Old Photos - A Garage & Machine Shop filled with Machine Tools Circa 1910

t-head · Jun 6, 2014

This photo is an enlargement of only one half of a very interesting early garage scene in New Zealand that is filled with machine tools which were powered by either a steam or gasoline engine through an overhead line-shaft and belts.

Seen in the image are: three lathes, two of which were originally foot powered, a shaper, bandsaw and a drill press, one more unidentified machine and the engine that powered the shop

See two more images of the interior of this shop and the rest of the equipment including the engine that powered the shop, and another interesting garage photo on The Old Motor.

athack · Jun 6, 2014

Cool...thank you for sharing.

Frank R · Jun 6, 2014

Buffers, grinders, power hacksaw.

Maybe a horizontal mill? Go straight up (back?) from the motorcycle and look behind the lathe.

jackalope · Jun 6, 2014

I absolutely LOVE the picture quality! I wish I could get this and frame it!

Very cool. Thanks

SouthBendModel34 · Jun 6, 2014

The machine behind the treadle lathe seems to be a rather small "Ship Bandsaw". It's a bandsaw where the table is always horizontal, and the whole carriage with the upper and lower wheels tilts to incline the blade. You usually would see this machine in a ship or boat-building context, where it is used to put the correct bevel on the outside of the sawn frames (ribs).

You have no doubt seen "Tilt Table" and "Tilt Arbor" circular table saws. This is the bandsaw equivalent of a tilt arbor saw.

In a brass-era motorcar context, I would suppose it is used for making wooden auto body components. The brassies had "coachwork" bodies; wooden frames with steel panels attached. Coachwork was done in this shop ! See the frame saw hung in the rafter !!

As interesting as that bandsaw is, I don't find it quite as fascinating as the travelling-head shaper next to that same lathe.

I'll bet I'm not the only one who would like to somehow travel back in time to this shop on a day when they had a HELP WANTED - MACHINIST sign in the window ! Thank you, T-head, for posting this.

John Ruth

manualmachinist · Jun 6, 2014

Frank R said:
Buffers, grinders, power hacksaw.

Maybe a horizontal mill? Go straight up (back?) from the motorcycle and look behind the lathe.

If you go to the link that is posted...the other photo shows it to be a drill press.
What a cool couple of pictures! Such high quality. I can see the photographer holding the lens cap and counting the exposure in his mind.

I like the drip trays under the line shaft bearings,

and I noticed the old knob and tube electric wiring up in the rafters.
It looks like there is a tiered box for holding the lathe change gears orderly and safe from damage.
Thanks for sharing.

Frank R · Jun 6, 2014

manualmachinist said:
If you go to the link that is posted...the other photo shows it to be a drill press.

No, I meant between the two columns but behind the lathe. Maybe it is just the back gearing for the lathe. But it looks like an overarm for a mill.

manualmachinist · Jun 6, 2014

Frank R said:
No, I meant between the two columns but behind the lathe. Maybe it is just the back gearing for the lathe. But it looks like an overarm for a mill.

After another hard look, I think I see it now Frank. The round over arm to a mill. It doesn't appear to be the lathe. You can see it has it's own drive belt.

kitno455 · Jun 6, 2014

What about the map chalked on the floor in front of the lathe?

allan

CBlair · Jun 6, 2014

Nice little sliding head shaper in the middle next to the lathe, dont see many of those around.

Thanks for sharing the photo.

Charles

Ohio Mike · Jun 6, 2014

A traveling head shaper. Very cool, never seen one in person. I know Niles made one, not sure who else did.

Sachmanram · Jun 6, 2014

jackalope said:
I absolutely LOVE the picture quality! I wish I could get this and frame it!

Very cool. Thanks

Hello Jackalope,

I was able to print very good quality pictures from the link. If you click on the link provided in the first post, then click on the thumbnail, then click on the size in pixels above the photo.... then click on the tool asterix on your toolbar to print the picture. I used glossy photo paper and depending on whether you choose the "portrait" setting or the "landscape" setting, you will get different portions of the photo. Portrait for the first one and landscape for the second worked well for me. I hope that this helps...

Thanks T-head for showing us this link...

Brian

t-head · Jun 6, 2014

Did any of you find the alarm clock in the photo?

extropic · Jun 6, 2014

Thanks for the post.

Looking at that bandsaw (without any sort of blade guard(s)) brings the concept of 'survival o the fittest' to mind for me.

TedinNorfolk · Jun 7, 2014

The lathe may be a Henry Milnes-the legs are very Milnes. The shaper may be Smith & Coventry. OTOH they may not be-there were so many machine makers at that period. Many aimed at mobile workshop,marine,and motor trade-especially Drummonds of Guildford. The only thing I can identify with certainty is the worm hoist,made by Herbert Morris,Loughborough. Ted

kitno455 · Jun 7, 2014

Perhaps the bandsaw is "The Comet" made by F.W. Reynolds of Acorn Works, Blackfriars Rd, London. It seems to date from the 1880s, but I can't find any pictures.

allan

SouthBendModel34 · Jun 9, 2014

Extropic wrote:

"Looking at that bandsaw (without any sort of blade guard(s)) brings the concept of 'survival o the fittest' to mind for me."

Take a look to the left of the upper bandsaw wheel. Tell me what you think of the light-colored line which tangent to the wheel, descending to the left at about a 45 degree angle. I see this as evidence that it is a three-wheeled bandsaw, with the third wheel out of view.

Kitno455.

I would like very much to hear more about "The Comet" bandsaw. This may be a very interesting three wheel configuration with a tilting blade.

John Ruth

99Panhard · Jun 9, 2014

What a great photograph. To me, it dramatically emphasizes how much early cars are like machine tools... in fact, I think it fair to say rebuilding them has much more in common with rebuilding machines than it does conventional "automotive" work, certainly in the modern sense and even compared to the 1920s and 30s. All of the early "how to fix them" books emphasize that a properly equipped garage needed the sort of equipment this photo clearly illustrates. With a huge variety of makers, none of which were easily accessible for spare parts, it was taken for granted that a "garageman" was going to be making parts rather than just replacing them.

j lewis · Jun 9, 2014

Oh look! 5S!
JinNJ

SouthBendModel34 · Jun 9, 2014

J Lewis:

5S ??? You mean like "Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain ??? That would be confusing modern MBA buzzwords with the habits of well-organized craftsmen.

One look at the shelf in the right background of the OP photo should dissuade you from the idea that this is anything other than a shop which was swept out carefully, perhaps even mopped, for some posed photos. Look at the tools piled on the bed of the small lathe, and the tooling stashed under the travelling-head shaper. There is a yet-lighter lathe with an even messier bed partly shown on the left.

That whole "standardize" step is difficult to apply to a repair shop where you don't know what is going to come in the door next. You have to have a pile of "likely" material, some of which you may NEVER use.

JRR

Old Photos - A Garage & Machine Shop filled with Machine Tools Circa 1910

Cast Iron

Stainless

Stainless

Titanium

Diamond

Stainless

Stainless

Stainless

Titanium

Diamond

Titanium

Stainless

Cast Iron

Stainless

Stainless

Titanium

Diamond

Stainless

Aluminum

Diamond

Similar threads