Thank you for sharing this! I grew up in the outskirts of Chicago, everything one way was city and I turn around to hundreds of miles of corn and soy fields, each with century-old barns and shops that drove my imagination nuts! I was a kid in the 90s when those structures were falling over and being replaced by endless subdivisions. There were a few living museums in the area but those were all focused on my town's steel industry, or the technology that built the I&M Canal 80 years before the period you're aiming for. You're meeting my need to see what the heck was actually going on inside those old shops and factories, so thank you!
thank you for taking such an interest in our older brothers' machines. with you, and men like you these treasures are one step closer to lasting forever. i wish you lived next door.
Engle coach shop of jolliet Mt built one of these to duplicate axles and spokes for horse drawn equipment except his uses an angle grinder to really hog off the material at a good pace
The blades will probably be designed to not catch &/or tear out the grain when driven in one direction as opposed to the other. As for the drive spikes slipping, sharp blades with the right relief angles will mitigate this. I admire your love for these old machines. I’m of a similar mold myself. My father taught us the appreciation for arcane technology and it stuck in my younger brother and I. Enjoy your “new” toy!
Great job! As a Dutchman this reminds me of the machines they used to shape the outer countour of our famous wooden clogs (klompen), which came into use around the same time as this machine was built. You can see them in action in several museums, they work pretty similar though I think they rotate the workpiece at a higher speed, about 2 or 3 times faster then you did. The wood (usually willow or poplar) is roughly pre-cut into the shape of the clog before it is put on the machine to reduce the depth of cut.
Awesome pattern lathe, I should think that would be fun to restore/ refurbish and get it fully operational again. That was a job well done on the bearing adapter plate, looked like it worked quite well. Thanks for the video, enjoyed watching and a little envious also.
Man, that is one impressive machine. Such ingenuity. Thanks for saving it! Looking forward to more applications of it. Canthook handles, splitting maul handles, wagon wheel spoke repair, staircase railing spindle reproduction, Queen Anne or Queen Victoria chair or table leg reproduction... The possibilities are endless!
Good Day! I'm glad I happened to find your site and am now subscribed. When I was a youngster my family had a similar duplicator that went along with the other gun smithing items our small family business used. My father ran the bluing and fine metal stuff, but my mother and both grandfathers made custom stocks/ forearms and hand grips. Anyway, I remember there being an issue sometimes when duplicating butt stocks, that if the wood was too thick it could cause chipping and or it would get stuck on the blade shield. My Father fixed this buy creating a larger guide surface. He duplicated with steel (the guide) making it 1/2 its own diameter again. This translated into the raw block being farther way from the cutters on the first pass. It wasn't always needed, but when it was it solved this problem of stock size. Hope it helps
These duplicating cutter machines are amazing. For many years the business next door to ours manufactured wooden aircraft propellers using this type machine. The master propeller templates were only half of a propeller. The machine would carve half of the propeller blank then the operator would reposition the blank end for end - reinstall it in the machine and run the master template again. This insured that both blades were carved to the exact same twist (or pitch). They usually made only a 1/4” depth of cut on each pass so it would take about an hour to produce one propeller. That are out of business now but a company here in Florida is still manufacturing wooden propellers for small aircraft and for airboats.
I wish I had , both the gumption and the space to collect some of the wonderful old machinery that has passed me by over the years. This replicator is a genuine piece of kit I bet there were many a wood worker back in the day wished they had one, mule posts to gun stocks. I wish I had one forty years ago. A friend of mine had a water mill powering a huge old timber mill, that big old saw blade used to hum and sing when spinning . It ran off a prop shaft that ran in a tunnel from the water mill to the shed in which it sat, there were no machines left in the mills workshop a lathe like that would have fitted in well and been easily driven by the overhead shaft.
Copy lathes were also used for making rifle stocks. Traditionally the prototype used for mass production was significantly larger than finished product to ensure they were rigid in a production environment.
It’s a cool old lathe . Now there isn’t an excuse for having a bad handle in your axe . I hope we get to see this one hooked up in the line shaft shop . Thanks
A shop I used to work in had a similar machine. The frame and carriage were of wood with some cast iron pieces, legs cast iron. The cutter was a very thick circular saw blade, about 8" diameter. A stack of them came with the machine, they did not leave as nice of a cut surface as yours. The cutter head was mounted in front, so as to be even scarier, the feed was by a drum and cable that winched the carriage through the cut. It was thought to be from the 1850's, there was no clue as to who had made it.
