High-quality black-and-white photographs of large old machines and tools

[Jon]

Construction of the wind tunnel at the Ames Research Center. July, 1943.

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...l_fullsize.jpg

[Frank S]

Jon you are going to keep on and I am going to steal my wife's 56" High resolution television and use it as the monitor for my laptop. I have a 32" that I use sometimes already for my drawings. Hum" maybe I should ask Santa for a new 102" Sony for Christmas.

[Clockguy]

Photo may have been taken on a day off work, I could only find one workman, far left on the ground level, and an older [for 1943 photo] pickup truck also on ground level. The quality of the photo is rather clear since, if you click on the "Full size image" link and then click on the image itself, it will bring up a closeup image which really shows details rather clearly. There is a crane hook hanging just off the ground near the center and about 2/3 of the way down which you cannot see in the original photo but is shown clearly in the extreme closeup. Amazing technology for a girder construction of such massive dimensions and built during the wartime era.

[wizard69]

Clockguy if you will follow along on the left side past the workman you will see a few other workers much further back

In the trench!

I’m on my cell and the amount of detail is impressive. I’m guessing a professional photographer.

[Frank S]

Using the body or the press as a support for the overhead crane rails can be a mixed blessing on the 1 hand it is defiantly a solid support. But on the other hand all noise and vibrations from it are transmitted throughout the building.

[MeJasonT]

A really good example of a clear safe work area with non of that health and safety rubbish to fall over and get tangled up in.

When they ban plastic are we going to get back to good old manufacturing and assembly. Not that that applies here.
when you look at old PCs like IBM and ICL machines, built of metal and built to last, then the advent of the personal computer where we saw the first Apple, Commodore and Amstrad which were these space like futuristic plastic things. Its surprising how quick technology can change - in January we had Plastic shanked ear buds and by July the plastic had gone. Shame the shops didn't offer an alternative here in the UK with carrier bags, its plastic bag + a 5p tax or nothing. I miss old stuff, at least it was fixable.

I wonder how many motorway bridges will outlive Brunels bridges.

[Jon]

Weldment assembly floor. Philadelphia Naval Base. From the Library of Congress.

View southeast of weldment assembly floor in structures shop, building 57; the floor is fabricated of cast iron and features a grillwork of 1 1/2 square holes which are used as sockets for gripping positioning or lock down pins; a lock down pin is shown left and below the center of the photograph; the vertical section of the pin is placed into a hole in the cast steel floor while the angles section of the pin rests on the piece under construction; the pin is hammered into the hole and spring tension in the pin holds the work piece in position. - Naval Base Philadelphia-Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Structure Shop, League Island, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net..._fullsize1.jpg





And another.

Overall interior view of structures shop (11 shop) located on west side of building 57 - looking north; the south end of the structures shop was devoted to welding heavy plate foundations and ship components; the floor is fabricated of case steel and features a grillwork of 1 1/2 fabricated holes which are used as sockets for gripping position pins. - Naval Base Philadelphia-Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Structure Shop, League Island, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net..._fullsize2.jpg

[Toolmaker51]

Those appear identical to 'Acorn' weld platens. That size run about $3-4,000, USED. No less than 60 are in view, ~$100,000, but a mere fraction of those installed. I've chased them before; to no avail :-(. No luckier snagging a pair of floor plates instead.
Floor plates, essentially are large machine tables; tee-slotted, some are drilled/ tapped, some have both.

[Jon]

One of the great things about the Heavy Press Program - besides the presses! - and the "Heavy" part - and the fact that it was an entire "Program" of multiple presses - was all of the accompanying tools. The world's largest machines also needed the world's largest loaders and world's largest manipulators and world's largest mandrels and world's largest tongs, etc., etc., etc. There were probably thousands of "world's largest" industrial records set in those factories.

MANDREL AND TONGS FOR PRESS No. 2. - U.S. Steel Homestead Works, Press Shop No. 2, Along Monongahela River, Homestead, Allegheny County, PA

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...s_fullsize.jpg
20MB TIF from the Library of Congress: https://cdn.loc.gov/master/pnp/habsh...s/359149pu.tif

[Jon]

48-inch universal plate mill, Homestead Steel Wks. [Works], Homestead, Pa.

Around 1908, judging from the copyright stamp in the lower left-hand corner (alas, expired ).

Click the image below for a fullsize jpg, or get the 157MB tif from the Library of Congress. This is our largest fullsize image yet - 10,144x8096. Stand back!