Number 3114 in the Holtzapffel Catalogue, this apparatus has a vertical slide clamped on theupper side of the slide rest, upon which the cutter spindles are mounted in various positions, orthe work may be attached to the vertical slide, and presented to drills, &c., carried by themandrel, which capabilities, combined with the two horizontal movements of the slide rest andthe dividing plate of the lathe, constitute a most comprehensive and useful arrangement forlight milling.

Part 4Chapter 1

ENGINEERING APPARATUS

15-06-2013

IntroductionHoltzapffel & Co. intended Volume VI to be about Amateur Mechanical Engineering

Apparatus, but the only information found about their products, the Willis Milling Apparatusand the Torrens Milling Attachment, comes from their catalogue. These are illustrated belowtogether with three numbered drawings by H & Co., of the back-board drive thought to havebeen intended for publication in Volume VI. For an appreciation of the engineering attachmentsthat were available around the end of the 19th century, extracts are also included fromcatalogues and magazine reports on the products of other manufacturers, such as: Birch,Milnes, Northcott and Hines. Also shown is a Combination lathe and Planing Machine made byHenry Smith Frost, an engineer who was sometime employed by H & Co., to convert some oftheir ornamental turning lathes into Rose Engines. The Compiler apologises for the poorquality of some of these pages which were taken from photocopies.

Part 4

Part 4Chapter 2

ELEMENTARY ORNAMENTALTURNING

BY GOLDSWORTHY CRUMPIntroduction

Reproduced here is a series of articles by T.Goldsworthy Crump entitled‘Elementary Ornamental Turning’. This series was published by the EnglishMechanic magazine in 1938-39.

over in the frame and the wheels are securedwith a washer and split pin. The under pulleysare of the dimensions shown and are fixed in asimilar manner. The larger one is made fromthree pieces of fretwood glued together with thegrain crossing and further held with shortscrews. The wheel may be left solid or theopenings may be cut out with a fret saw. Theedges are turned semi-circular to allow the beltto run with as little friction as possible. Thesmaller one, if made of wood, should have ametal bushing. The guide pulleys are of castiron and are attached as shown by short lengthsof stout wire. Old cycle spokes answer thepurpose excellently. The tightening pulley isfitted to a ¾-in. ferrule with a screwed stud, thelatter being also used to fix the socket when therequired tension. has been obtained.

The study and practice of the variousmovements and results of the application of thedifferent accessories which may be employed inconnection with the lathe offer a very wide fieldof interest and education, and it is hoped in thefollowing articles to give an introduction intothis delightful branch of the turners art. As anencouragement it may be stated at once that thewhole of the work shown in the variousphotographs has been produced entirely with

division plate. The making of a suitable platewill be described later if the lathe is notalready so fitted. The mandrel should be inperfect adjustment and the various slideswithout shake or slackness. The dimensions ofthe attachments are to be governed by the sizeof the lathe and those shown on the drawingsare suitable for lathes from 3-in. to 6-in. unlessotherwise stated. The first thing to be provided is a means ofconnecting the flywheel to the revolving toolwhich. is held in the slide-rest. For thispurpose what is known as an “overhead” isrequired, and of which there are many forms.One of very simple construction is shown inFig. 1, and consists of an upright support witha movable arm, four cast iron pulleys, a weightand a length of clock line. The variousdimensions must depend on individualrequirements. The pulleys are attached tosliding blocks by short lengths of stout wireand can be fixed in such position that the lineruns evenly from the flywheel to the spindle ofthe tool. If convenient the movable arm couldbe suspended from the ceiling. Another and very efficient overhead isshown in Figs. 2, 2a. and 2b. It has theadvantage of not requiring any balance weightas the moveable bracket automatically keepsthe line taught and the heavier the cut thetighter becomes its grip. The top memberconsists of a length of ½-in. G.I Tube and issupported either on brackets from the wall orsuitable uprights so arranged that it laysparallel to and about 2-ft. 9-in. above the frontedge of the lathe bed. The moveable carriage,Fig. 2. is made of two pieces of flat iron ¾-in.x ¼-in., separated by a short length of 1-in.tube so slotted that the frame, when boltedtogether, forms the angle shown and givesclearance for the top tube. The supportingpulleys can be of wood or metal and are turnedon the edge to the same radius as the tube andare attached to the frame by short studs onwhich they revolve. These studs are burred

home-made instruments and tools. It is presumed that the reader is already alathe man and capable of plain turning in softand hard woods, also that he is a fairmechanic in metal work and able to tacklethe construction of the simple tools andfittings required. Should it be desired only topractice the art the accessories can beobtained from the tool merchant, but they aresomewhat expensive. The primary consideration is the lathe andits condition. It may be plain or screw cuttingand of almost any size. It is necessary that itshould have a compound slide rest and a

The Author’s Lathe and Accessories

(Left) Fig. 1. TheOverhead Gear

(Right) Fig. 2. AnotherEfficient Overhead

Arrangement

This Attractive Article, Known as aTazza, was Turned and Ornamentedfrom Xylonite on a Plain Lathe withHome-made Attachments and Tools.Height = 5½-ins. Diameter of Top = 4-in.

