Springfield Armory National Historic Site - Machines (U.S. National Park Service)

The Museum displays early industrial machinery.

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

The INDUSTRY area of the Museum displays exhibits about the people, the tools, the machinery they used, and the way the two combined to produce Springfield Armory's military weapons from the Nation's earliest days till 1968.

The only surviving Blanchard's original duplicating lathe, circa 1822.

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

Cat.#: SPAR 5550
In the 1960's the Smithsonian Institution created a very close working replica of this Blanchard lathe. Now displayed there, it is the machine seen in the video.

Original 1822 Blanchard Lathe

Thomas Blanchard's invention of the duplicating lathe, first used at Springfield Armory, was one of the most significant developments in American industrial history. It permitted exact duplication of irregular wooden shapes, such as gun stocks. This was an important step in creating mass production techniques. The original machines relied on water power at the Water Shops. To see a reproduction Blanchard lathe at work, watch the video nearby in the Museum or [see video clips below on our FORGE OF INNOVATION WEBsite!].

VIDEO - Operation of Blanchard Lathe and
VIDEO - Demonstration of Blanchard Lathe

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

This Blanchard lathe is known today as of the "First Generation" Blanchard lathe. It is a technology still in use around the world.

Seen here is the follower wheel that rolls on the surface of the rotating iron musket stock form to direct, through a simple mechanical linkage, the rotating cutter .

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

Seen here behind the Blanchard lathe are examples of Springfield Armory production machinery from the mid-19th century.

Shown here is the rotating cutter and the musket stock blank in the process of being formed. The last time this machine was used was about the time of the Civil War [1861-65]. It was used at that time for the initial coarse shaping of the lower half, the butt stock end, of the musket.

The small working model Blanchard lathe standing before the original

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

The working .3-scale model, made possible with a grant in about 2000, was made by Clint Bostock, a fine craftsman. It can actually cut a miniature musket stock about eight inches long.

Included in the exhibit is a working .3-scale model of the Blanchard lathe. Visitors may run it for about 30 seconds by pressing a green start button. It's great fun to figure out for yourself how the gun stock is cut!

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

Cat #: SPAR 7305

POST-MOUNTED DRILL PRESS

This wall-mounted belt-driven machine was one of the commonest types of shop equipment. It could be used for drilling holes in wood or metal. The "Little Giant" machine was made in the late 19th Century by Wells Bros. of Greenfield, Mass.

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

Cat.#: SPAR 5552
This improved "Second Generation" model, of the type purchased in New England in the 1850's by the British for the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, England, was designed by Sprinfeld Armory Master Armorer Cyrus Buckland.

BLANCHARD IRREGULAR TURNING LATHE

A later version of Thomas Blanchard's wood-turning lathe, this machine was more efficient and took up less space. The iron frame provided greater support, which permitted more accuracy. This machine remained in use long enough to be converted to electric power.

THE ENGINEER, 20 May 1859

This mid-19th Century image shows a "Second Generation" Blanchard lathe, like that shown above, in operation. The Museum's example is incomplete.

See this and other machines in operation by "CLICKING" on the text highlighted in gold below: VIDEO - operation of mid-19thC machinery during a visit to Springfield Armory by a British delegation in the early 1850's.

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

Cat.#: SPAR 5554

ENGINE LATHE

This lathe, probably made in the 1850's, was used for cutting screw threads and other metal working. It was typical of machines that would be used in a metal-working shop, but was not especially adapted for gun manufacture.

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

Cat.#: SPAR 5553
Lamson, Goodnow & Co., who made this machine, were US contractors during the Civil War for US Model 1861 rifle muskets. They are still in business, then as now, manufacturing fine cutlery.

RIFLING MACHINE

This machine cut spiral grooves into the barrel of a firearm. A bullet traveling in a spiral, like a football, was more accurate. This machine was made by Lamson, Goodnow & Co. in Windsor, Vt., and was used by Smith & Wesson in Springfield for rifling pistol barrels.

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

OVERHEAD BELT DRIVE

The Machines have working overhead belt-driven power.

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

Cat.#: SPAR 5551

BARREL-STRAIGHTENING ANVIL

A barrel-straightener would begin the process of straightening a barrel by laying the barrel across the anvil and striking it sharply with a hammer.

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

Cat.#: SPAR 5557

BARREL-STRAIGHTENING MACHINE

After going through the great heat of manufacturing, gun barrels needed to be straightened. A barrel that was not perfectly straight would not be accurate. This type of machine was in use for most of the 20th Century. One may be seen at work in the video located nearby in this Museum.

Springfield Armory NHS archives, US NPS

Cat.#: 519.58.1

Barrel straightener being demonstrated in the Museum in the mid-20th Century.

late 19th Century bullet speed measuring

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

Cat.#: SPAR 1090

CHRONOSCOPEFollowing the Civil War, the U.S. military became interested in the scientific study of weapons and projectiles - what is now known as ballistics. Springfield Armory experimented with a number of different chronoscopes - machines to measure the speed of bullets. This particular machine was invented by Captain Schultz of the French Army. Others were designed and developed by Springfield Armory personnel.

Springfield Armory NHS archives SPAR 1090C, US NPS

Cat.: SPAR 1090

Chronoscope front view of mechanism. This is an example of the early use of electricity. The drum is covered in paper and rotates by a weight [see the rope on the drum]. An electrical current is completed at several points of the bullet's flight causing a spark to be created on the paper roll. Calculating the rotation and the distance covered on the paper where the sparks occured allows the time of flight to be calculated accurately.

Springfield Armory NHS archives SPAR 1090B, US NPS

Cat.: SPAR 1090

End-view of chronoscope mechanism showing the drums in profile.

The Bell is marked MENEELYS' WEST TROY, N.Y. 1861

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

Cat.#: SPAR 2112

SIGNAL BELL

For years the tolling of this bell alerted employees at the Water Shops that the machinery was about to be powered up. This alarm was particularly important in an era of belt-driven equipment when an unknowing worker could easily be injured if the machines suddenly began running without warning.