I am trying to identify the maker and country of origin of this Wheel Engine. There are no markings anywhere except the numbers on the indexing gears. Any help would be apreciated.
Ibought as part of a large lot of old equipment from the midwest. There was a lot of very early electrical equipment(motors, terminal posts, small wooden wire spools) as well as other watch related equipment. The most impressive feature is that it rotates the workpiece automaticaly between cuts, which makes it semi-automatc. It appears to have all or nearly all parts and is functional. The leather belt is streched beyond use. so I replace it with a rubber belt when I use it. There are also some features I haven't figured out yet.
Is this a wheel cutting engine or a topping tool ? If it automatically indexes the wheel, maybe it is a topping tool. Those conical thimble like objects are also found used with topping tools. Can you give us close up photos of the end near the upright rectangular post ? Sharukh
Hi sharukh, This appears to have a form cutter, and also it doesn't index the subject wheel on the wheel's own teeth like a topping tool, but on the separate index wheel underneath, so I believe this to be a wheel cutting engine. Regards, Graham
It is a wheel cutting engine as far as I can tell. The pictures below are per your request. One interesting item is the arm that lowers the cutter onto the blank is also automated, but not connected to the engine.
Hi Marcob, This arm does appear to be operated by a roller follower on a cam on the left-hand wheel in the driving train. Regards, Graham
Hi Marcob, Possibly some sort of tray to catch the swarf and keep the mechanism underneath clean? Regards, Graham
Finally got some footage onto YouTube, my first attempt at YouTube so it's a little rough(and, no, I did'nt pay extra for the music). Enjoy.
Still no luck on identifying this machine. I have used it to cut several wheels for an Orrey I'm working on. After much cleaning and lubrication it did manage to cut 1/8" brass without inducing a heart attack. I'm wondering if it's not a Victorian health machine disguised as a wheel cutting engine. Removing a flake of the red paint revealed that everything painted red is also brass. Please comment if you've seen this thing before. Best regards, Marcob
