Saw a huge old lathe at the Henry Ford Museum and it made me think

I was walking through the factory section and they had this massive, belt-driven lathe from the 1920s on display, with all the original tooling laid out next to it. It's wild to see how the basic idea of holding a part and moving a cutter hasn't changed, even if our machines now are just a computer and some servos. What's the oldest piece of equipment you've ever had to run or fix?

2 comments

2 Comments

kaiblack1d agoTop Commenter

Basic idea hasn't changed"? That's a huge oversimplification.

zara4471d ago

Remember that old Bridgeport mill my buddy found in a barn? He spent months trying to get it running, even had to hand-make a new feed screw because the original was rusted solid. The crazy part was the motor, this single phase beast that would shake the whole floor when it kicked on. He finally got it making chips, but said the tolerances were all over the place compared to his cheap modern import.