BIG Lathe!

Biggest lathe I ever saw was the one used to make the 16" guns for the USN Battlewagons.

Union carbide in Cleveland found one in USG mothballs someplace, then used it to make graphite logs for nuclear reactors.

This was a metal cutting lathe modified to machine graphite..

It was necessary to bore from either end and meet in the middle along with some very tight specs on runout.

Quite an accomplishment, given the technology.

Compared to the lathe Lee describes, it was a rather small fellow.

Had a customer who sold honing machines to the gov't arsenals top hone BIG gun bores.

Some of those machines approached 70'-80' long, still not 100+', but still big enough to require special shipping.

Lew

I think I am going to try and make a run up there Wednesday, public invited... gotta see this!

Markndawoods