Gunstock Copy turning lathe, 1857

Copy turning lathe for gunstocks, made by the Ames Manufacturing Company for the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield, 1857

Copy turning lathe, 1857. This was one of the original machine tools from the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield, which was the first application in the UK of the 'American System' of interchangeable manufactures, pioneered on a large scale by American machine-makers like the Ames Company on small arms manufacture. It was designed for mass producing identical rifle stocks based upon a mechanical system where the movement of a cutter was controlled by a metal former set to the desired shape. The machine was originally belt-driven but was later adapted for an electric-motor drive. It remained in use until 1966.