THE RECIPROCATOR.[368.]—Of all the instruments whichare used in ornamental turning, thereis none, perhaps, which lends itselfso well towards the production ofartistic effects as the reciprocator.The mathematical hardness andregularity of many ornamentalpatterns is largely masked, and doesnot obtrude itself so painfully aswith the various combinations ofcircles, ellipses, flutes, reeds, etc.To those who are novices it may beexplained that the reciprocator is adevice which causes a partial to-and-fro rotation of the work whilst thecutting tool travels along, so that asort of zigzag is traced. With the aidof the dividing chuck (sometimesmisnamed the "spiral" chuck) thesezigzags can be repeated round theobject on side or end. If the cuttingis done with a cutter in the drill-spindle, the breadth of cut will beuniform throughout its length; but ifthe vertical cutting-frame isemployed, a beautiful gradation inthe width of cut ensues as it passesfrom dead point to dead point. Theproblem of arranging a reciprocatorto work through the main leading-screw of a screw-cutting lathe,instead of the poor overworkedornamental slide-rest screw, did notturn out to be quite so easy as I hadat first anticipated. The actuatingeccentric might be placed on theback-shaft, and the levers workdirect on to the dividing chuck,much as in the ordinaryarrangement; but then it would notbe possible to use different gears forsurface work, since the back-shaftactuates the cross-slide directly.

Then, again, the mandrel-levercould not be attached to the stud ofthe reversing gear, because, owing

to the backlash of the gear-wheels,the to-and-fro movement would belargely taken up in dealing withgetting the wheels again in mesh. Itsoon became clear that the mandrel-lever—i.e., the lever attached to themandrel-spindle—must be attacheddirectly to the mandrel-spindle.This can easily be done by removingthe cross-head of the thrust and thefixed pinion of the screw-cuttinggear, and fixing the mandrel-lever tothe spindle with a nicely-fittingkeyway for the feather. A very old-time bicycle crank was at hand, andthis was found to be just the thing;but of course a similar forgingwould do just as well. Furthermore,the pedal-pin also was requisitioned,for the position of the pinion on thespindle is much in advance of theradial-plate. Luckily the pedal-pinwas just the right length to allow aconnecting-rod to be actuated froman eccentric pin mounted with agear-wheel on a stud on the radialplate. In order to get workableangles, the radial plate had to be

turned up and forward from its usualposition, for which a couple of newbolt-holes had to be drilled. Thecorner of the quadrant-plate can bewell seen in the photograph,standing out behind the edge of thelarge gear-wheel.

As will be seen in thephotograph, the eccentric movementis obtained by means of a crank-pin,instead of an eccentric disc, as in theordinary Atkinson device. Hence itis necessary to make a special studto carry the gear-wheel and flange-plate which carries the crank-pin.The stud and sleeve are finished offflush, the former drilled and tappedfor a flat-headed screw which, witha washer, keeps the parts in place.In order to accommodate the slightprojection of this screw, and also thefixing lock-nut of the crank-pin, theflange-plate is hollowed out. Roundits rim are a number of diametricallyopposite holes (tapped ¼-in.) foradjustment; but really one pair isenough, as in practice it is simpler toget the adjustment by slipping backthe pinion on the lead-screw and

Nov. 18, 1910. ENGLISH MECHANIC AND WORLD OF SCIENCE: No. 2382. 365

NOTES FROM AN AMATEURTURNER (BY H.E.D.)

Part 4Chapter 3Introduction Here is a series of articles written anonymously and published by EnglishMechanics magazine; they include innovations not seen elsewhere. The author adopted thepen name ‘H.E.D.’and his identity remains a mystery.

A gift in the eyes of a recipient isalways of enhanced value if it is onewhich has been made by the giver.

We are again entering upon theseason of the year when we make it apoint to present our friends with somereminder of our esteem and goodwill.

