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I stumbled upon one remnant of the Manhattan Project at my university's machine shop a couple of years ago. In the machine shop is a row of boxy modern lathes,

I stumbled upon one remnant of the Manhattan Project at my university's machine shop a couple of years ago. In the machine shop is a row of boxy modern lathes, with one beautiful curved older lathe at the end of the row. Without fail, when working with precise designs, the veteran machinist of the shop always used that older lathe. When I asked him about this he explained to me that prior to WW2 most of the world's precision lathes had been made in Germany. Unfortunately, the large quantities of precisely machined components needed for the Manhattan Project came right when those lathes were no longer available! The company designed the lathe in an incredibly short amount of time to meet those needs. The school bought the lathe at a surplus auction after the war for cheaper than any of the other lathes, and even 70 years later it remains the best. Here's what it looked like: http://www.galleryofmachines.com/gallery'sdigitalphotos/Lathes/Nifong%20Monarch,%20Cinn.%20cyl.%20026.jpg http://www.galleryofmachines.com/gallery'sdigitalphotos/Lath...

Animats 11y ago
Ah, a Monarch EE series lathe. Those are still available.[1] The newer models have a variable-speed AC motor and a digital readout, but are otherwise the same. The speed control system went through many generations, starting as a huge hydraulic transmission and going through motor-generator and thyratron versions. (High-power adjustable-speed motors were hard to do before semiconductors.) There were lots of variations in WWII versions, depending on parts shortages. Flat belts, V-belts, different speed controls, different materials for non-critical parts like data plates - that sort of thing. The Monarch EE series begin in 1939. The later model shown came out in 1944-1945.[2] The one shown has a 1945 date on its data plate. It's not specific to the Manhattan Project. Those things turned many high-precision parts during WWII. [1] http://www.monarchlathe.com/products/lathes/toolroom/monarch-ee-series http://www.monarchlathe.com/products/lathes/toolroom/monarch... [2] http://www.lathes.co.uk/monarch/page2.html http://www.lathes.co.uk/monarch/page2.html

Animats 11y ago

Ah, a Monarch EE series lathe. Those are still available.[1] The newer models have a variable-speed AC motor and a digital readout, but are otherwise the same. The speed control system went through many generations, starting as a huge hydraulic transmission and going through motor-generator and thyratron versions. (High-power adjustable-speed motors were hard to do before semiconductors.) There were lots of variations in WWII versions, depending on parts shortages. Flat belts, V-belts, different speed controls, different materials for non-critical parts like data plates - that sort of thing. The Monarch EE series begin in 1939. The later model shown came out in 1944-1945.[2] The one shown has a 1945 date on its data plate. It's not specific to the Manhattan Project. Those things turned many high-precision parts during WWII. [1] http://www.monarchlathe.com/products/lathes/toolroom/monarch-ee-series http://www.monarchlathe.com/products/lathes/toolroom/monarch... [2] http://www.lathes.co.uk/monarch/page2.html http://www.lathes.co.uk/monarch/page2.html