Love it, I’d most definitely say home made! I my self have built some things that I didn’t have a fortune to by but had the necessary items and knowledge on hand. Thanks for sharing
Always wondered about copy lathe's and how barley twist spindles were made so was super interested having this video pop up, got to the bit when you said it needs stuff doing and was then disappointed thinking have to wait for more episodes and then suddenly it's working, excellent job mate and thanks for sharing appreciated
I always like see such interesting machines and how they work. Looking at this I get the feeling that it could also duplicate rifle shocks as well. Still would have to channel them out but the outsides would be shaped... Thumbs Up!
I saw a similar machine in full production of shovel handles, it too was ancient line shaft driven 1897 vintage the old guy that ran it said it was also used in WW1 carving out wheel spokes, wagon shafts, rifle stocks for the 303's, the old guy passed away his whole property was abandoned then lost to bush fires a couple of years ago the scrap vultures took everything including burnt roofing iron and anything metal.
Very very cool!! I have always wanted to find one of the old aluminum patterns some of the old lathes would use. Amazing machine! I hope to find one one day!
I'd probably look at making a pattern and running the blank through a bandsaw so the lathe doesn't work so hard. It should allow for one pass with a much smaller cut.
Very cool! You can remove that chain and take it to a Fastenall or other chain supplier (for size/pitch matching) and get what are called "half links" that allow you to take up slack of less than a full link; very inexpensive. You may not need to build a tensioner for that.
I have also heard these generically called tracer lathes also. you can make anything you can make a pattern for. hatchet and hammer handles. decorative railing pieces. we had one that someone made a more pointed tracer bar and cutters and used it for furniture pieces and also probably of more interest to you...They are excellent at making flat belt pulleys just make a pattern with the correct crown and you can easily duplicate it :)
Interesting, I didn't know there was such a machine.... Where do you getting 110 and 220 volts? That was long gone in ME 40 years ago, we no have 120 and 240 volts......
Flat left or right hewing axes have bent handles but they are green cut and tied to a heavy shingle of wood, then wedges are pounded where the crook needs to be below the head. It isn't much, just enough to not shred your knuckles flattening a log cabin wall or floor and cut flat comfortably.
Duplicating lathe… They had one at Silver Dollar City which was powered by steam. Used it to make baseball bats, rolling pins, and numerous other items. Unfortunately there was a fire a few years back and I don’t think they were able to save it but I’m not positive.
Got a sledge head in front of me now. Didn't like the price of handles so It is my riveting anvil now. Putting walnut scales on a little bucksaw blade patch knife with brass pins. I like the copier. Did anyone ever have two axis panel copiers before 1900?
I am in my 40s, so relative to the age of these machines, I think I am still young enough to say as a young person I love this content!
I know some old timers and even some young that enjoy this content!
Thanks again!!
Thank you for sharing this! I grew up in the outskirts of Chicago, everything one way was city and I turn around to hundreds of miles of corn and soy fields, each with century-old barns and shops that drove my imagination nuts! I was a kid in the 90s when those structures were falling over and being replaced by endless subdivisions. There were a few living museums in the area but those were all focused on my town's steel industry, or the technology that built the I&M Canal 80 years before the period you're aiming for. You're meeting my need to see what the heck was actually going on inside those old shops and factories, so thank you!
thank you for taking such an interest in our older brothers' machines. with you, and men like you these treasures are one step closer to lasting forever. i wish you lived next door.
Very interesting. Kudos for saving and reviving vintage machinery.
You are also saving knowledge, talents and skills whilst doing so. 🎉🎉🎉
Engle coach shop of jolliet Mt built one of these to duplicate axles and spokes for horse drawn equipment except his uses an angle grinder to really hog off the material at a good pace
The blades will probably be designed to not catch &/or tear out the grain when driven in one direction as opposed to the other. As for the drive spikes slipping, sharp blades with the right relief angles will mitigate this.
I admire your love for these old machines. I’m of a similar mold myself. My father taught us the appreciation for arcane technology and it stuck in my younger brother and I. Enjoy your “new” toy!
Great job! As a Dutchman this reminds me of the machines they used to shape the outer countour of our famous wooden clogs (klompen), which came into use around the same time as this machine was built. You can see them in action in several museums, they work pretty similar though I think they rotate the workpiece at a higher speed, about 2 or 3 times faster then you did. The wood (usually willow or poplar) is roughly pre-cut into the shape of the clog before it is put on the machine to reduce the depth of cut.
Awesome pattern lathe, I should think that would be fun to restore/ refurbish and get it fully operational again. That was a job well done on the bearing adapter plate, looked like it worked quite well. Thanks for the video, enjoyed watching and a little envious also.
Man, that is one impressive machine. Such ingenuity. Thanks for saving it! Looking forward to more applications of it. Canthook handles, splitting maul handles, wagon wheel spoke repair, staircase railing spindle reproduction, Queen Anne or Queen Victoria chair or table leg reproduction... The possibilities are endless!
