Caption:

Model of the original screw-cutting lathe by Henry Maudslay (1771-1831). Before Maudslay's invention, screws were crudely made by hand. In this machine the combination of Maudslay's slide rest wih a power-driven screw feed was the prototype of the modern screw-cutting lathe. The model is arranged to be driven by hand power. The workpiece on which the screw is to be cut is carried between centres, with the lead screw mounted in the lathe bed. A wide saddle carries the tool holder, being connected to the lead screw by a split nut. The depth of cut was controlled by a hand wheel with a graduated edge, and a set of change wheels to allow the production of a wide range of different threads.