The turner who delights in hiscraft finds special satisfaction inexecuting for his friend something hehas made. The Editor has asked me tosuggest designs of suitable and usefulobjects for turning, and I very readilydo so, but, at the same time, withdiffidence, as I am aware that tastesdiffer, and ideas on the subject ofsuitable gifts are very diverse. Iimagine that designs likely to findacceptance with the average turner arethose which do not involve elaboratedetail, or take an undue time tocomplete.

The designs suggested can, Ithink, be placed in the above category.

A Pedestal Clock.Fig. 1 represents a small clock

such as the "Westclox" on a pedestalstand. It can suitably be turned fromCrocus or African Black. My ownpreference would be the former; and,if neither is to hand, Boxwoodebonized might be tried. HobbiesLimited supply a black ebonizingfluid, which is highly commended,and might be tried with confidence.

We will make a start byconsidering the design of Fig. 1,commencing with the base marked D.

This is 3" x 5/8" and should, ifpossible, be turned square, usingeither the rectilinear or dome chuck toeffect this.

The part marked C is 2" x 7/8"cylindrical, as also are the partsmarked E and B. The fluted columnE is 3" x 1 3/8". It will look, I think,equally well reeded if desired.

The part marked B is 1 ¾ " x ¾ ".A is rectangular, 2 ¾ " x 1 ¾" x 3/8".As it is a platform for the clock, thisis subject to modification. The sizegiven is correct for one of the smallWestclox clocks, but it is desirable tofirst purchase the clock, as thisparticular make varies slightlyaccording to the model chosen.

An Ivory Box Design.The next design is for an ornamentalbox, Fig. 2. This will look wellturned, either elliptical or round;personally, I prefer the former. Thedesign, I think, is quite worthy ofreproduction in ivory, but is quitesuited, if preferred, for Crocus orAfrican Black. Extreme width 4 5/8",height, without knob, 2". The knob is3/8" diameter, and may be turnedwith the spherical-rest, or with thehand-turning tools, but it is no easytask to turn anything an exact sphereby hand. The writer has recentlycontrived what he regards as a mostperfect tool, which automaticallyturns any size sphere up to 2", byhand-turning rapidly, and leaves afine surface. There is no space hereto describe the tool. The writerhopes, however, before long, with theEditor's permission, to do so, as itought to be in every turner'spossession. The writer has said"good-bye" to two very fine sphericalslide-rests, so far as just plainspherical-turning is required, as hecan much more conveniently, and in a

Fig. 1. Design for Clock Stand inCrocus or African Black.

Fig. 2. Design for an Ornamental Box. Fig. 3. Circular Fig. 4. How the Letters areBox in Erinoid. designed

Part 4Chapter 4

BEAUTIFUL & USEFULOBJECTS FROM THE

LATHEIntroduction Here is a Christmas ‘starter’ followed by a series of articles published byRev.Gilbert Allan Grace in English Mechanics magazine. Grace was the author of‘Ornamental Turning Design’ and ‘The Art and Craft of Ornamental Turning.

Part 4Chapter 5

SOME CURIOSITIES OF TURNINGby W. Bagley

IntroductionThis series of articles was published by English Mechanics magazine in 1939. It givesdetailed instructions for making Chinese Balls, Geometric Solids and Inter-laced Balls.

January 27, 1939 English MechanicsSome Curiosities of Turning.

No. 1 – The Chinese Balls – W.Bagley

Ornamental turning, oval turning,square turning, etc., have all beenmentioned in the pages of this journal,but there is a branch of turning whichhas received very little mention in thenot inconsiderable literature ofturning. It is difficult to give thisbranch of the turner’s art a properdescriptive name. A glance at theillustrations in this article will showwhat is meant, however. “PuzzleTurning” might be used, since thewhole point is to make some objectwhich when examined by someoneunacquainted with the method ofmanufacture, immediately prompts thequestion “How is it made?” One of the best known curiositiesof turning is the set of “ChineseBalls”. Here we have three sphericalshells of decreasing size, one withinthe other, and a solid ball in the centre.The shells are perforated with holes toact as “windows” presumably so thatone can see the interior. The generalappearance of the curiosity (whichused to be made in the Canton district)is shown in Fig 1, together with a cut-away view, showing the interior. Itshould be remembered that in theactual object, the interior shells andball are allowed to roll about indisorder, thus adding to the mystery of

