Home Page

About Me

My Workshop

Fenn Lathe

Geometric chucks

Traction Engine

My Ideal lathe

My Old Iron

Engineering Tips

Old Machine Pic's

Panther 100

Update Record

Links

Guest Book

All the good quality OT lathes made in the 1800's had a degree of artistry about them in the way they were made, and in the quality of the fitments. Something the Victorian's were very good at was embellishments, or ornamenting things that today would be left very plain and utilitarian. That's one of the things that attracts me to the Victorian accomplishments.

Well my Fenn as far as I am concerned falls into the above category, so I have made some nice bolts to hold the bed and end frames together.

My machine had a motley collection of old bolts, probably recycled from a derelict tractor, with various head sizes and lengths. Certainly not what would have been supplied originally. But they were basically half inch Whitworth threads, which gives an idea of scale. I have seen this type of fixing before and it is an excellent way of providing a good secure fixing without it looking 'clunky'. Well I couldn't very well make the bolts and not a spanner so I gave that the full works too.

The bolts are MS, washers brass, the spanner head is also MS but the shaft and pins are silver steel, the handle between the brass ware is Rosewood.

And this is them in place, although the bed is yet to get spruced up, looks somewhat better than old tractor parts I think....