Another very forcible argument in favour of the amusement of Turning being cultivated by the ladies and gentlemen of our free and independent country, and one which will, I am sure, plead most strongly with all parents and guardians, is, that all occupations within doors being usually of a sedentary nature, the exercise attendant upon the use of the lathe must prove highly beneficial to health; and one moment’s reflection will point out the incalculable advantage to be derived from instilling the love of useful employment in every youthful mind; or, when freed from the irksomeness of graver study, may they not seek companions and pursuits to whom they would ever have remained strangers, had their idle hours not hung heavy on their hands?
Should this little work prevail upon any of my readers to commence the study of this truly beautiful science, and should the occupation, as no doubt it must, prove a source of pleasure by adding to their amusement, it will amply repay the labour it has required, and bestow sincere gratification on the Author.
THE LATHE.
“The pride of arts from fair Ambition springs,
And blooms secure beneath her fostering wings,”
Among all the many descriptions of the varied, beautiful, and useful inventions that owe their discovery and perfection to the genius and hand of man, inventions that in so wonderful a degree assist and facilitate the operations of the mechanic, no one has ever written the history of the Lathe. It seems strange that in a land where mechanism is carried to its greatest extent, where science of every kind is fostered and encouraged, the beautiful machinery, the easy management, and wonderful precision obtained by the aid of the Lathe, have never yet, in our language, found a pen willing to describe them. And yet, to the architect, the mathematician, the astronomer, and the natural philosopher, Turning is as useful, nay indispensable, as to the watchmaker, the goldsmith, the joiner, and smith. And it is not by these alone that its powers are appreciated; many of those who by birth, station, and riches are not in a situation to require its aid in their scientific and mechanical operations, still find this art, from its great simplicity, from the perfect ease and accuracy with which the most delicate and intricate workmanship is performed, the agreeable occupation it gives to the mind, and the beauty, elegance, and utility of its products, one of the most interesting and healthful that can be followed.
The treasures of all lands are converted into various and beautiful articles by the aid of the lathe. Gold and silver, brass, iron, and copper,—the magnificent trees that grow in the deep forests of the West, and those that flourish on the burning plains of Africa—the ivory obtained from the tusks of the elephant and hippopotamus,—the coal, jet, alabaster, and marble, dug from the bowels of the earth—are all of the greatest value to the turner. A kind of cocoa nut has also lately been brought from the West Indies, which, being hard, white, and tough, renders it excellent for working in the lathe; when polished, it has the appearance of a substance between ivory and mother-of-pearl.
To the Greeks and Romans (for the exact place of its origin is not known) the invention of this ingenious machine is ascribed; and though, doubtless, in our time it has been greatly improved and perfected, still the ancients, to whom we owe so much, first discovered and used it; and by them its powers were so well appreciated, that we are told it became a proverb among them to say any thing was formed in the lathe to express its justness and accuracy.