much to recommend it. Haldu – anIndian wood not often met with inthe usual way, has been usedsuccessfully, and for larger work,holly and sycamore are useful.Other woods which might be tried,if obtainable are myrtle, apple, andpear wood. Kingwood should notbe forgotten although in the presentcase, its colour – purple – issomewhat against it. The sameapplies to black ebony. Whateverwood is used, pay a good price inorder to get a piece as flawless aspossible. The best material of all is ivory,but only a small minority of readerswill be able to afford this expensivematerial, consequently recourse canbe had to various plastic materials.There are various forms of casein,while Catalin made from phenolieresins is to be recommended. It issupplied in rods 3inches diameter 16inches long, and also 3½inchesdiameter, 16 ¾inches long. Theformer weighs 5 1/8lbs and theother 7 1/8lbs. At the time ofwriting the price is 2s 6d per pound,and the material is made in a widevariety of colours including ivory.The material machines and handlesvery much like hardwood. Whatever material is used, it isnecessary to turn it into spheres.These should be of uniform size,since the various tools andappliances used are made to suit onesize sphere only. 3 inch diameter isa suitable size; smaller would makethe work more difficult, while thewood used for a larger size would,

how such an object could be turned inone solid piece on the lathe. It should be immediately statedthat abnormal skill and expensive andcomplicated tools are not required.Such objects have been turned onvery simple lathes. Naturally somespecial tools are needed, but these areby no means complicated ones. It ispresumed that the worker isacquainted with the usual turningoperations in particular, that ofturning a perfect sphere. In view ofthe fine nature of the work, theutmost discrimination should be usedin regard to selection of material.Prime Turkey boxwood is a favouritehardwood while zapatero – a speciesof boxwood which comes from theWest Indies and Central America has

Fig. 2. Chucking and Drilling Starting Holes.

Fig. 1. The Chinese Balls.

THE KENNAN SLIDE-RESTMADE BY J. H. EVANS

from English Mechanic magazine 28th September 1906

Introduction:

The Kennan Slide Rest is unusual in that it has an Eccentric Chuck mounted on it insteadof, as usual, on the Mandrel of the lathe; or it could have two Eccentric Chucks opposed toeach other.

The Kennan Chuck holds one of a series of cutting frames: Eccentric, Universal andDrilling; these screw onto the freely rotating wheel on the nose of the Chuck and are driven bythe overhead.

The Chuck may be rotated to any orientation and fixed there, or it may be rotated underpower to cut a flute or a segment; or it may be geared to the Spiral Apparatus to producegeometric patterns.J.H. Evans’s article on the Slide rest and how to make it is reproduced here.

Part 4Chapter 6

The 6” centre height Slide-rest illustrated in these photographs is theonly one of its kind seen by the Compiler and it is quite likely the onethat Evans made for Captain Pudsey Dawson.

Part 4Chapter 7Introduction

This article from Machinery magazine dated 17th June 1920, describes a mechanismwhich uses light to draw harmonic curves and records their paths by photography.

THE PHOTO-RATIOGRAPHfrom Machinery magazine

curves fail lamentably because any result isessentially one of purely empirical methods.Obviously, when starting a pendulum to swing(even when not subject to interference) the pointtraced by the supporting rod may be anythingbetween a straight line and a circle. In otherwords, it is impossible for the operator to showexactly the nature of the curves he iscompounding.

necessary at first briefly to consider thefundamental principles on which these curves arebased.

Firstly we have the conception of two forceswhich are vibrating in space in a closed curve –which may either be regular such as the circle orellipse, or possibly may form a gross distortion ofthese forms. Starting with this conception, wewish to trace out the path taken up when thesetwo vibrations are caused to interfere with eachother under certain pre-determined conditions.There is, for instance, the direction of eachvibration, which may proceed around the curvesin the same direction (concurrent rotation) or inopposite directions (opposed rotation). In morefamiliar mechanical language, they may beclockwise or anti-clockwise.

Next, it is obvious that the two vibrations maydiffer widely in period, one for instance, maycomplete its cycle three times whilst the othervibrates, say, seven times. Here lies our secondfactor, that of ratio, the one which of all of themgives the most distinguishing character to theresult.

The factor of amplitude is also one of greatimportance, one moreover which may be of fixedvalue, or subjected to decrement or increment.This factor more than the others is responsible forthe failure of the pendulum for exact work. Forexample, it is impossible to maintain one of thevibrations at a fixed amplitude, and thoughregarding decrement they are satisfactory,

It was to place the construction of thesecurves on a more satisfactory basis that the writermade the machine which forms the subject of thisarticle and when finished is intended completelyto control all the factors of every class ofvibration which forms a closed curve. It will be

[Firstly, we feel that no apology is necessary indealing to a certain extent with this interestingpiece of mechanism. It may be true, as the writerpoints out, that this instrument falls within thecategory of scientific toys, but, nevertheless,considered as an example of gearing combinedwith an ingenious linkage, we feel sure that it willcommend itself to our readers' interest. -EDITOR.]

