Now that is what is called a big milling machine. Never knew they made such large ones.

Steve.

I spent a very happy 9 months of my apprenticeship in a temperature controlled room housing the jig boring machines. The biggest was a Genevoise (Spelling ?) with a powered rotary table built in to the bed. Apprentices had to start on an old Newall machine.

During my apprenticeship I also operated a "Keller" copy mill which may have been made by P&W ?

That P&W manual is really nicely written. Very different to modern manuals.

If you want a big machine, in the 60s, in Harlescott Lane in Shrewsbury there was a company making boring mills so big that they started life in a hole big enough to take a house, and eventually grew to about the same height above ground level. Interestingly, the slideways were lined with Formica, because the coefficient of friction, when oiled was lower that of metal on metal.

As far as I know Genovese jig borer type instruments are still used in the calibration room, with in the standards room, at my former employers. (A place where they would measure and tell you the errors present on your slip gauges! )

Howard

I have a friend who operated a Geni, they were only ever known as Genis where I worked, (5E model, I think) for a good part of his working life. The factory had two, side by side, and only four persons were allowed to use them, two on days and two on nights. In their later days they were in an area called "The Fitters' Mod Pool". They were only ever used for one off jobs such as machining access in large very costly parts for instrumentation (thermocouples, strain gauges etc) and such like. They had to be available for urgent jobs at all times. There were long periods when they did nothing and, sometimes the management turned a blind eye to foreigners. I knew someone who had a Vauxhall Cavalier cylinder head skimmed on one.

A few years ago Home and Workshop Machinery was selling one. It seemed quite cheap but would not fit in my workshop.

A link: http://www.lathes.co.uk/sip/index.html – Stuart beat me to the link

JA

Edited By JA on 28/04/2020 12:35:08

Edited By JA on 28/04/2020 12:40:11

Edited By JA on 28/04/2020 12:41:55

as an apprentice pattern maker most of our work was on prototype models and models to go on various copy milling machines highly detailed very accurate models mainly formed originally in hardwood then plaster casts or resin casts off mainly for car bbody tooling / aero industry and ship building oh how things change!!

toolmakers i was at bought i think 4 sip genovios ? machines plus kellers great machines

days gone by !!