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Machinery in motion

During the Industrial Revolution new machines were developed to cut brass, steel and iron into accurate shapes.

Shaping machine for manufacturing pulley blocks, 1804. This machine is part of the blockmaking machinery constructed by Henry Maudslay for Portsmouth dockyard.

A whole network of engineers and machine-builders developed to provide these ‘machine tools’ to industry. They could produce everything from clocks and watches to steam engines and other machine tools.

James Nasmyth’s first drawing of a steam hammer, 24 November 1839. He claimed to be the inventor of the steam hammer, although this is disputed. Nasmyth sold steam hammers across the globe, renamed his retirement home ‘Hammerfield’ and even incorporated it into his family coat of arms.

In doing so they pioneered new designs, materials and techniques that revolutionised engineering practice and introduced levels of accuracy of which previous generations of engineers could only have dreamed.

Here we will look at the development of machine tools – truly ‘machines for building machines’.

Resource Descriptions

Shaping machine for manufacturing pulley blocks, 1804. This machine is part of the blockmaking machinery constructed by Henry Maudslay for Portsmouth dockyard.

James Nasmyth’s first drawing of a steam hammer, 24 November 1839. He claimed to be the inventor of the steam hammer, although this is disputed. Nasmyth sold steam hammers across the globe, renamed his retirement home ‘Hammerfield’ and even incorporated it into his family coat of arms.

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Carpenter's saw, c.1750-70	Compass plane, 1717	Compass, probably Flemish, c.1760
Frame saw, late seventeenth century	Large compass, German, c.1750	Ogee moulding plane, 1720
Two moulding planes, European, 1733-82	Wood moulding plane, 1771	Wooden carpenter's brace, c.1800
Wood brace, late eighteenth century	Back saw by Sorby, Sheffield, England, 1820-90	Chisel, c.1880
London pattern turnscrew, c.1850	Mortice marking gauge c.1850	Smoothing plane, c.1880-1910
Trying plane, c.1890	Warrington hammer, c.1880-1920	Wood brace, late eighteenth century

1	Machinery in motion

2	Clockmaking

3	Machines for making machines

4	London: Centre of engineering excellence

5	Centres of excellence: Engineering pioneers

6	Manchester: A new industrial metropolis

7	Improving accuracy

Hardware

9	The rise of the American system

10	Conclusion


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