The subject of the so-called harmonic curvesis an old one, and one which has never failed toexcite the interest of the scientific dilettante,firstly, from the simplicity with which anapparatus may be constructed to describe themand also in a greater measure, from the extremebeauty and delicacy of the result which is inmany cases attained.

The scientific world, in its narrower sense,however, turns a more or less cold shouldertowards this subject. Whilst the beauty of thecurves is nowhere denied, science fails to bescience unless it is founded upon exact premises,and in this sense the usual pendulum-drawn

Fig. 2. Another view of the Machine showing theLinkage at its greatest Lateral Extension.

Fig. 1. The Photo-Ratiograph.

JOPLIN’S DOUBLE CRANKSPart 4Chapter 8Introduction:

This chapter describes Joplin’s system for drawing curves of various shapes. A singlecrank will generate a circular curve whereas a double crank will generate a curve of variableradius. Apologies are tendered for the lack of clarity of the Plates; the only available sourcebeing a poor quality set of photocopies from which page 5 was missing.

The description of the mechanism is a little obscure but reference to the figures shouldhelp; for example, on Plate 1 are two representations of the cranks comprising a bar A, B,divided by holes at half-inch intervals. The bar is linked by pins to the cranks A, C, and B,D. The ends of the cranks C, and D, are pinned to the base board and a pencil placed in anyone of the half-inch spaced holes will describe a curve as the cranks are rotated.

Part 4Chapter 9Introduction This article is taken from Model Engineer and Electrician magazine20th October 1904. In principle it is similar to the Medallion or Portrait Lathe, but with theaddition of 3rd dimensional movement.

MECHANICAL CARVING &SCULPTING MACHINE

A new machine has recentlybeen shown at work in Londonwhich promises to become a veryvaluable assistant to builders andothers who require to producecarved work in wood or stone at aminimum of cost and labour. Ourillustration shows one of thesmallest sizes of the machine inwhich form it is suitable foramateur use, but in the largestmachines work up to 8 ft. or morein length or breadth can be dealtwith. The machine is essentially acopying machine and a model orpattern of the work to be repro-duced has first to be prepared. Ifnecessary, the copies may befinished absolutely in the machine,but in ordinary practice it isusually found preferable to onlyuse the machine to carry out thecarving to a certain stage, and toput the finishing touches on byhand. The machine is simplicityitself both in construction and themethod of handling. On ahorizontal bed or table the modelto be copied is clamped securely inposition between what are termed" heads." Ranged on either sideare corresponding heads, two,four, or six in number, accordingto the size and capacity of themachine, and in these are fixedblocks of wood, marble or metalfrom which the copies are to becarved. In the illustration herewiththere are three heads, the centreone of which is to hold the model,and the two outer ones the blocksof material to be operated upon.Above this table, suspended on acounter-poise steel frame ofdelicate balance and perfectfreedom of manipulation, areranged the drills, driven byelectricity, gas, or treadle power,which are to perform the work.The centre "pointer" is a dummy,and is controlled by the operator.The operator, seated at themachine, swings down the

delicately counterpoised frameuntil the dummy pointer ishovering over the model to becopied. Instantly the revolvingdrills cut into the rough blocks ofwood or stone on either hand,shaping them speedily as thepointer is moved to and fro. In theearlier stages of the work, drills oflarger size are necessary to clearaway the superfluous materialquickly, then as the copies beginto assume their exact form, andthe pointer is enabled to deal withthe detail of the model, these areexchanged for finer tools. As eachsurface is shaped, the model andthe copies are turned in therevolving "heads," which are eachgraduated with correspondingmarks, and a new face is dealtwith; the low relief is scooped out,the limbs are moulded, thedelicate curves of cheek and thepencilling of eyebrows and lipsare traced, and in a few hours,two, four, or more exact copies of

A MECHANICAL CARVER AND SCULPTOR

the original are turned out. All thatremains is the usual process ofsmoothing and finishing at thehands of the sculptor. Weunderstand that this machine isalready profitably employedabroad in the manufacture of lastsfor boot makers, gun-stocks,moulds, engineering patterns,numeral letters, and other articlesof regular or irregular shape, whichare required in quantity and at thesmallest cost. Skilled and highlypaid hand labour can be dispensedwith, and even boy-labouremployed on elementary carving ofthis description. We have seen thismachine in operation, and havealso seen a number of excellentspecimens of the class of work itproduces, among these being a pairof elaborately carved Corinthiancapitals in freestone, which wereturned out complete in forty-eighthours, as against an estimatedperiod of six weeks if cut by hand.The machines are made under theWenztel Patents, and are beingintroduced into this country byMachine Sculpture Ltd.

