Big machine tools - photos

[IntheGroove]

Love that Blanchard Grinder. On another note, A friend of mine worked at shipyard 60+ years ago and his job was to machine the pistons, 6+ feet in diameter. The lathe carriage had a seat for the operator. The engine was a six cylinder and required seven pistons as the ship would carry a spare. When he was finishing the last piston he inadvertently undercut the piston by .025. Afraid he would be in trouble, the foreman told him that if that piston was ever needed, it would probably work better than the old one...