Lathe, Prototype Model, 1817
date: label: date made
content: 1817
label: date made
content: 1961
name: label: maker
content: Severn-Lamb Ltd.
notes: label: Description
content: This is a model of a prototype lathe built in 1817 by Welsh inventor Richard Roberts. The model has a scale of 2”-1’ and is made of brass (finished to represent iron) and stainless steel. The table is powered by chains from a horizontal windless mounted under the bed. This model was made by Severn-Lamb Ltd. of Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England in 1961.
label: Description
content: Richard Roberts (1789-1864) was a British engineer, inventor, and manufacturer who introduced significant advancements to the landscape of precision machinery for mass production. Born Llanymynech, Roberts began his career in trades work by learning a variety of different skills such as patternmaking and turning. He notably worked in the shop of Henry Maudslay, where he learned the value of precision engineering. In 1817, Roberts built a prototype of a lathe that this model is based on. The lathe was incredibly advanced for its time, able to turn work six feet long and having a back gear able to have a range of speeds. Roberts continued on to invent famed machines such as the self-acting spinning mule, a key component in the development of mass production of textiles.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United Kingdom: England
label: associated place
content: United Kingdom: England, Stratford-on-Avon
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Mechanical and Civil Engineering
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MC.319494
label: catalog number
content: 319494
label: accession number
content: 237918
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Lathe, Prototype Model
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 10 x 6.5 x 15;
label: Measurements
content: overall: 10 1/4 in x 6 1/2 in x 15 5/8 in; 26.035 cm x 16.51 cm x 39.6875 cm