Early Milling Machines
The Wikipedia entry for Milling (machining) is recommended as a good source on the history of the development of milling machines. There is no point in duplicating the information presented, so this entry will be limited to some lesser-known aspects of the milling of metals.
A milling process had been in use from the 17th century to machine gears for clocks and watches.
The earliest milling machines made in the USA in the early 19thC were very similar to lathes, with the workpiece being movable in the X and Y planes. In fact it is likely that milling, or at least flycutting, had been undertaken on ordinary lathes prior to the introduction of purpose-built milling machines.
James Nasmyth wrote about a machine he built c.1830, while working for Henry Maudslay, to mill the faces of small hexagon nuts. He developed self-acting industrial versions of the machine and was selling them in the late by 1837. Writing to a customer in 1838, he advised that the cutter should never exceed 55 rpm to avoid damaging the cutter. By 1839 Nasmyth, Gaskell and Co had sold over 50 machines.[1]
Richard Roberts developed self-acting machines on a commercial basis to machine hexagonal and other multi-faceted components, and these were sometimes described as 'polygon machines'. They were made by firms in which Roberts was involved, namely Sharp, Roberts and Co (early 1840s), Sharp Brothers and Co (early 1850s): see Directory of Manchester and Salford, 1853. p33-37, Roberts and Dobinson (early 1850s).
Richard Roberts was undertaking milling on a larger scale by 1839, when American visitor William C. Davol described Roberts's ' Cutting Engine for cutting locomotive Engine cranks, the cutter was made by having a cast Iron wheel about 18 inches in Diameter 3 1/2 to 4 In wide with cavitys cut in the edge about 3 In deep to 5/8 wide set 3 In apart round the face of the wheel to receive the steel cutters which was ruther wider than the wheel and ground sharp on three sides. '[2]
A number of British firms produced machines for cutting keyways and slots for cotters using rotating cutters. These were commonly called slot drilling machines. Nasmyth, Gaskell and Co started making such machines c.1853, calling them 'patent grooving machines', although they were not patented by Nasmyth. Sharp, Stewart and Co started making such machines in the mid 1850s to Sharp and Furnival's patent of 1855. An accurate large scale model from c.1857 is/was on display at the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris. The Science Museum have a sample workpiece produced on one of these machines. Photo here.
These slot drilling machines were effectively vertical milling machines, but their makers did not develop them to increase their versatility, unlike the situation in the USA, where universal milling machines were developed and revolutionised aspects of engineering production.