Antikythera Fragment #11 World’s First Precision Lathe - Constructing The Antikythera Mechanism
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ม.ค. 2024
- Rosin up your bow folks, it's time to have a look at the lathe that I think was very likely used to construct the Antikythera Mechanism - Do please enjoy!
Cheers,
Chris.
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References/Further Reading:
Posidonius - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posidonius
Geminus - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geminus
Hipparchus - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipparchus
Vitruvius - www.chenarch.com/images/arch-...
Cicero, DE NATVRA - web.archive.org/web/200703160...
Metal Working in the Ancient World ( doi.org/10.2307/500498 ) - Author(s): Herbert Maryon - 1949
Herbert Maryon - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert...
Wright, M. T. 2011. “The Antikythera Mechanism: Reconstruction as a Medium for Research and Publication.”
"Clockwork Before The Clock" D Price Horological Journal vol.098 No.01 Jan 1956
Stone Vessel Making - www.oocities.org/unforbidden_g...
The Woodturning Lathe: A Brief History - www.highlandwoodworking.com/w...
The Ancient Craft of the Pole Lathe Woodturner. - www.academia.edu/7511378/The_...
Tomb of Petosiris: core.ac.uk/reader/80518060
Ancient greek furniture - www1.up.poznan.pl/furniturede...
Woodturning with Moroccan bow lathe - • Woodturning with Moroc...
Moroccan Bow Lathe - • Moroccan Bow Lathe
2.bp.blogspot.com/-To97wy-WU-...
2.bp.blogspot.com/-4G5eJPO4de... - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Δέχεστε προμήθειες και πληρώνετε σε αποξηραμένες σαρδέλες;
2 please
Please explain ! I am Greek and this doesn't make any sense?! :D
@@R3N0T3 Νομιζω για πλακα το εγραψε.
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
🐟
@@R3N0T3 I don't have the source but I think in the shipwreck that the mechanism was found was also an inscription with the contents of the ship. Που ηταν παστες σαρδελες ;)
This video series has seen the birth of my son, his first years of school, and now his own hobby journey into metal working.
😂
Damn, we're getting old together 😂😂😂
Come on man, can’t be that o-
“6 years ago”
I felt myself age abruptly…
I remember him starting it. Lol. I think he was doing colabs with This Old Tony or something like that.
Get used to it. Blink and your kids are learning to drive. Blink twice and they're on their own, halfway through their careers. Don't blink three times.
This is now my second time watching this through. This is consistently the series I'm the most excited for on youtube. I love that as this has gone on, not only has it revealed so much about the mechanism itself, but also the technology that was available at the time and just how far along they were. And it all makes perfect sense that "OF COURSE they would have done it that way!". Each new thing clicking into place. It's crazy to think they had all the tools needed to build our modern world, they just didn't know how. But what they managed with how little they knew is incredible.
Oh wow! What a fine crowd here 🤗
to witness the bootstrapping was amazing
Totally agree on all accounts! Also super cool to see you here, I'm a huge fan of your channel too! I don't watch loads of YT, but I never miss an upload from you or Clickspring!
Sir Issac Newton put it well.
"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
Humans by nature are just figuring things out as we go along.
It's crazy that they could have, but lacked the resources and manpower to do so! When famine common, you can't afford to become an expert in machining unless you happen to know the rich and powerful. Ergo, only a small few at any given time in any given town could even produce these sorts of mechanisms. Today we have many millions of such experts, and still we need more.
The part where you took apart the ebony piece and the metal test part, only to reveal you'd actually made a bearing to convert it to a dogged indirect drive with metal bearings, was absolutely stunning. It felt like actual magic happening in front of my eyes.
And to think how many things most of us are fortunate to have seen. We are used to the concept of turning metal and the inherent beauty of the process. To imagine a person in those times, seeing something similar for the first time. Must've been magical indeed.
Legend says the inventor who discovered this was burned at the stake for witchcraft. 🤪
Don't sell yourself anything short of being an artist here. This is pure experimental archeology, and has absolute historical and scientific value!
Clickspring wrote a PhD because he discovered a mathematical relationship all the other historians had missed about the Antikythera Mechanism. If anyone is going to come up with the most plausible version of tools of the time, it's going to be him. Historians aren't machinists and don't think "machinists thoughts" so they'll inevitably miss key concepts. When an excellent machinists becomes a historian he will, obviously, bring whole new trains of thought to the table.
