fa-dooomph-a!! fa-dooomph-a!!

[AndiFlatland]

Cast your mind back, those of you who are lucky enough to be able to do so, to the 60s and 70s (...yes, we do it all the time, don't we! How fortunate were we to be young in those decades!) This is not precisely to do with motoring, but it was the closest I could get. There were always teams of road menders everywhere, and when they had done whatever it was they were doing, they had to put everything back and compact the rubble down for the new road surface to be laid on top. Often, one of the team would have a very large and heavy piece of kit that looked like a 3-foot-high metal pillar with a large handle on top, and a flat, circular foot at the base. It was tethered via a rubber tube to a compressed air generator, and when the operator gripped the handle and squeezed the calipers, it would bounce up and down frantically, making a very loud 'Fa-DOOOMPH-a!! Fa-DOOOMPH-a!!' noise, all rubble underneath it thereby being reduced to a nice smooth surface. You don't see them around any more, do you? I guess they must have some quieter and less annoying way of doing it these days. Does anybody know what these machines were called?

[sddsddean]

You mean a 'vertical rammer'! As you say, a very distinctive sound. Unfortunately they are not really used anymore as compaction technology has come on a bit. Instead of using brute force it is usual to use vibrating plates (such as Wacker plates), but Vertical rammers do still exist sort of. Here is a photo of a vertical vibrating plate. Looks the same but doesn't do the Mexican bean impression!...just vibrates along.
http://www.expresstools.co.uk/ishop/692/shopsc r3100.html

[AndiFlatland]

Ah, thank you, unpronounceable name!
Vertical rammer - excellent! Absolutely obvious, I suppose, and brutally practical. It has the ring of something out of a science fiction film, probably used by androids for complete control of their adversaries.
I always thought they were very funny, and I often watched the operators using them in amazement. They were always big, burly, sweaty blokes who looked as if they ate the rubble for breakfast. I guess you had to be pretty tough to operate them. And they must have had to keep their feet well out of the way. Reckon it could do a heck of a lot of damage!
Many thanks for giving me an answer that I've been wondering about for ages.

[sddsddean]

Forgot to say, on site they were known as 'Jumping Jacks' for obvious reasons.

[dilligaf]

I always knew it as a thumper.

If these things were in use today the operator would have to wear ear protecters and all sorts of othe gear prescribed by the health and safety boffins.

In those days Paddy happily worked with one of those all day and could still hear you and reply when you said "good morning" to him

Sad world we are in now!!

[leg_end758]

they still use them its a whacker

use them for settling hardcore before monoblocking.
petrol powered little generator on top

[AndiFlatland]

Ah, I see they had several different names - I guess Jumping Jack, Thumper and Whacker were all slang, as in 'Oi Paddy, get da thoompa willya' or 'Hey Sean, where's me flippin' whacker gone?'
Hey yes, good times! Nice to know they're fondly remembered. I miss their inescapable, metronomic thud.
Now there's probably another one... thudder!
Any more, anyone?
Thanks, everybody.
Once more now...
Fa-DOOOMPH-a! Fa-DOOOMPH-a! Fa-DOOMPH-a!
(OK, that was three times - I know. But it's fun, isn't it!)
I WANT ONE!!

[sddsddean]

Actually a Wacker is a vibrating plate rather than something that used to use its own weight to compact the ground. Also, its spelt Wacker. This is the biggest makers name, so they are all known as Wacker plates; just like all vacuums are called Hoovers.

BTW, love the spelling of Fa-DOOOMPH-a!!...spot on!

[PhilLew]

Excelent post...

and comments...

Best one today!

[Melliexr]

If you want to see one in action again, get down to the Great Dorset Steam Fair next August. They'll have an exhibition of road building from yesteryear using steam power to crush bricks, deliver it to "site", and level it. And there, in all their Fa-DOOOMPHing glory, will be a bunch of jumping jacks doing the compacting. I saw one for sale this year too. Don't forget your steel toe-caps!

[AndiFlatland]

Hey, thanks, Melliexr,
I thought we were finished with this one - but you've just given me a very good extra reason for visiting Dorset again next summer.
My favourite beach in the whole country is Studland Bay, and I try to get there as many times as possible each summer. But I've not made it at all for the last 2 years, as I had a small but painful operation on a spinal disc in the back of my neck in June '06, and was unable to make the trip due to the pain making it impossible for me to ride my bicycle (no, I don't ride all the way from London - I put the bike on the train and cycle from Parkstone - still quite a strenuous hack, particularly on the return trip, if you know the terrain!)
And we all know what happened to the summer this year, don't we!
So I'll be hoping and praying for some extended spells of really good weather in 2008, and hopefully I'll be able to tie in one of my trips with the Great Dorset Steam Fair. What's the location?
Could be quite a little crowd of us, if all the respondents to my initial question make the trip as well!
I wonder if we could belatedly get a new entry in the Oxford English Dictionary. Perhaps everybody could come to a general agreement that the machines are henceforth known as Fadooomphas - possibly unique in being the only word with 3 consecutive same letters! Just a thought...
Thanks again, everybody.

PS: Just found the location of the Great Dorset Steam Fair by putting it into Google search. I think the train continues on to Blandford after Parkstone. If not, I'll figure out a way to get there. Doesn't look like it's in easy cycling distance, especially with all the hills in that area!

[Melliexr]

Hey Andi,
You might be onto something with the cycling thing. Besides the nightmare traffic on entry AND exit, walking round the huge site is hot and thirsty work and requires much drinking of cold beer. Hope your neck's better by then!

[AndiFlatland]

Well, it's always been my chosen way to get around since 1974 - saves thousands, keeps you fit, and you can choose your own time. You just have to be prepared for the downside - rain and wind. And hills. They should be illegal. Or they should only make 'em with downward slopes.
By the way, thanks for the good wish re the neck - but it's OK now - it was mid-2006, so it's had plenty of time to fade away. Actually, despite the advice of the hospital, I never stopped cycling, even on the day I was let out! Took it easy for a few weeks though!
Roll on next summer, and let's hope it makes up for this year's total wipeout.

[Blueflame]

Saw one of your Fa-DOOOMMPH-as being demonstrated by an enthusiastic owner at a country fair somewhere (memory failing!) this year. This one was petrol powered (sparking plug on top and a puff of blue smoke with every "fa" from the exhaust port.Steel toe caps-yes,and maybe a chin guard of some sort ! The mind boggles! Paul,(59)

[AndiFlatland]

Hi Blueflame!
This one seems to be running and running!
Er... the country fair you're talking about wouldn't be the one in Dorset the previous respondent was talking about, would it?
The thing you described sounds absolutely lethal - probably highly illegal for public use nowadays. I don't recall this particular type of machine - but I have to say I never studied them that closely. I just seem to recall that the ones I saw were tethered to a compressed air generator by a long rubber tube. But I could be wrong about that, and the years since I last saw them have installed this fantasy in my mind!
Paul, you're one year ahead of me, mate (approx).
Bye for now.