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I've never heard of the idea that the lathe bootstrapped the industrial revolution. Can you say more, and any pointers to read?
by lukebuehler 2y ago
I've never heard of the idea that the lathe bootstrapped the industrial revolution. Can you say more, and any pointers to read?
- rdlw 2y agoThere's a great Machine Thinking video about the history of the lathe that makes this point: https://youtu.be/djB9oK6pkbA https://youtu.be/djB9oK6pkbA
- dekhn 2y agoI'm not sure there's any really good book that furthers this argument (possibly The Perfectionists or One Good Turn?) but it sort of becomes obvious when you read about Maudsley (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Maudslay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Maudslay and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw-cutting_lathe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw-cutting_lathe) and Wilkinson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilkinson_(industrialist) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilkinson_(industrialist) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilkinson_(industrialist)#Cannon_boring_machine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilkinson_(industrialist)... the cannon boring machine was what enabled the efficient steam engines which unlocked large mechanical shops (along with high quality cannons), while the lathe enabled precision machine tool making. I am sure many things had to happen around the same time for the revolution but IMHO the lathe was the true linchpin