@@andersjjensenMakes one wonder how much else was missed because x historian wasn't y by heart
@@scrambledmandiblebruh imagine how much we have missed because in general x wasn’t also a y? Like we need to get all the super smart engineers doing circuits to hook up with the super physicists and mathematicians of today to figure out infinite energy or like fusion or something and make it happen faster like bro imagine ask the tech we have just sitting in front of us but we don’t have it cause someone hasn’t put two simple pieces together yet
@@scrambledmandibleall to say o totally agree with you homie. I just want a space ship so bad
@@andersjjensen It's why I like the Renaissance era method of training artists etc. They learnt drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, science, engineering, and so on and so on, covering a huge swathe of skill sets which meant that they could design the building that they were going paint frescoes onside of :)
This is like watching someone explain a magic trick, in slow motion, all while showing each and every move in detail and yet it still comes across as magic.
It's ironic that you said that. I discovered Clickspring through watching a magicians channel (Chris Ramsay) and Clickspring had made him a card press and it was beautiful. Then i fell down the Clickspring well!
Tool geometry and relief cuts are magic indeed.
Oh yes I remember that. Yes it really wass a work art.
There's something beautiful about watching raw materials turn into tools that then make better, more precise, tools.
I would really like to see more of the evolution of tools from their raw original form to the highly precise machines of today.
I can recommend: „The 1751 Machine that Made Everything“‘ and other videos by the channel „machine thinking“ :)
The story of human development... Make a thing. Use it to make a better thing, which makes a better thing... Etc...
The thing that always amazes me is if you get 3 stones, rub two of them together, and then swap one for the 3rd, and rub them and then swap again - eventually you end up with an absolutely perfectly flat reference surface.
so you could sit in the storage with a surface as flat as en engineers precision reference table - you just have to rub 3 stones together.
The original 3D printer
I didn't realize how simple it was to achieve a lathe. Like, having watched the video it now seems obvious, but beforehand it seemed like a very difficult thing to do.
To many of us today and in the ancient past, this kind of work has always born an air of mysticism. Mostly, because the arts of the craftsman were held with great secrecy. Even a master craftsman like Chris needs to show us in great detail through his eyes how the ancients could have achieved such precision with what we would see as the most crudest of tools to forge masterpieces that span the eons revealing how clever humanity was so long ago, long before the vast destruction of such intricate knowledge and long before the first arrogant and bombastic "historians" and "archeologists" portrayed these peoples as crude, inferior, and not capable of anything more than moving and knocking on a few stones to make "interesting structures". Through examining artifacts like the Antikythera Mechanism of Ancient Greece or the copper hammer of Ötzi, the Iceman; we reforge the perspective of what these peoples were truly capable of achieving. And with people like Chris, our comprehension of their intellect grows evermore incredible and awe-inspiring to ever push our own imagination and capabilities to the limits of this era.
@@rockandrollude great observation, and the same will be said about us in thousands of years time..if there is anyone around to look back !!!!
The lathe is the most important machine tool. If you can build a lathe, you can either make anything you need on it, or make the tools to make those things. You can also use a lathe to build a better lathe (as seen in this video)
At first I tought "whatever... he's just doing a wood lathe" but then he proceeded to use the "machined" wood part to actually mount the metal part, mind blowing stuff.
@@NewtoRah True-ish. I would argue that a flat surface would be first on the list, because then you get straight edges, parallel surfaces, even sheet thicknesses etc etc. So rub three rocks together in sequence, as a start to making your shop tools.
During the Renaissance, with scholarship still coming out of the Dark Ages, the ancients were regarded with awe -- and generally taken as a reference point for all knowledge. Over the intervening four or five centuries, we've made such huge scientific strides that we've started to regard ancient cultures as primitive and crude. It's only in the past couple of decades that we're reversing that trend, and learning just how "advanced" they were. What Chris is doing is immensely valuable in supplying a really accurate picture. Practical archaeology like this is nothing short of priceless. Thank you Chris! Sharing these videos goes far beyond entertainment!
I can’t believe there is anyone else who would go to this level of detail to prove a point. Absolutely brilliant. . . .
We definitely need more experimental archaeology...
There are, there are... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kon-Tiki_expedition
I can only think of one Machinist who would be likely to do something like this to "prove a point" ... Joe Pie has the skills, and the attitude as well.
I watched the whole series on the Making of the Antikythera Machine and ended up feeling just smart enough to be house-broke and remember to feed myself when hungry.
Clickspring is the epitome of melding artist, engineer, and craftsman.
Check his playlist.
