1825 granite bed lathe - photos

[Jon]

1825 granite bed lathe. On display at the American Museum of Precision in Windsor, Vermont.

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Previously:

World's first Bridgeport mill - photos
Homemade granite lathe from countertop scraps - videos

[jimfols]

That could be called rock solid.

Recon the fixture off to the left in the top photo with the bicycle crankset was for sharpening tools?

[mwmkravchenko]

That could be called rock solid.

Recon the fixture off to the left in the top photo with the bicycle crankset was for sharpening tools?

I would be making the same guess. Looking like a grinding wheel.

[Philip Davies]

Is any mason willing to divulge how the granite was worked? With machinery? Or laboriously sawing, scraping, etc? (Serious question)

[mwmkravchenko]

Could be worked with time honored methods of quarrying and then lapping. Still done today, albeit by machine.

[jimfols]

I also found the chain drive for the carriage interesting.

[mwmkravchenko]

I also found the chain drive for the carriage interesting.

Kind of looks like a timing chain. Very robust. And kind of smart. Could give you accuracy with small amounts of machined parts. Only two gears.