IntroductionThe compiler is grateful to the Ellison family, principally Bill and James Ellison, for their kind

permission to publish extracts from the copious notes made by Rev. C.C.Ellison, who owned well-equipped lathes by both Birch and Holtzapffel. Rev. Ellison was a turner of great distinction andexamples of his work were published in Rev. Grace’s book ‘Ornamental Turning Design’. Rev.Ellison also made a great number of improvements to the Birch ornamental turning lathe and hecontributed several inventions which were acknowledged by J H Evans in his book ‘OrnamentalTurning’ and his articles in English Mechanics magazine.

This chapter contains extracts from Ellison’s Book No.1 on the Birch lathe (Book 2 is known tohave existed but its present whereabouts is unknown). Then follows the Inventory of Ellison’sHoltzapffel lathe.

Buxton, May 30, 1892. Lathe No.1013 was ordered early in 1888 from Messrs. G Birch &Co. Salford, Manchester – but not delivered until just before Xmas 1891 – Having been so long, 3½years in construction, it is called “The Tortoise”. Tho’ nearly all my spare time has been spentupon it, it is very far from being in working order, especially as to the Rose Engine, Medallion andSpiral Apparatus. Mr Alex Gray and Mr T S Kennedy rendered much assistance in the designof its various parts – the latter having designed the arrangement for taking up wear and adjusting thecircular movement of the Spherical Rest.1. The naked lathe with 14 pitch change wheels and overhead – but no slide rests or chucks cost£193.-12.2. I have added wheels 130, 140 & 150 teeth: cost £3.-6.-. – page 103. The cross-slide (without any rest in it) weighs about 11½ lbs – (Spherical Rest 33 lbs)General Notes (1) Page 16

Height of centres 5.6". The bed of the Lathe No.1013 is 6' 2" long having a steel guide screwof 4 threads per inch. - The treadle shaft is screwed (8 threads per inch) so that the wheel can bemoved along it so as to adjust its speeds & those of the Mandrel pulley; the wheel has 3 sets ofspeeds (see p. 34) for Iron, Oval and Wood turning; also a small 4 speed pulley on end of treadleshaft from which a gut works to a similar pulley on the back shaft, which carries a 20 wheelworking into an 82 wheel on 2nd Mandrel, from which a 44 wheel works into a 76 wheel on 1stMandrel, thus dividing the speed of the back shaft by nearly 7½ (7.42). Now when gut is on No.4speed of end treadle pulley & on No.1 of back shaft pulley, 17 revs of handle gives 1 rev of Mandrel& since pressure of foot on treadle is at least 150 lbs, it follows that 150 x 17 = 2550 lbs is thepower (neglecting friction) with which Mandrel is driven; - by changing position of the gut upon theend treadle & back shaft pullies the speed on the mandrel may be increased - this may be regardedas the 1st arrangement for driving the Lathe for iron &c., &c., - p. 20.2nd ditto drive from countershaft direct to Mandrel pulley3rd ditto to iron speed (or other) on treadle shaft & from its wood (or other) speed to Mandrelpulley.4th ditto by worm-shaft (driven from hanging countershaft) working into the 82 wheel on 2ndMandrel5th ditto from hanging to back-shaft pulley. (see p. 20) Assuming that one treadles about 80 timesper minute, 1st arrangement gives from 5 to 26 turns of Mandrel per minute (viz: 5, 8, 15 & 26)

Page 17When countershaft was making only 400 revs per minuteNo.3 on C.S. No.2 Iron, No.2 Oval, No.1 Mandrel = 720No.9 on C.S. No.1 Iron, No.2 Oval, No.1 Mandrel = 320 for Oval turningNo.9 on C.S. No.1 Oval, No.2 Iron, No.1 Mandrel = 180No.5 on C.S. No.2 Iron, No.2 Wood, No.3 Mandrel = 1616

Part 4Chapter 10

ELLISON’S NOTES

IntroductionA collection of around 60 pages of notes in Bazley’s own hand were found with his

Holtzapffel Lathe No.2273. It is possible that they, or some of them, were intended for a book.Some of the original pages are missing, but from what remains it is obvious that they contain noinformation that cannot be found in the works of J.J. & C. Holtzapffel, comprising, as they do,very basic descriptions of the common components of an ornamental turning lathe and varioustables. The notes do, however, include a description of a less well-known invention by Bazley: animproved Universal Coupling and Additional Radial Arm (banjo) for the Spiral Apparatus; andthese pages only are reproduced here. Photographs of the component parts, made for Bazley byH & Co., are also shown here.

