Asquith
Diamond
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2005
- Location
- Somerset, UK
OK, I'm guessing at the sizes, but you get the idea.
I assume that the winding/haulage drum had suffered some distress, and that it was necessary to recut or skim the thread. Who would have thought to do it like this? You would? Of course.
In case it's not clear what's going on, the drum is being driven by a belt round its brake surface, presumably by a portable or traction engine. The drum then drives the lathe spindle via a chain, and the lathe spindle is driving the leadscrew in the usual way. The cross slide has been repositioned
The lathe has been bolted to something, and weighted down with weights and scrap firebars, rails, etc.
The column on the right? Don’t know, possibly the brake, or clutch.
You’d need to concentrate! Once you start cutting……….
The location is probably the Simmer and Jack East gold mine in South Africa, probably in 1904-1912. The photo and the following information were provided by Mr Philip Meidlinger. The imposing man on the left of the lathe was William Philips, his great grandfather.
William Philips was probably the brains behind the lathe set up. He was foreman of the turners, and later resident engineer at the gold mine. He qualified as an engineer in 1916. He had served his apprenticeship in the 1890s at the shipyard of Hall, Russell & Co in Aberdeen. He patented a safety device for reversible mine winding/haulage machines (US patent No. 999520).