@@thomasbraeking6225 The dividing lines between these skills is an artifact of just the last few centuries. For most of human civilisation this was the norm.
Hey Folks, I hope 2024 is treating you well so far! This one was a heap of fun to make, I do hope you enjoy it, be sure to share it far and wide!! - Cheers :)
2024 started perfectly since you've dropped a new video :) happy new year, watching this makes me thinking, in ancient egypt there are granite vases dated back to old kingdom, that are made to such degree of precession that would have made manual or beginner cnc machinists today proud. your fellow Aussie, Ben on YT made video where he measured such a vase with laser scanner, results are published in digital form, would be a cool to see to what degree you could reproduce it, using old tools only. it would be cool to see your collab and back and forth on what was possible or what was not in ancient times, I know that no one knows for sure, but it would be a cool collab nevertheless :)
Great display of your own and a good idea of the possibilities regarding their ingenuity, given the materials available at the time.
Happy new year to you and yours, Chris. Cheers
You are truly a master of your craft. I am always amazed by what you are able to figure out and then make and demonstrate.
@clickspring nice. See you in 2025 for the next Antikythera update
What do we know about the source of the original metal, bronze?
I'm struggling a little here. My Dad passed away unexpectedly at the end of September, but before that I used to excitedly email him every time a new Antikythera video came out - we were both SO impressed by the engraved front plate! I don't know if I can quite watch this video yet, but I wanted to tell you that 1. Always make sure the people you love know it, and 2. Your videos were a great way to connect with Dad while I could, so thank you for all the amazingness you've done in the world! When I do watch this, I'll be thinking of him.
I'm sorry for your loss, but I will carry your advice close to heart. I wish i could provide such compotent wisdom in return but I've got not much. But, Treasure your memories.
Hey Sara.
You rock.
"Rosin up your bow folks" is such a fitting introduction, great!
A lathe made of parts that could easily be mistaken for other everyday objects may help explain why an example of an ancient lathe hasn’t yet been found by archaeologists.
And mostly made wood, like Leonardo DaVinci's lathe too. Rotten or burned so easily.
Yes, and in situations where the shop is abandoned or looted, the best of the tools would be taken away... only the inferior quality items would be left behind for archeological documentation.
Archeologists aren’t metalworkers. Recognition of “tools” isn’t easy.
@@stephenrobb8759If the shop is burned, steel tools become a pile of rust (particularly precision measuring tools).
"Hmm yes weve found a fragment of wood with a few holes in it, you think it could be a musical instrument?"
Reminds me of that scene from Galaxy Quest. "Can you fashion a rudimentary lathe?"
Best reference ever! 😂😂😂
"A LAYTHE!? Get off the comm, Guy!"
Never give up; never surrender!
Well I can now.
"I now know how to make a lathe from first principles," is what my mind said as simultaneously I recalled this quote.
Chris, are you able to recreate the McMaster Carr website available at that time?
It's available on the Way, way way waaaayback machine.
This might be my favourite TH-cam comment ever
I wish I would have posted that!
Here we have disproved the old adage that you need a lathe to build a lathe. All you need is Chris to build the FIRST lathe, out of sticks and rocks, and now we see where all the rest of the lathes came from.
The adage is always quoted incorrectly. How it correctly goes is "You can use a lathe to make a BETTER lathe." With his second step for example now you could turn pulleys and shafts to make a faster and more accurate one that can be used to make an even more complex and improved one and so on.
The saying was that the only machine that could reproduce itself was a lathe. Now, with CNC equipment, that might not be true anymore.
I'm watching this and realised that you and Primitive Technology could make a hell of a series of collaboration videos, showing how you'd go from bare mud and wood to relatively advanced tools.
Colab of videos?
Heck! Those 2 could reboot modern engineering after armageddon.
In the post apocalyptic world the team that has Primitive Technology and Clickspring has electricity up and running before the others have figured out how to reliably make good rope.
It would be like a new version of David Gingery’s Build Your Own Metal Working Shop From Scrap Series, but just with human powered machines. I’d love to see that collaboration
Even better that they're both on the same side of Australia.
Yeah, Australia could become the center for the next Renaissance, and the seed for the next technological civilization.
...They might need to recruit Mad Max to defend the enclave though! 😛
What I especially love about this lathe setup is that, yes, you can use it as a one-person machine, but it seems better to have an apprentice handling the bow. This allows the master to work the piece unencumbered, while giving that apprentice a close-up perspective on the technique.
It could very well be part of his passage from apprentice to master by making his own set of tools.