Part 4Chapter 11

BAZLEY’S NOTES

IntroductionIn 1927 Holtzapffel & Co., were forced, by rising manufacturing costs and the waning

interest in ornamental turning, to close the business. Here is the Sale Price List of theirremaining equipment.

Part 4Chapter 12

HOLTZAPFFEL & CO.,CLOSING DOWN SALE

IntroductionLeslie Paton was a skilled hand-engraver who, being unable to afford trade Rose and Straight-Line

Engines, made a dual-purpose machine for himself from parts of a small milling machine and variousother bits and pieces. He did some fine work on this machine and he left a series of cryptic notes andtables of settings that are reproduced here in the hope that some fellow engine turners may find themuseful.

Leslie Paton’sNotebook, hismachine and afew specimensof his work.

Part 4Chapter 13

LESLIE PATON’S ENGINE TURNINGNOTES

OF THE LATHE IN GENERAL, ANDPARTICULARLY OF THE LATHE WITH THESQUARE FOOTBOARD AND THE MOVABLESUPPORT FOR RAISING OR LOWERING THEWHEEL.

I should have preferred not to speak of the latheitself; there are so many different models and forms,not only for the mandrel and the headstock, but for thelathe bench, the wheel, the footboard, and the backcentre that it is useless to think of describing them all.I will only occupy myself with the lathe such as isconstructed at Nantes and on this subject I will expressa regret - it is not to find all amateurs adopt that model,which for the lowest price presents them with the

greatest number of advantages. Perhaps it depends onthe manufacturers to modify their patterns, and to putinto the hands of the inexperienced amateur animplement of the most suitable kind and not to forcehim according as he progresses to purchasemodifications of it, surely costly and often useless.How frequent it is that the amateur above all he wholiving in the country has not the resources of a largetown is prevented from executing the simplest workson account of not having a complete lathe. It is timethat progress should take the place of routine. It isessential that the journeyman turner working at thelathe should forget for a time that he works 300 days inthe year, and that he has done so for ten or twentyyears and that he can execute on his lathe, of which heis master, works in which an amateur cannot succeedeven after moderately long practice. Let the machinecome to the aid of him who uses it, and I am convincedthat such as would not have been able to perform adifficult piece of work on the lathes actually sold, evenafter a long apprenticeship, will perform it withoutdifficulty and after only a few weeks of practice on thelathe which I point out as the best (figs. 1 and 2). Ieven affirm that many delicate pieces of work cannotbe easily executed on the greater number of existinglathes on account of the inability of the performer tovary the speed of the mandrel or the tension of thecord. What annoyance it is to see a roughed out pieceof work, half finished, break on account of someunskilfulness, or of a slip in the chuck, which even thecleverest cannot avoid but which are accidents whichwould have no evil consequences with a well formedlathe. What is necessary in order that a simple lathemay be complete? 1st. That a ring of brass a, with agroove fixed on the large wheel, b, allows a diminutionof speed by changing the length of the cord (fig 1).2nd. That the wheel can be lowered in order todiminish or to increase the tension of the cord bymeans of the movable support, c c f (same figure). 3rd.That the mandrel of the lathe should be hollowthroughout its whole length.

The greater number of the lathes which I haveseen with the exception of those which figured at theExhibition and some of great value, at any rate almostall those which are made at Nantes, have their flywheel mounted between points, hence theimpossibility, on account of the size of the crank, toraise or lower the wheel with less than a costly

Introduction: Frederic Antoine Caillard of Nantes, France, was a turner who examined apair of inter-laced balls in a shop window, then went home, hollowed out not just one ball, butanother six balls, each interlaced with the main ball by four holes. Caillard wrote these notes in1879 and this English translation was published in Amateur Mechanics magazine in 1884.

Part 4Chapter 14

CAILLARD’S INTERLACEDSPHERES

from Amateur Mechanics magazine 1884

In the 1990’s the late Daniel McDonald, aCanadian turner, took the Caillard system astage further: he perfected the art of Double-Interlocked Spheres. Here is his diagramshowing the relative sizes of a combination ofdouble interlocked spheres and the accessroutes for the cuts.

Daniel McDonald

Diagram and Quadrant sections for Double Interlock.

