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I never even considered that early machinery was custom made and had no readily available parts. I guess for any repairs, you had to go to the original maker, w
by jotm 7y ago
I never even considered that early machinery was custom made and had no readily available parts. I guess for any repairs, you had to go to the original maker, who would create a replacement part that would only fit on your machine.
Seems like a really simple concept, just like the drill press for that matter, but it took so long for people to realise the potential.
- KineticLensman 7y agoAlso true of the most basic components that we take for granted now, e.g. screws. The concept was known to the ancients, but they weren't mass produced as fasteners until the 1760s [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw
- HeyLaughingBoy 7y agoI remember watching a documentary about a country in central Africa where, less than 15 years ago, blacksmiths were making screws and nuts by hand. They needed to be kept together or the manufacturing variations would mean that last week's screws might not fit this week's nuts. These guys were fast, but nowhere remotely as fast as thread-rolling machinery of course.