I don't know when the treadle mechanism was invented, but I'd expect foot power for the bow would have been much more useful. If you're going to have interruptions in the power, as required by the bow reaching the end of travel, having that under the control of the person operating the cutting tool seems pretty important.
I suspect, that putting the whole thing next to a big round stone that can be turned and provides some inertia might have happened too 😉
@@paradiselost9946 work songs are basically used to provide synchronization
Plus it would be extremely easy to convert to a spring pole lathe.
Endless respect for your commitment to demonstrating how components like these could have been made using era-appropriate methods and tooling. Thanks for the great video!
I absolutely love the integration of the old scenery into the shop. It's always a joy to watch your videos.
Off topic: That entire last segment of using the lathe "in Rhodes", gave me some serious old school Myst/Riven vibes. I could totally see this being Atrus' point of view creating his mechanisms in different ages.
Man I love those games. Riven was too hard for me but Exile was just about perfect. I'm always a little surprised how well-known they seem to be though!
OMG yes that's what it reminded me of: MYST 😃
This right here is my favorite thing ever. Seeing just how advanced even simple tools can be in the hands of a skilled artisan. Makes me feel like none of us are that far off from doing something incredible.
I always like to think: if I were transported back to those times, how much could I do? You could be a magician if you retained enough TH-cam knowledge!!
Thank you Chris. A most interesting video. As a 70+ former toolmaker it was fun to watch you demonstrate how that which is at hand can be used to make something which progresses the tools and process. Truly, we all build on the shoulders of those before us. Thanks for that reminder of how.
Yes, you are right. I think it goes, "We are standing on the shoulders of Giants."
Indeed we are.
As an old toolmaker, you probably thought it was absolutely necessary to have rigid work holding, a rigid tool rest and some sort of feed mechanism to make things that fit together. Then again, old school toolmaking relied on stoning, scraping and honing to get things to fit perfectly
That is a beautiful piece of ebony wood. My husband has a degree in metalurgy and another in heat transfer. He developed a school in rural West Africa teaching woodworking, agriculture and health care. His students learned to hand cut and work indigenous wood into useful objects and furniture. He would be impressed by this seemingly simple lathe and it's demonstration of how it could be used to make the antikythera mechanism. My father was a watchmaker and was taught to make parts by hand, although I never saw him do it as parts were readily available. The ancients were intelligent and developed technology to make intricate items by hand. All gears were and parts cut by hand in making watches before the advent of electricity.
This has to be the most researched and well thought out video of the series. Absolutely excellent skills and craftsmanship, and a pleasure to watch. Keep up the amazing work.
I'm a machinist and similarly had a a lot of fun building a medieval pole lathe in my garage out of 2x4s. Really powerful tool despite being so primitive.
On the American public TV show "The Woodwright's Shop", the presenter shows the construction of a very similar lathe, except the bow is replaced by a spring pole and a foot pedal. People interested in this sort of tool anthropology might be interested in that show, too.
Our word "lathe" is derived from "Lath", referring to the spring pole.
I'm not sure which stars lined up to get this in my recomendation list, but as a machinist, i thank you. I'd never have thought to make such a simple lathe. Well done, and what an excellent presentation.
Oh dude! If you just discovered Clickspring now I envy you! Go through his back catalogue for eye-gasm after eye-gasm in machinist porn spiced with captivating story telling and cinematography. The dude is a perfectionist in all areas of his endeavours. You're in for some serious treats my friend.
If you thought this was impressive, I suggest you watch the whole Antikythera Mechanism series. You'll be blown away.
I have just had discussions with crazy people who can't believe ancient people could make amazing things without computers and lasers. I'm going to link them this series.
We have gained great knowledge, but I'm not sure if we have progressed in intelligence.
I know exactly what you’re talking about. I’m a retired gunsmith and made my first complete bolt action, to suit a barrel that was given to me, back in 1992. A fellow shooter borrowed it to show his father, who lived up in the bush like a hermit, and his father said “Yeah, ok, not bad, but he couldn’t have made the bolt” 🤷♂️ When my friend told me, I just said “Who does he think makes bolts in the gun factories? Elves from the north pole??” 🤣
I've mentioned it whenever I encounter them.
It's a perfect rebuttal to claims of the impossibility of ancient precision.
The ones I find hard to take are the ones who think it must have been aliens.
@@Afro408 The Bolt on a bolt action rifle would have actually required less specialized tools than a barrel if someone wanted to make one by hand.
