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Extremities: The Lengths I Go To!

The extremity I am recording is the area immediately surrounding a large heated hydraulic press used in the moulding of prototype interior trim components for the then forthcoming Jaguar XK8.

The operating temperature of the press was high enough that the material being used, a wood fibre mat called Eften would often stick to the press after moulding and begin to smoulder.

Manual release of the stuck part was a job dreaded as the air temperature within the press was in excess of 50 degrees celsius, not to mention the tool plates being at 180 degrees celsius.