Introduction
The lathe, one of the most significant machine tools, existed long before the Industrial Revolution. But once the Industrial Revolution well and truly took hold in Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries, the lathe quickly became a huge part of the explosion of industrial capacity that occurred.
Early lathes were pedal-operated, manual affairs that were small, not particularly accurate, and worked best with wood – not with metal. But a British inventor, Henry Maudsley, discovered a way to reinforce the existing lathe design and mount workpieces on a set of sliding rails. This gave lathes enough strength and power to turn metal workpieces.
Simultaneously, lathes began to be equipped with steam-powered engines. The twin advances of engine power and better control systems meant that lathes could work metal pieces in larger sizes than ever before. This was the beginning of the modern metal lathe.
Machine tools in American history
Very quickly, American toolmakers began to produce their own metalworking lathes, beginning a tradition that continues to this day. American history was actually linked to some of the early histories of the metal lathe from the very beginning. An early precursor to the modern metal lathe, made by Jan Verbruggen, had been installed at the Royal Armory in Britain and was used to manufacture advanced cannon – weapons deployed in the American Revolutionary War.
In the latter part of the 19th century, a number of machine tool manufacturers were established who would push American lathe manufacturing to new heights. By the middle of the 20th century, there were dozens of American lathe manufacturers, many of whom achieved widespread fame for the quality of their machinery.
Great American-made lathe manufacturers
There are too many American lathe manufacturers to cover in any detail, but here are some of the notable names and what they contributed to the success of American-made machine tools.
- LeBlond
LeBlond began life in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1888 as the R.K. LeBlond Machine Tool Company. They produced high-quality machine tools and lathes in sizes up to giant, room-sized machines. LeBlond saw great success in the early years of the 20th century, but they were hit hard by the Depression in the 1930s.
To cope with suddenly-decreased demand, LeBlond introduced the “Regal” line of lathes. These were smaller lathes but were produced to the same high specifications as LeBlond’s larger industry models.
The result was a smaller, more accessible line of lathes, ranging from 10” to 21”, that were more affordable machines but still possessed the same “professional” features of the main LeBlond line of industrial-sized lathes. The Regal lathes saw great success for the next three or four decades. Many of them found their way to the UK, where the Regal line was quite popular and saw heavy service during World War II.
- South Bend Machine Tool Company
John and Miles O’Brien, descendants of Irish immigrants, started their South Bend Machine Tool Company in a one-room shop in South Bend, Indiana, in 1906. The company grew quickly, soon exporting lathes to places as far away as Siberia. South Bend lathes even went to Antarctica with Admiral Byrd as part of his major expeditions.
Like several other American machine tool manufacturers, during World War II South Bend lathes received a number of military contracts, particularly for the U.S. Navy.
- Seneca Falls Lathe Company
Not every American lathe company reinvented the wheel with incredible lathes or suffered an unfortunate end. Seneca Falls began in the late 1800s by making woodworking lathes, but around the turn of the century, they introduced a small, treadle (foot pedal) powered “Gem” lathe.
While the Gem lathe was hardly designed for heavy industry, it proved to be quite popular both in the US and the UK and positioned Seneca Falls to capitalize on that success with heavier lathes in the 1920s and 30s. Seneca Falls lathes offered few new features but instead functioned as reliable workhorses.
Seneca Falls stopped making lathes in the 1950s, choosing instead to shift their production into more specialized machinery.
The decline of American-made lathes
After World War II, many of the American manufacturers went into decline. Manufacturing began to move overseas in the 1950s and 60s, and attempts by the American lathe companies to reduce costs often ended in disaster. LeBlond moved the production of their Regal line to Singapore; after a continued poor showing, the company was sold to a Japanese machine tool company, and eventually Regal and LeBlond ceased operations entirely.
LeBlond’s sad end was typical. A very small handful of manufacturers managed to avoid that fate, some through ownership restructuring (South Bend lathes) and others (Seneca Falls) by shifting their focus away from lathes and into other machinery altogether.
Regardless of the exact fate of the individual companies, the heyday of American-made lathes had passed.
Where lathes are made today
Today, most commercial lathes come from Europe or Asia; there are popular toolmakers in China, South Korea, and Japan, as well as in Germany and Eastern Europe. In most cases, a map of modern lathe makers mirrors a map of global heavy industry.
It can be difficult to determine exactly where a modern lathe was made; components may be made in one country and assembled in another. That makes it absolutely critical to purchase a lathe from a reputable, reliable manufacturer.
One way that good lathe manufacturers keep the tradition of American-made lathes alive is to use high-quality American designs that are manufactured in other countries to exacting standards.
American-designed lathes
Today, some of the best lathes available in the USA are American-designed, European-built lathes. American lathe designs take full advantage of the history of American manufacturing and heavy industry, as well as the USA’s advanced technology.
Summit is at the forefront of this trend. Manufacturing our own American designs in Europe allows Summit to produce some of the heaviest-duty lathes available on the market. They feature wide beds, impressive horsepower, and can chew through the most intense chip loads with ease.
With Summit’s own American designs, our lathes proudly carry on the tradition of American machine tools.