Oh man Chris, I can't express just how thrilled I am to see more Antikythera Mechanism work, and, better still, an ancient tool experiment! This little lathe is just brilliant- and answers so many questions I've had as to how various little things were made in antiquity. It's so simple and elegant- and virtually anyone with a little skill could make and use it. Wonderful! Thanks so much for this and all your work.
I think this might be the coolest video you've made on this device thus far. I am so glad you take your time to research this and deliver such an amazing contraption to do something that seems so simple today. Keep up the amazing work!
6 DAYS AGO?!
I've been thinking about this problem for nearly a decade. It hit me many years ago, the pivotal point in modern technology was the advent of precision machined surfaces - notably, round ones - e.g., the lathe. I've been wondering how it could be made from the previous generation of simple tools, for ages.
Now, this comes up in my feed?
Instant sub.
What an absolutely stunning watch. Good on ya, mate.
Some documentry grade story telling and CGI at the end there .. fantastic video
to think of where this channel started to where it is now is mind boggling - one of the most inspiring and incredible channels out there.
Very much appreciate you watching mate :)
Neat! 85 and still learning.
I'm shedding tears of pride at seeing how far this channel has come
From just the basics, to fully fledged archaeology and wonderful editing, I am beyond grateful that I could be here to see this
As a graduate of Kangaroo point tech . and a jeweller/ machinist / fabricator for 40 years, I really appreciate your YTs. I wish I had the skills to produce this quality of instruction.
For now I teach/ work in folsom california . I recommend your channel to all my students, we often reproduce your vids in the real world as an exercise in learning .
It used to be that I would tell my students this stuff, now I can show them, and they want to see how its done.
We have made countless bow drills, every one knows how to carburize and temper . this vid on the mini bow drill is perfect, Ive been teaching large foot powered lathes and barrel drilling for years
this is a perfect add on
thankyou chris
The beauty of the internet and TH-cam. I often think how lucky I am to live in a time when there is so much knowledge and information available at our fingertips. I'm in my late 60's but still love to learn. I do wish it had been around when I was an adolescent - education and career choices would have taken a totally different path than I actually took. You can look at how things are designed and made and think - I want to do that ! Still, I'm glad that I have had access to it for the last 15 years or so. My one hope is that they find out definitively how the Egyptians managed to cut out, transport and sculpt the magnificent panels and sculptures that they left us. It is still a mystery that has left engineers baffled - they certainly had core drills but what were they made from ?
Hmm You should arrange a trip to Mexico. There is alot of really amazing masonary still being practiced.
there are YTs you can look at.
I travel down the baja abit and always seek out the amazing artist that live there. I've seen amazing skills. but to your comment, they core drill reeds, and any hollow high fiber tube Bamboo is prized.
Ive seen them slab multi ton blocks of sand stone with a rope an old truck lots of wax and beach sand, and seawater.
Its truly amazing to think of what is lost , because it was never written down@@1414141x
Wow, when I use my metal lathe I have to watch the chips and listen to the cut. With this lathe you can maybe even feel the cutter getting dull..amazing.
The sad thing is, the antikythera mechanism is just the only one that survived and was found. Its very possible there were more mechanisms like it in the time period..
Doutless- I've heard it said that it's believed this is a 'mature' version of the machine, meaning there must have been earlier iterations that were imperfect. But they must be extremely rare as no other has been found. We're EXTREMELY lucky that this one was- the ship had to sink in shallow enough water to be dived on, it had to have other interesting cargo to make people want to dive it, they had to be lucky enough to see the gears, it had to be on or near the surface and not buried deep in the sand, etc., etc. It's incredible. And it begs the question what other incredible things haven't we found because they are less 'luckily' deposited? The mind boggles...
Even today if you ask most people, they don't know what a machinist does, or even is. Relatively few people have an interest in figuring out how old things were done mechanically, and usually the ones that do, are in a related field, and aren't recording history. It's difficult to determine which sorts of processes should be preserved because they could be lost. Methods techniques and knowledge that are so normal for the time, such as a workshop with this kind of lathe, or a blacksmith, or carpenters, or shoe cobbler, or any technical trade that was such a staple of society at the time. When it's the norm, it is hard to foresee that the methods and techniques are something that ever COULD be lost. The same goes for devices. This mechanism was probably entombed and preserved long before this type of device became obsolete and started disappearing, and there would have been a point in time which breaking this sort of tool down for its metal to pour into a drawer knob was probably akin to ripping apart old "useless" electronics for precious metals.
