than useless, they had a habit of the inner cradle falling apart.. Some of the lads had thrown their old helmets away and regretted it big time.

[shropshirebloke]

Dec 7, 2012 6:56:29 GMT -5 John said:

Dec 7, 2012 4:23:15 GMT -5 shropshirebloke said:

Does anyone know when the modern polycarbonate style helmets were introduced? I'm trying to date an old photo in our local paper which is supposed to date from 1959 and several of the lads are shown wearing them - seems a bit early to me...

They may well have been coming into the coal mining industry around that time, but I only recall those Huwood style pressed cardboard type and the brown what looked like bakelite types right up to 1966, then white plastic ones started to appear in the colliery stores. Those were worse than useless, they had a habit of the inner cradle falling apart.. Some of the lads had thrown their old helmets away and regretted it big time.

That's pretty much what I thought John - even in the late 70s at our pit you could see the Huwood and bakelite (?) types, as well as the old pressed tin rivetted jobs.

[dazbt]

This very question was raised a couple of years ago on a non-mining forum that I belong to. The question was brought about whilst discussing the Memorial sculpture that stands in front of the NUM offices in Barnsley, it depicts a fairly modern image of a miner with 'plastic helmet' complete with cap lamp and his wife (?) standing adjacent, barefooted with a shawl draped about her head and shoulders, symbolically generations apart ........... or perhaps suggesting that 1960s Barnsley coalminers kept their wives deliberately poorly shod.
The first mouldedplastic miner's helmets were introduced in the mid 1930s by an American company, British and Japanese manufactures were producing plastic miner's helmets by the mid 1950s. I've got some links somewhere, hidden in the PC's toolbox I'll dig em out.

[dazbt]

The NUM sculpture that caused the question to be asked about plastic helmet dates.

[dazbt]

[dazbt]

Here's one of mine that I saved for the next generation of family miners;


.
.

A great selection of helmets through the ages;

www.miningartifacts.org/helmetsandhats.html

Various quotes;

"In the year 1938, the Bullard Company went on to release the first aluminum hat. It was next replaced by fiberglass hats of the 1940s, eventually leading to the thermoplastic hat of the 1950s – 1960s."

safetyproducts.lifetips.com/cat/63510/hard-hats-and-head-protection/index.html

"The 1950s saw the demise of pulpware, with the increased use of plastics such as Polythene and Polypropylene. The company changed production to plastics and fibreglass and continued as an important manufacturer of safety helmets under the name of Thetford Moulded Products."

www.centurionsafety.eu/about/company_history/

"In 1952, Starlite was the first to develop a phenolic resin helmet for industrial use. That was the first plastic helmet to replace the so-called "iron helmet" in Japan. The product was delivered to major steel manufacturers and construction firms. In 1954, we commercialized another new helmet for use in coal mines."

www.2nd.starlite.co.jp/english/technologies/pioneer/index.html


"This plastic Comfo-Cap brand miner’s helmet was manufactured by the Mine Safety Appliance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 20th century. The MSA Company first registered their trademark for the Comfo-Cap in 1935 and continues to produce the helmet into the 21st century. The front of the helmet has a bracket for either a carbide mining lamp or electric lamp. This mining helmet has a low profile to avoid bumps, hard plastic to absorb impact, and its flat front served as an excellent mount for mining lights."

americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_872613

"Thermoplastics took over in the 1950s, because they were easy to mold and shape with heat and cost less to manufacture. Today, most hard hats are made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or advanced engineering resins, such as Ultem"

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_hat

Polycarbonate invented 1953 by Dr Hermann Schnell / Daniel Fox Canadian

[shropshirebloke]

Thanks for that Daz - it looks as though the photo caption in our local paper could have been right after all! I was looking for clues to date the photo - I didn't recognise anyone in it, but the battery loco and manrider carriages were the same ones we used in the late 70s.

[rac]

just trying to cast my mind back to the mid 60's when i started.when we were at the training centre we were issued with yellow plastic helmets to signify "trainee" but as soon as we went to our respective pits we wanted a real miners helmet ie one of the black compressed cardboard type which i think at the time cost something like 2/6p (and i still have it to this day)- they were'nt free then as were'nt the boots either but cant remember how much they cost at the time someone will no doubt recall!
any way wore the old helmet right up until the end virtually in 1992 then it was one of very few stiill about although i had to modify it to fasten some ear defenders on it when hey came in.

[John]

Helmets were free and all you had to do was go to the stores and ask for one.
Boots were supplied at cost at the bath attendants "office" Not sure now if we paid him or signed for the cost to be deducted from our pay.
Every trainee was supplied with a pair of overalls, pair of boots, helmet and belt.
Knee pads were charged, you signed for them in the stores and it was deducted from your pay.

[John]

Not 100% sure, but I think the 1954 Act made it mandatory for the employer to supply a hard hat for free, I may be getting confused with the NSW Coal Mines Regulation Act..

[Wheldale]

How was leather hardend for use as a pit helmet?

[rac]

Dec 10, 2012 12:54:43 GMT -5 John said:

Not 100% sure, but I think the 1954 Act made it mandatory for the employer to supply a hard hat for free, I may be getting confused with the NSW Coal Mines Regulation Act..

yes i think you may be getting confused john.as you quite rightly said all trainees were issued with overalls.boots,helmet, and belt but i know after that you had to pay to replace them.can't remember when it came in but you could get a pair of boots a helmet,knee pads or belt for free once a year.it seems different pits had different ways of issuing safety equipment at the two i worked at everything was issued from the stores by chit when free issue or form to sign for payment through wages.if you wanted overalls you had to provide your own-that was until the workwear scheme came in
the only thing we could get from the bath attendant was the PHB soap or dust masks.post the paying period if you were working in particularly wet/cold enviroment you could ask the shift engineer/senior overman for a chit to get water proofs/donkey jackets from the stores. the overmen used to have a "secret" secure store cupboard where they kept safety wear for the backshifts for when the stores were closed but soon found out it wasn't so "secure"/secret ha ha!
perhaps some other forum members have recollections just to show I'm not loosing it!!

[dazbt]

Dec 10, 2012 13:43:29 GMT -5 Wheldale said:

How was leather hardend for use as a pit helmet?

Leather armour used by Roman soldiers was hardened by simply immersing in boiling water, moulded and then partially dried on the moulds or formers later dried fully by gentle baking. I think I've read that the 'posher' armour was treated with boiled up frankinsence (Sp?) resin before being moulded and then dried.
I'd guess that only overmen's helmets were soaked in the fankinsence, rag-tash colliers would just get the boiling water treatment ......... but as I say that's only a guess.

[timberlad]

The leather hats had to be fazed out for deputy/overman use because they would often re steam them when things weren't going well lol ;D