High-quality black-and-white photographs of large old machines and tools

[Isambard]

Why? "The term blacksmith derives from iron, formerly called “black metal,” Blacksmiths existed long before any exports out of Africa.

[Jon]

Mesta Machine Company pickling machine.

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...2_fullsize.jpg

[Jon]

Large planer. Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Company. April, 1904.

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...r_fullsize.jpg

[TrickieDickie]

appears to be a machine in use there in the background

[IntheGroove]

And I can hear the operator to left of that "Ok a little bit to starboard, wait , port, now full steam ahead!"...

[Toolmaker51]

Roughly size I ran a couple years, 30' and 40'. Any table length requires twice that of bed and ways, but that's why they did such fine work. None of that potential table sag or binding ways of lesser machines, or concentrated wear.
While planers technically operate as 'single point' machines, they have reasonable feed rates, of course lost some time on return stroke. Worked out beneficial on certain kinds of parts, such as weather stripping molds, wing spars, machine skids, and tables of smaller machine tools.
Examine the foot of a large radial drill, I've seen tool marks that indicate planing and scarf milling, both easy work for a planer.
Scarfing of that variety employs a slightly tilted spindle and turning cutter. They step cuts over a bit more than cutter diameter, leaving shallow grooves with narrow lands between, accomplishing part of what scraping does.
Overall, planers did reliable work on parts with very long but small profiled features. Also remains maybe best at undercutting, where an endmill or other rotating cutter just can't enter.

I often wonder how many remain in operation. Extrusion has taken over what long compression molds did, with far more compact machine footprint and tooling.

[cmarlow]

On the lintel (head) beam it says Plane Field N.J. but there is a shaft blocking my view of the manufacturer's name. Does anybody know who would have built this in Plain Field N.J. more than a century ago?

[Isambard]

That would the Pond Machine Tool Company.

[marksbug]

I wonder when they went under

[Isambard]

The company didn't go under, it was merged with the Niles Tool Works of Hamilton, Oh, and the Bement, Miles Co of Philadelphia, August 15, 1899, to form the Niles, Bement, Pond Co. Pratt & Whitney becoming another division in 1901.