I agree. There had to be a demand for these machines and the one found was likely not the only one ever produced. The others were probably repurposed for jewelry, trade or melted down for the brass, bronze and copper when their use was no longer needed.
@@nikolaishriver7922 It's like when the first Polish encyclopaedia included such definitions as "Horse: Everyone knows what a horse is"
I think I'm with the OP, this kind of mechanism must have been relativelly common, I mean, not in every household, but something the rich people can buy. Maybe not as complex, but there should be enough demand of similar stuff so developing a lathe or ways of hardening tools was necessary. I'm thinking on perpetual calendars for popular events, moon phase calculators, things like that... Simpler but similar mechanisms for merchants to plan trips, comes to mind.
How you break down complicated devices. To show the steps and skills using simple tools.
Thank you for putting this on line for all to see.
You , tony, and the others are the reason why i found metal work and lathes to be my calling. Something I should have done along time ago. School taught wood instead of metal. Now i am a diesel tech but training for a position that involves using a lathe for repairs on a ship. Thanks dude. I owe you dinner and a beer when i come to Australia.
This is seriously impressive.
I'm going to start calling you Midas.
This is one of the coolest vids I have seen in a long time.
Good work , to often modern folks forget that ingenuity , patience and time can accomplish much .
Something about seeing these parts made this way made the whole thing feel so much more...real? Hard to explain but especially with the backgrounds at the end it felt like a much more intimate connection with the original maker. It truly is amazing how clever people were even without the aid of modern technologies and techniques.
Wonderful job as always, Chris.
Us humans really like to forget that we, the workers who assembled this piece, and the people making stone tools tens of thousands of years ago are, in the end, the same. The same brain rattling around in all our skulls. People never were dumb, just less knowledgable about how the world actually works and had to work with that.
Who knew it was this simple to bootstrap a machine shop!?!
Chris, I'm convinced that with just a hot fire and the right metals you could bootstrap your way to creating not just a machine shop but all of Rome if given the time. Your patience in creating these precision parts is truly astounding. I can't imagine how long it took to slowly carve away metal to get that shaft at the end. I learn so much from you in addition to the machining practices.
If you were using modern methods (even along the lines of the skeleton clock methods), I know you could have had a functioning Antikythera Mechanism more than 2 years ago if you had wanted, but this journey of machining archaeology is not something I ever expected, and its such a treat to learn with you.
Thanks for the great content as always!
If you have a lathe, you can build literally every other machine in a workshop. I just never fully comprehended how easy a lathe actually is to make 😂
@@gaskamp2 As a lathe operator, this is absolutely the case. Most people don´t get what you can actually do with a lather, turning round things is just the most basic part of it. I could with a little extra work make a cube using a lathe pretty easily. And all the extra tools needed could again be produced with the lather and an additional set of very simple tools.
This video showing up was the first time I actively expressed a sound of joy upon seeing a video in my feed. Thank you for this unexpected surprise!
Thanks again Chris for you most informative and insightful production. Bravo.
Yes Clickspring!!!!! We love you Chris!!! If I had found a block of wood with holes and a couple pointy spikes in it, with an old stick nearby, I wouldn't have any idea it was a lathe. Nor that you could make such amazingly accurate work with it. Amazing video. You are BRILLIANT.
Once again you have astounded me!
Chris - You're amazing!!!
So much wow… How Chris always manage to surprise with next level stuff is beyond me!
Your videos just keep on getting better and better !
Talk about thinking outside the box !
I do not know what to say ... this was so brilliant!
Chris, you have a way of making me feel both happy and sad at the same time:
I am always happy to see the notification for one of your videos pop-up, your videos are such a pleasure to view that I will drop whatever I am doing to watch; but listening to your descriptions and realizing how deeply you understand the technologies of old, then watching you seemingly effortlessly recreate those technologies, makes me sad to realize that I will never understand, nor create, anything as beautifully you can.
Thank you for humbling me in such a pleasant manner.
I think that the "seemingly effortlessly" bit is heavily-weighted by "seemingly" !
Every stroke of a file, every angle of a tool, "our Chris" had thought through very, very, carefully.
One difference from devices today is that pieces, other than gear ratios and some circular mechanisms, can be hand-fitted, and don't need to be "reproducible" in the way of most things today, and, in fact, i guess that even measurements of parts would have been nearly impossible, but...maybe antiquity has lost, or not found, instruments for fine measurements; given the level of thought in mathematics and astronomy, and the level of mechanical & metallurgical skill in this one mechanism, perhaps they had instruments like "micrometers", and rotary gages...