IntroductionThe following information is taken from a catalogue of Engine Turning Machines by Gudel of

Switzerland and was found with a machine dating from the 1940’s. The Ellipse Chuck asusually constructed allows concentric patterns to be cut merely by changing the radius of thecutter on the Slide-rest. The Oval-line Apparatus, as supplied by Gudel with certain of their RoseEngines, however, allows a progressive decrease of the major axis of the ellipse as the chuckrotates and the radius of the cutter is simultaneously reduced by the Slide-rest lead-screw. Thisfeature is used in conjunction with the automatic Barleycorn effect whereby differential gearingenables the pattern to be phased while, at the same time, the radius of the cutter, being also gearedto the rotation of the Mandrel, is progressively reduced (a description of the differential gearingmechanism is given in Part 1, Chapter 16, ‘Mechanism for Transposing the Rosette Profile’).

It will be understood from studying J. H. Evans’s notes on the Ellipse Chuck in his book:‘Ornamental Turning’, that a progressive diminution of the minor axis (by reducing the radius ofthe cuts) causes the shape of the ellipses to become so elongated that they result in an unsightlystraight line if progressed all the way to the centre of the work. The Oval-line Apparatus,however, reduces both minor and major axes simultaneously, so that the pattern continues to beproportionate all the way to the centre (as shown in the engraving below) where it ends in a dot orpoint instead of the usual unsightly straight line.

Part 4Chapter 15

THE OVAL-LINE APPARATUS

The Cam-ring of the Ellipse Chuck is usually clamped to the headstock, released foradjustment of the major axis and then re-clamped in position for optimum rigidity. Some Cam-rings, notably the improved Birch type, are mounted on a slide to facilitate quick adjustment; butthese are normally re-clamped after the adjustment is made. The Gudel Ovaline Apparatus hasthe Cam-ring on a very precise slide with a lead-screw connected by gear trains to both therotation of the Mandrel and that of the Slide-rest leadscrew, such that a calculation may be madeto determine the ratios of change-wheels required to start the pattern at the desired maximum ofthe minor axis and to finish it with a dot at the centre of the work. This slide is so well-made that it does not shake when the Chuck is rotated and, unlike theconventional style of Ellipse Chuck, this model is never rotated at speed, being used exclusivelyfor rose engine work. The apparatus may also be reversed so as to start in the centre and progressoutwards. A different type of mechanism for changing the minor axis while the Ellipse Chuck isrunning is described in Part 3, Chapter 13, ‘Rockenhauser’s Ellipse Chuck. This was not intendedfor connection by gear trains to the rotation of the Mandrel and/or the Slide-rest lead-screw, butthere is no reason why such connections should not be made for the Rockenhauser Chuck. Regrettably no pictures or diagrams of the Ovaline apparatus could be found.

Part 4Chapter 16

WILLIAM GADDUM’SPATTERNS

William Henry Adolphus Gaddum was a wealthy Manchester silk merchant who, in 1895, boughta large area of farmland in Windermere and built thereon a magnificent house, Brockhole. BeatrixPotter, a cousin of Gaddum was a frequent visitor to the house. After William’s death in 1945 thehouse became a convalescent home and since 1965 it has been the main Visitor Centre for the LakeDistrict National Park.

William bought lathe No.2410 from Holtzapffel & Co., on 3rd February 1907. This is one of thefinest lathes made by them and William made very good use of it. He was a master turner anddesigned and made a great number of boxes, broaches, buttons, and other ornamental items, many forsale at local bazaars.

He made a great study of fine line patterns using, among other apparatus, the Geometric Chuck,the Epicycloidal Cutting Frame, the Rose Chuck and the Geometric Slide-rest. Here is a collection ofnumbered prints taken from wood-blocks made by Gaddum for this study. Unfortunately noexplanation of his techniques has come to light.

1

1a 2

2a3 3a

4 4a 5

IntroductionThe following tables were published by Holtzapffel & Co and others. There is a small

element of duplication in that some of these tables form an integral part of the documents inwhich they appear in previous Chapters of this book.

Rosette Phasing Table…………………………………………………… 836

Settings for Ibbetson’s Geometric Chuck………………………………. 837

Retarding Trains for Ibbetson’s Geometric Chuck.................................... 839

Settings for Plant’s Geometric Chuck…………………………………… 841

Plant’s Screw Cutting & Spiral Turning Table………………………….. 846

Settings for the Elliptical Cutting Frame……………………………........ 847

Epicycloidal Cutting Frame Compensation……………………………… 848

Holtzapffel’s Table of Wheels for Spiral Spherical Turning……….......… 849

Evans Description of the Spiral Apparatus……………………………….. 851

Evans Tables for Screw Cutting & Spiral Turning……………..…........... 857

Table for Originating Holtzapffel Screw Threads……………...…..……. 862

Bazley’s Table for the Division Plate…………………………………..… 864

Table for Bead Drills………………………………………..…………..... 865 - 866

Appendix TABLES

Appendix

15-06-2013