Sunday, July 21, 2013

Holtzapfel

Another one of my loves.  Holtzapfel lathes.  They are beautiful and make beautiful things, but good luck affording one. 

These things were also important aiding to the further development of precision machinist lathes.  There is an old saying, "a lathe is the only tool that can make a more precise version of itself."  So you can dial down your tolerances from +/- .25 inches to +/- .001 inches.

If you really want one, I'd suggest going the easier route.  Become a master machinist and make your own.  Cheaper that way too, maybe.  And at the end you can use your lathe to its fullest capability, too.

2 comments:

Old NFO said...

That is piece of artwork in and of itself!

ProudHillbilly said...

Once upon a time functional things were made beautifully.