The state of calm joy is uncomparable. 🧘♂ 🕉
@@lohikarhu734 A pair of double ended callipers (two '~' shapes crossed over to look like a figure '8' with a rivet at the crossover point), simultaneously measures the thickness of an item, and, at the other end, allows you to check for equal thickness in other work pieces. You could have a strip of metal, filed in a series of steps that are known to be the thicknesses a project requires for it's various components, and use the callipers to check your work until it agreed. This would be accurate to fractions of a 100th of a millimetre. If the tip gets worn from moving test components in and out (which would usually only happen once per part, when you'd got it right) , the tips at the other end just need to be stoned a little until they match. Even Horology books I've got from the 1800's sometimes talk about working tolerances too small to measure being discerned by touch (the movement in a microscopic clearance being felt as a tiny 'click'), or by the whisker of light visible between two components. Cheers
Love the way you think thru these things. Terrific video! I would run the cord down to a treadle you can rock back and forth with your foot, that leave both hands free.
Truly redefines "Handmade". As always beautiful, Chris. Thank you.
Man... Bits of precision machining, history and thought provoking theories all under a well produced presentation. Well done sir!
This channel never disappoint. All these years and never fail. One of it own kind. No one could copy it content
Your order of operations to produce that pulley is mindblowingly clever.
This Is my FIRST TIME watch a video from you or this channel. I must say I am BLOWN AWAY! What great video!
Outstanding Chris.
Amazing as usual
What an insane, mind-blowing video. Those last minutes at the end were the highest quality I remember seeing in TH-cam. Ever. Absolutely stunning research, detail, craftsmanship, and video editing. This is video is an instant masterpiece. Thank you so, so, so much for giving us this knowledge for free and with this next-level format.
Probably the best video i've seen recebtly. Also graphics is awesone, so immersive!
Nice. Obviously related to the bow drill and the bow fire starter. Draws from archery as well. For wood or bone working, even flint tools could be used. Great work.
That was SO MUCH FUN to watch. An excellent introduction to the Antikythera mechanism and your recreation of it, for anyone who hasn't been as hooked for as long as I have!
I absolutely LOVE this method of research. There are so many lessons that can only be learned by rewalking the footsteps of the people who accomplished the feat to begin with. Chris isn't answering the question "Can we rebuild the mechanism today?" Because the answer is plainly obvious. Chris is not only answering "How did they do it then?" but the FAR more interesting question of "WHY did they do it that way?"
Excellent. I some times wonder, if this channel continues for another 10 years, will Clickspring rebuilt all of ancient civilization.
*Summary*
*Introduction*
- 0:09 - Host: Chris from Clickspring
- 0:14 - Topic: Construction techniques of the Antikythera mechanism
*Key Construction Details of the Antikythera Mechanism*
- 0:14 - Key Points:
- 0:14 - Fastening pins in the mechanism are handmade, suitable for a freehand approach due to tolerable variability.
- 0:59 - Complex gear train requires precise, frictionless arbors and pivots; hand filing is mostly unsuitable.
- 1:11 - Lathe technology likely used in construction, evidenced by historical references and artifacts.
*Challenges in Reconstructing Ancient Techniques*
- 1:31 - Lack of surviving ancient lathes leaves a gap in practical knowledge.
- 1:54 - Large circular shapes in the mechanism can be precisely cut with simple tools of the era.
*Lathe Design and Operation*
- 2:04 - Formation of small round components (arbors, shafts, bearings) requires a small, possibly hand-operated lathe.
- 2:36 - Ideal lathe for this work would be small, allowing close work and precise bearing surfaces.
- 2:42 - Chris demonstrates a homemade lathe using wood, a bow, natural gut line, and carburized iron cutting tools.
- 3:05 - Lathe operation details:
- 3:52 - Ergonomic design for standing work.
- 4:03 - Wood or leather strip as a cutting tool rest, adjustable with wax.
- 4:59 - Ebony used as a test material, consistent with historical usage.
- 5:15 - Lathe features lightly sprung prongs for holding workpieces, allowing easy loading and unloading.
- 6:01 - Initial cuts are coarse, but the lathe's design allows for continuous improvement.
- 7:43 - Rosin applied to the line for better grip.
*Advanced Lathe Techniques and Historical Context*
- 8:07 - Process for creating a thin, tapered arbor demonstrated.
- 9:17 - Metal workpieces likely started from cast or forged stock, then filed to basic form.
- 9:30 - Additional features (e.g., internal bore) completed with pump drill and hand files.
