Gigantic Lathe, what was it For?

[Rhyolith]

While wondering round the Victorian re-entactment village near Ironbridge in Shropshire, I spotted what is clearly the largest Lathe I have ever seen!
Super Massive Lathe by Rhyolith, on Flickr
I looks like a metal working machine, so my guess is its something to do with steam engine manufacture. But in reality I have no idea, does anyone know what it might have been used for?

On a sidetone: It is rather painful to see it sitting outside rusting away

 

[NazNomad]

A roll turning lathe made by 'Buck & Sons' in Bolton, apparently.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/an ... ge-207731/

 

[Rhyolith]

What is "Roll turning" ?

 

[NazNomad]

... used to machine cylindrical and shaped rolls for rolling mills.

Which kinda does fit in with the Ironworks theme.

 

[Rhyolith]

Looked up mill rolls, got lots of cool photos of cool giant Lathes!

What are the rolls used for in the Mills? It is not awfully clear from the pictures.

 

[NazNomad]

For squishing thick bits of red-hot metal into thinner, or shaped bits.

Like a huge mangle-for-metal. See video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xnKmt_gsLs

 

[NazNomad]

... and a pic of an in-situ roll, probably made by that lathe, working at Blists Hill

http://c7.alamy.com/comp/ACH953/rolling ... ACH953.jpg

 

[NazNomad]

... and another http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/03/ ... b3963e.jpg

http://www.geograph.org.uk/snippet/7487 for more info.

 

[mind_the_goat]

Did you get the measurements, just want to see if would fit in my shed

 

[novocaine]

Also used for turning screw shafts for large ships and such like. Always a shame to see machines like this sitting dieing.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I saw this one when I visited Kelham island with my dad:

Although I was impressed, it is apparently not that big according to Dad. Mind you, the company he worked for (Newton Chambers Engineering) made massive things like the valve gear for Dinorwig, etc.

 

[NazNomad]

This lathe for turning limestone columns has the headstock & tailstock in two different buildings ... https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73 ... 6246ae.jpg

:-D I can see where a chip-extractor might have been useless there too. :-D

 

[Cheshirechappie]

As Tony suggested, lathes go a good deal bigger than that - http://www.lotsurf.com/uploads/auctions/32/1-3.jpg - for example, and that's nowhere near the biggest.

The firms of Craven Brothers in Manchester and Noble and Lund of Newcastle built some of the largest going. Most of their large products ended up in shipyards and similar heavy engineering shops - think of the old 16" naval guns on WW2 battleships, or deep mine headgear winding drums, that sort of stuff. Marine engine builders still use very big lathes for crankshaft and propeller shaft turning.

Edit to add -

I'm happy to report that Dean, Smith and Grace (builders of the Rolls Royces of lathes) and Broadbent Stanley are both still in business building big lathes. I'm pretty sure Asquith Butler are still going building large mills and borers, too.

www.deansmithandgrace.co.uk
www.broadbentstanley.co.uk

 

[Eric The Viking]

If you're ever down our way on Doors Open Day (late summer usually), drop into the machine shop at Underfall Yard.

It's an intact Victorian shop, with much still line and belt, owned by the city council. It's purpose is for maintenance of the equipment used in the docks, including the hydraulic system that powers several bridges and lock gates.

In the background of this picture is a planer, which IIRC, has an eight foot bed and is about three or four foot wide. The faceplate on the bigger of the two lathes is about three foot. The bit in the foreground is a pillar drill, IIRC (it's not my pic and I haven't been down for a while).

They have a decent foundry too.

 

[Eric The Viking]

... Although I was impressed, it is apparently not that big according to Dad. Mind you, the company he worked for (Newton Chambers Engineering) made massive things like the valve gear for Dinorwig, etc.

Having once been right up close to those valves, I assume you'd start making them by first making the lathes to make the lathes that would eventually turn the valves. The castings must have been something, too.

Kudos to your dad!

 

[Bigstinka]

That last pic with the Asquith odi pillar drill, we still use two everyday at the company I work at.

 

[WoodMangler]

The first job I had (1964-ish) was in a general-engineering factory. They had a horizontal lathe dedicated to turning the bearing-rings on tank turrets - produced the most impressive swarf...

 

[novocaine]

when the swarf is thicker than most sheet material, then you know you've got a big lathe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4Ok0LQx0Uc

 

[Sheffield Tony]

For those interested in industrial heritage (there might be a few about !) There's a video shot at Newton Chambers Thorncliffe works here:

http://www.yorkshirefilmarchive.com/fil ... generation

Amongst many things, they made the Churchill tanks. The odd bit of big lathe work going on. That was shot in 1953, my father would have been there as an apprentice, up until it closed in the 70's. My whole family worked there - my grandfather in the coal mine then the foundry, my dad in fabrication then the training centre - even my mother making toilet rolls for Izal (one of their brands).

 

[AndyT]

What an excellent thread! I've seen that lathe in Blists Hill, and the one in Kelham Island, and the Underfall Yard, so this is right up my street.

A few more pictures to share:

In the Underfall Yard workshops, here's that pillar drill again

and this is the planing machine, by Whitworth, yes that Whitworth. The frame is higher than the workshop doors, so according to the guides, the machine is older than the building, and independently listed as a historic structure.

A nice little lathe

and another general view.

The Trust who run it have secured funding so it should be open and more visitable in the future.

It's been discussed on here before, but fans of big lathes need this lovely photo album from Thomas Firth and Sons in the 1900s:

https://archive.org/details/thosfirthsonslim00firtrich

which includes glorious shots such as these:

Every page a gem!

And Tony, that film's a cracker too - we seem to have missed it when it could have come up before, so thanks for spotting it.