Probably taken at the Simmer East gold mine in Johannesburg, around 1904-12. Evidently the winding or haulage drum suffered damage to its grooves, and the owners were faced with recutting the 'screw threads', but only having a screwcutting lathe designed for turning components of very much smaller diameter. The solution was highly ingenious, turning the drum using a belt, probably driven by a steam engine, and driving the lathe's spindle by a chain from the drum's axle. The lathe spindle then traverses the tool carriage in the usual way via the change gears, selected to give the required screw thread pitch. Tricking the lathe into thinking that it's dealing with a normal component! The lathe has been bolted to something, and weighted down with weights and scrap iron.
Radial arm drilling machine at the Charles Burrell Museum
c.1880 Lee & Hunt treadle lathe at Bicton Countryside Museum
Headstock of c.1880 treadle lathe at Bicton Countryside Museum
of Arkwright Works, Nottingham.
1872 Advert: 'LEE & HUNT, ARKWRIGHT-STREET, NOTTINGHAM. New and Second-hand Engineers and Machinists' Tools, Steam Engines, &c., always on hand. LICENSED VALUERS MACHINERY AND ENGINEERING PLANT.'[1]
1953 Advert:'LEE & HUNT Ltd. ESTABLISHED 1871. Engineers and Merchants of New and Second-hand Machine Tools and Engineering Plant. Cash Buyers of Modern General-purpose Machine Tools in large or small lots. 500 Machines in stock at our Nottingham Warehouse. ARKWRIGHT WORKS, CROCUS STREET, NOTTINGHAM.' [2]
See also William Lee and William Hunt
See Also
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