The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1892-03-04
MONSTER MACHINES
The Most Powerful Gun Lathe in Il
NNnI.Id.


World.
The largest. heaviest and most powerful
gun lathe i'll the world is now being built
for the naval gun shops at Washington by
William Sellers IL Co. of this city. The
contract for this stupendous instrument
was awarded December 5, 1890, and the
company has been working steadily upon
| it ever since, with the prospect of COM
plotting it by January.
This lathe, which viii be constructed of
bronze, steel and cast iron, will weigh
100000 pounds and will be I33 feet in
length. Its greatest hight will be II feet.
its greatest width 10 feet 6 inches. and it's
boring capacity Is inches. The largest
guns that the naval shops can now con-
struct are of ten-inch bore, and these are
also the largest employed in the service
! When the lathe is completed, however,
| the navy will be equipped with sixteen
inch bore shooting irons, more than one
third as big again as the guns now in use
AS soon as the lathe, which will cost
$4,000. is completed, the company Will
begin operations upon seven others.
These will be only slightly smaller than
the other, and will he of l4-inch bore.
They will be built at cost, in round
numbers, of S450,000, and will be en-
ployed for boring and turning the gun
tubes and jackets.
One of the greatest features of the To-
inch lathe will be its face plate. This
portion Of the lathe is now almost COM
pleted; it is constructed throughout of
cast steel and weighs 100, 900 pounds. It
is provided with four Adjustable steel
jaws and a gear wheel which has
seyentyfive teeth of 4-inch pitch and
l0l-inch face. Skilled workmen have
been employed day and night for three
weeks in cutting these teeth and the
operation is not yet finished. Fourteen
speeds, ranging by exact geometrical
progression from Il revolutions to 4.3
revolutions per minute, will be obtained,
with cutting pressure OH a 50-inch
diameter OF 10000 pounds on the
slowest speed. This plate is said to be
one of the most perfect and costly steel
structures that has ever been built by
machinists.
The bed of the lathe is now lying in the
company's shops, and it, too. is almost
finished. This is built of caSt-iron, and
is 10 feet TO- inches long, with width OF
nine feet. The wide part, or main bed,
has four ways, two of which carry the
tool-carriage on one side, while the other
two serve TO hold the steady rests and tail
stock on the other. The middle ways are
formed in one section of metal
The boring arrangement is provided
with a siX-Inch steel screw, which is
sixty two feet III length. The screw re-
ceives both slow and quick motion from
a short gear shaft, connecting il with the
proper train of gears on the side of the
boring bench. All the parts OF the lathe,
which include head stock, tool carriages,
rests. tail stock, boring arrangements and
counters, are built on the same enormous
scale, and are perfect examples of the
machinistS art.
The fouTteeninch lathes will be con-
Structed upon the same model as the six
teen-iuch instrument, but will be slightly
smaller throughout. Each bed will be
siXty-five feet in length, and the other
parts Will be built upon similar scale.
| They Will be pushed to completion as
quickly as possible. but the exact time
this Will require is Observation-Disclosures
phia Record.