That is a fascinating machine! You are a great mechanic and an even better teacher.
Good Day! I'm glad I happened to find your site and am now subscribed. When I was a youngster my family had a similar duplicator that went along with the other gun smithing items our small family business used. My father ran the bluing and fine metal stuff, but my mother and both grandfathers made custom stocks/ forearms and hand grips. Anyway, I remember there being an issue sometimes when duplicating butt stocks, that if the wood was too thick it could cause chipping and or it would get stuck on the blade shield. My Father fixed this buy creating a larger guide surface. He duplicated with steel (the guide) making it 1/2 its own diameter again. This translated into the raw block being farther way from the cutters on the first pass. It wasn't always needed, but when it was it solved this problem of stock size. Hope it helps
These duplicating cutter machines are amazing. For many years the business next door to ours manufactured wooden aircraft propellers using this type machine. The master propeller templates were only half of a propeller. The machine would carve half of the propeller blank then the operator would reposition the blank end for end - reinstall it in the machine and run the master template again. This insured that both blades were carved to the exact same twist (or pitch). They usually made only a 1/4” depth of cut on each pass so it would take about an hour to produce one propeller.
That are out of business now but a company here in Florida is still manufacturing wooden propellers for small aircraft and for airboats.
I wish I had , both the gumption and the space to collect some of the wonderful old machinery that has passed me by over the years. This replicator is a genuine piece of kit I bet there were many a wood worker back in the day wished they had one, mule posts to gun stocks. I wish I had one forty years ago. A friend of mine had a water mill powering a huge old timber mill, that big old saw blade used to hum and sing when spinning . It ran off a prop shaft that ran in a tunnel from the water mill to the shed in which it sat, there were no machines left in the mills workshop a lathe like that would have fitted in well and been easily driven by the overhead shaft.
Copy lathes were also used for making rifle stocks.
Traditionally the prototype used for mass production was significantly larger than finished product to ensure they were rigid in a production environment.
It’s a cool old lathe . Now there isn’t an excuse for having a bad handle in your axe . I hope we get to see this one hooked up in the line shaft shop . Thanks
This is making me want to dust off and repair my old hatchet head patterns... What a cool machine!
A shop I used to work in had a similar machine. The frame and carriage were of wood with some cast iron pieces, legs cast iron. The cutter was a very thick circular saw blade, about 8" diameter. A stack of them came with the machine, they did not leave as nice of a cut surface as yours. The cutter head was mounted in front, so as to be even scarier, the feed was by a drum and cable that winched the carriage through the cut. It was thought to be from the 1850's, there was no clue as to who had made it.
Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to the next video
Love it, I’d most definitely say home made! I my self have built some things that I didn’t have a fortune to by but had the necessary items and knowledge on hand. Thanks for sharing
Always wondered about copy lathe's and how barley twist spindles were made so was super interested having this video pop up, got to the bit when you said it needs stuff doing and was then disappointed thinking have to wait for more episodes and then suddenly it's working, excellent job mate and thanks for sharing appreciated
Very interesting. Never seen anything like it. Love old machinery. I would love to have one like it
A fascinating machine. The cutter take a BIG bite. It would be scary if one of the cutter edges flew off.
Thank for sharing.
Split the wood that you will be using instead of sawing and planing that will ensure straight grain the length of the handle.
Great example of old iron.
I used to visit Mr. and Mrs. McGrath in the 1970's.
Wonderful family.
Sad to hear they passed.
Keep up the great videos
Very interesting machinery
Thanks
Lol
Kinda funny seen you demonstrating very old equipment with almost brand new tires behind you!!! Lol 👍😀🇨🇦
That machine could probably make cricket 🏏 bats, you could line up jobs with that machine for sure!😃
Thanks for sharing with us I always wondered how they made ax handles before CNC machinery
I always like see such interesting machines and how they work. Looking at this I get the feeling that it could also duplicate rifle shocks as well. Still would have to channel them out but the outsides would be shaped... Thumbs Up!
great vid….thanks so much…..Love your channel! Rob
gun stock has oblong shape.
Food for thought.
Thx 4 sharing your knowledge
That thing is great. It is much more difficult to hand carve an ax handle even using a table saw and a bandsaw and sanding power tools
This is such a cool channel. Im glad it found me. New subscriber.
Anyone think Eoin Reardon the Irish Axe handle maker on RUclips is jealous of this fine machine?
Any chance you could hold the camera closer, so we could see what you are seeing?
