Precision in hand work

[Paddy Roxburgh]

I used to mostly use machines and hand held power tools and have over the last few years been using hand tool methods more and more. I was always under the impression that I would struggle to obtain the same level of accuracy with hand tools. In reality the opposite is true, I can easily adjust a joint or board by a couple of thou, something very hard to do with machines. Well the reason I am posting this is because I have just watched a program on the bbc " Precision: the measure of all things" episode 2. The show discusses the attempts by two teams of scientists to come up with a definitive measure for the kilo. One of the teams have spent the more than 30 years on a project to make a perfect sphere of silicon that weighs one kilo and to count the atoms in it and have that as the definitive measurement of a kilo. It turns out there is no machine available that will make a perfect sphere of silicon. They employed a lens maker, Akim Wiesner who made it by hand, literally taking a few atoms at a time off as he polished the sphere, the whole program is worth a watch (as is part one about the meter, but this incredible example of hand work accuracy is at 47 minutes

 

[rafezetter]

I've been watching those and the comment that it was beleived Akim could feel the atomic structure of the sphere as he was making it was just boggling.

 

[ColeyS1]

I used to mostly use machines and hand held power tools and have over the last few years been using hand tool methods more and more. I was always under the impression that I would struggle to obtain the same level of accuracy with hand tools. In reality the opposite is true, I can easily adjust a joint or board by a couple of thou, something very hard to do with machines. Well the reason I am posting this is because I have just watched a program on the bbc " Precision: the measure of all things" episode 2. The show discusses the attempts by two teams of scientists to come up with a definitive measure for the kilo. One of the teams have spent the more than 30 years on a project to make a perfect sphere of silicon that weighs one kilo and to count the atoms in it and have that as the definitive measurement of a kilo. It turns out there is no machine available that will make a perfect sphere of silicon. They employed a lens maker, Akim Wiesner who made it by hand, literally taking a few atoms at a time off as he polished the sphere, the whole program is worth a watch (as is part one about the meter, but this incredible example of hand work accuracy is at 47 minutes

Sounds like some interesting viewing ! Hopefully it'll be on the iplayer somewhere, I shall have a looksie

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