David Wilkinson (machinist)
| David Wilkinson | |
|---|---|
Wilkinson Mill, built 1810
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| Born |
January 5, 1771 Smithfield, Rhode Island |
| Died | February 3, 1852 (aged 81) Caledonia Springs, Ontario |
| Occupation | Mechanical engineer |
| Employer | David Wilkinson & Company |
| Known for | invented a lathe for cutting screw threads |
| Home town | Pawtucket, Rhode Island |
David Wilkinson (January 5, 1771 – February 3, 1852) was a U.S. mechanical engineer who invented a lathe for cutting screw threads, which was extremely important in the development of the machine tool industry in the early 19th century.
David Wilkinson was born at Smithfield, Rhode Island in 1771, the son of Oziel Wilkinson, a skilled blacksmith who moved his family to Pawtucket in the 1780s.
About 1784, his father, Oziel began making anchors in Pawtucket for the emerging shipbuilding industry. The shop was powered by water from the Blackstone River, and was located on the grounds of the present-day Slater Mill Historic Site.
In 1790, Samuel Slater and his partners were interested in building a textile spinning mill in Pawtucket he sought the assistance of David Wilkinson and his father Oziel to produce the machinery for his new mill. They produced iron forgings and castings for Slater's carding and spinning machines.
“all the turning of the iron for the cotton machinery built by Mr. Slater was done with hand chisels or tools in lathes turned by cranks with hand power”. David Wilkinson
In 1793 Slater's operations were moved from a clothier's shop near the Pawtucket Falls to a new mill, which today is part of the Slater Mill Historic Site.
In 1795 Oziel Wilkinson built a rolling and slitting mill just south of Slater's cotton mill. Both mills were powered with water from the same trench.
Textile machinery manufacturer and scientific writer Zachariah Allen had the following to say about Wilkinson's lathe in 1861:
“It has to this day proved the most effective tool placed within the control of mankind for shaping refractory metals and for accomplishing the triumph of mind over matter. The slide engine is employed in the great machine shops of America and Europe.”
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Wikipedia