Drawing. Black ink, parts for reducing sculpture copying machine bult by James Watt, 1806-1808.

This item is part of the contents of the workshop that Scottish engineer James Watt developed at his home, Heathfield, at Handsworth, Birmingham. Although Watt is best known for his work on the steam engine, his workshop contains a wide variety of objects from many different projects, from chemistry to sculpture-copying.

The description of the item was written by Edward Collins, the land agent responsible for Heathfield when the workshop was given to the Science Museum in 1924. Collins could not always identify what he was looking at, but always described what he saw clearly. This has allowed his descriptions to form the basis of subsequent research.

The drawing shows details of the reducing sculpture copying machine built by Watt in his workshop. The subjects are a drill frame to fit tubular bar; clamp and pulley to fit tubular bar; tubular bar; the pair of chucks in the tall workshop cabinet.