Fettling to Driving Ratio?

[Colin Wilks]

In Yorkshire (and presumably Cheshire too) we fettle all sorts.

[Reckless Rat]

That it be, but a "Fettler" is someone who works in a foundry and is charged with removing the sand from a casting after it has cooled and been taken from its mould and preparing it for the hands of the machinist. Hence the term for something nice and clean being "in fine fettle". Now on a slightly similar note, a neighbour of mine in a former life was an accountant at Dyson's refractory works in the Loxley Valley (DW will know the place). They used to make "saggers" among other things from refractory clay, which were used in the firing process, from whence came the employment of someone to check the soundness of the sagger before it was used in the furnace. The tool they used was called a sagger maker's bottom knocker. (from "What's my Line")

Saggers were particularly useful for growing tomatoes...

[Tiger]

Fettling is also known in the pottery industry.
To remove the seam waste for cast items

[Charles P]

I was taught that fettling was removing the risers, sprues and flashing from that casting after it came out of the mould. Basically getting it into "fine fettle", ready for the next operation, probably machining.

C

[Colin Morgan]

Apparently the use of 'fettle' (O.E. 'gird up') has sagged a little in the last couple of hundred years, according to Collins - but we all know what it means - so what to they know?

[Hugh Barnes]

My vintage car owning (non-Austin 7) Pal and I 'always' use the phrase 'light fettling' probably on a daily basis..

[Renaud]

I had to use the (excellent) Reverso in line translator because "to fettle" was not in my (limited) head translator.
Reverso says:
fettle 'forme' or 'état'
Which I may translate to form or state or maybe even shape?

[Mike Costigan]

I have used the term on many occasions since childhood, but interestingly so has my wife, who has no engineering or industrial family background (teachers, accountants, Cornish fishermen and Yorkshire farmers!)

[Malcolm Parker]

I think fettling was also a process in the Yorkshire textile industry.

[andrew34ruby]

I was taught that fettlin (we are in Yorkshire) was removing the runners and sprues from castings, and roughly filing off the metal where the moulds joined. Also filing off similar bits from rough forgings.