I saw a similar machine in full production of shovel handles, it too was ancient line shaft driven 1897 vintage the old guy that ran it said it was also used in WW1 carving out wheel spokes, wagon shafts, rifle stocks for the 303's, the old guy passed away his whole property was abandoned then lost to bush fires a couple of years ago the scrap vultures took everything including burnt roofing iron and anything metal.
Man that is sad
If I could make money doing that I would happily keep that machine busy whenever I felt like it
Amazing historical machinery, Thanks, do some more research and will be happy for future operations. :)
Very very cool!! I have always wanted to find one of the old aluminum patterns some of the old lathes would use. Amazing machine! I hope to find one one day!
You have quite a shop! May God bless
I'd probably look at making a pattern and running the blank through a bandsaw so the lathe doesn't work so hard. It should allow for one pass with a much smaller cut.
Em boots under ya look pretty new also lol
Luv your videos!
I live in eastern Ontario!
401/Quebec border
that machine is awsome a other great learning video
Very cool! You can remove that chain and take it to a Fastenall or other chain supplier (for size/pitch matching) and get what are called "half links" that allow you to take up slack of less than a full link; very inexpensive. You may not need to build a tensioner for that.
Super cool dude, the shop looks like it's come a long way since I last saw it! Hope you're doing well!
@@connorsmyth6058 cheers buddy! Life is good, swing by if you’re passing through!
loved seeing this. just a thought if you position both blank and handle off center it may have better clearance
That was interesting, on the electric motor, that is called a centrifugal switch, not really a governor though it does work with flyweights.
I have also heard these generically called tracer lathes also. you can make anything you can make a pattern for. hatchet and hammer handles. decorative railing pieces. we had one that someone made a more pointed tracer bar and cutters and used it for furniture pieces and also probably of more interest to you...They are excellent at making flat belt pulleys just make a pattern with the correct crown and you can easily duplicate it :)
That lathe probably can copy rifle stocks too ..
That’s exactly what they used for making musket and rifle stocks.
I've always wondered how the different handle shapes were made.
Close ups of the machine would be great.
What a great machine.👍✌️
I have seen one of these before. Interesting machines.
Slide a piece of tubing or pipe over the guide bar follower to leave the same amount of material for the finish pass.
@@st3v3b0b7 that’s a great idea, had not thought of that. Cheers
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing.😊
Interesting, I didn't know there was such a machine....
Where do you getting 110 and 220 volts? That was long gone in ME 40 years ago, we no have 120 and 240 volts......
Modern wooden airplane and airboat propellers are made on dupli-carvers *very* similar to this machine.
Very good, I used to make rifle stocks this way in highschool
Flat left or right hewing axes have bent handles but they are green cut and tied to a heavy shingle of wood, then wedges are pounded where the crook needs to be below the head. It isn't much, just enough to not shred your knuckles flattening a log cabin wall or floor and cut flat comfortably.
@@napalmholocaust9093 thanks! Never knew how that was done
Wow very interesting Keep up the good work
like you shop setup, I want one!
Cool machines
For the first cut maybe a tube bush on the rubbing bar ?
No thank you very much, the pleasure is all ours
Used a similar machine to turn out gunstocks at a gun manufacturing company.
Have you made those two car tires in that one? 😁😁
I've seen a vid where a duplicating lathe was used to cut rifle stocks 5 at a time
Wow. Great video.
Do they also use these for the blades of wooden aircraft propellers?
Duplicating lathe… They had one at Silver Dollar City which was powered by steam. Used it to make baseball bats, rolling pins, and numerous other items. Unfortunately there was a fire a few years back and I don’t think they were able to save it but I’m not positive.
I would love to order a run of bats made on that machine. Please let me know if you can and the specifications of the bat patterns. Thank you.
I'm here to see what you make for the tires.
Very cool!
If you had a saw or router leading the rough out the final finish might be more smooth.
Are those horseless carriage wheels original to the machine as well?
Got a sledge head in front of me now. Didn't like the price of handles so It is my riveting anvil now. Putting walnut scales on a little bucksaw blade patch knife with brass pins.
I like the copier. Did anyone ever have two axis panel copiers before 1900?
Can you set a stop for the roughing passes?
Cool machine. Where can I get one?
pretty cool !
yes, uncommon for sure
It would be nice if you got the camera closer to what you are filming
Thx.
I'm shure you'd have better luck taking several smaller bites rather than one big one
I have seen copy lathe that made wooden Leg protes wery much needet after the war.
Anyone else think he looks like a young John Lennon?
I enjoy your videos but it would be much better if you had close up shots of what you are talking about, sorry to be critical.
Brilliant production copy machine! Copying what was originally done by a skilled hand.
20:09 Why dinnit you oil the zirks?