- 10:20 - Combination of arbor and workpiece allows for more detailed turning.
- 12:57 - Method to upgrade lathe with bearing parts for snug fit and pulley system, allowing for both direct and indirect drive methods.
- 13:33 - The lathe's design allows for adapting to different workpiece requirements.
- 13:38 - Core features of the bow lathe include two pivots, rotational force, a tool rest, and a cutter.
- 13:52 - Use of olive oil on bearing points ensures smooth operation.
*Historical Significance and Impact*
- 14:02 - The lathe is a crude precursor to modern watchmaker's turns, important in early clock and watch making.
- 14:26 - During the Antikythera mechanism's era, this early machine technology was revolutionary.
- 14:37 - The origins of this technology are unclear but likely developed in Rhodes.
- 14:48 - Rhodes, a naval and trading hub, was deeply interactive with major ancient civilizations.
- 15:05 - Rhodes, like Alexandria, became a center of science and technology, attracting Roman nobility for education.
- 15:18 - Renowned scholars in Rhodes included Geminus, Hipparchus, and Posidonius, influential in astronomy, engineering, and philosophy.
- 15:50 - Cicero and others made passing references to similar devices, but details are scarce.
- 16:01 - Speculation remains about the specifics of who and how this technology was practiced.
*Conclusion*
- 17:04 - The bow lathe, simple to construct with period tools and materials, could replicate the Antikythera mechanism's complexity.
- 17:18 - It demonstrates an intrinsic property: shaping objects true to their axis when spun between two points.
- 17:36 - Concluding remarks, emphasizing the significance of the bow lathe in ancient technology.
This man needs to be pinned due to this great index of chapters.
I would be tempted to go with something like....
0:00 - Chris from Clickspring.
0:01 - Chris proceeds to create metalworking magic to an awesome backing track.
17:36 - See you next time.
Of course, then, all of the indexing for every video would end up like that. 🙂
Well Done!
Thank You!
@@taliakuznetsova7092 Disclaimer: I used chatgpt4 and the video transcript to create the summary.
Once again you left us in awe. Perfect! Thank you for your time and effort
Very informative and to see you make and build each stage is fantastic. I will have to look at making one of these for small projects I want to do. Thank you for the video, please keep making them
These videos are an art of its own right.. Amazing... Greets from austria.
love how you show the possible evaluation from the same device, living archaeology at it finest
The camera work, the narration the quiet background music all brilliantly done. As a Fitter Machinist for nearly 50 years I find your work very interesting.
There is so much pleasure to be had in thinking about an idea and using a lathe to construct the item.
Always a surprise! Welcome back
Another beautifully crafted tool and video. As always I'm left in awe and amazed.
After watching the clock playlist, and the entire Antikythera playlist up to this point, I'm now convinced that the entire reason for this whole project was so you could do some hand graving.
Very high quality production!
Thank you so much for sharing this video
Chris, hope it’s “Happy NewYear” for you. This, like all your videos, was remarkable. I do hope this research and archeological reconstruction results in some proper recognition of all that work by those ‘powers’ who will surely benefit from it. As far as I’m concerned, at least, you’re “Dr Chris”, and if I had it in my gift, you’d have a ‘seat’ in my university. Les in UK 🇬🇧
Chris, thank you so much for your work. This video literally gave me the shivers for feeling the wind of time. Amazing that you managed to just demonstrate how it could have been - and most likely - was done. I especially love how you bootstrapped the mechanism from a crude piece of ebony (I thought "no, this is never going to work") to a true precision instrument ❤❤❤
Love the quality of your vidoes. Love the craftsmanship of your work. Love the passion you have to explain and teach others.
Great as always. I am very glad I found these videos. Dedication and patience above all expectations!
Thank you!
You have really outdone yourself Chris. Thanks for all you do.
Beauty.
Bugger me, Chris. Bloody marvellous. Thank you.😮
Every video you post i wish was at least 2 hours long. thank you for bringing us along on this journey of re-discovery
Cheers Chris, what a brilliant video 👍🏻
Building a tool and using it to craft upgrades to improve the tool is a tradition that still persists today, probably most prominently in the form of 3D printing!
long, long I have been waiting for this one - Thank you, chris. What a nice surprise, what a nice Christmas present. 👍👍
Absolutely brilliant in every aspect. Mesmerising, fascinating, educational. You have such a gift. Thank you for sharing
Absolutely amazing! So many questions were just answered about historical precision mechanical devices...greatly appreciated and mind officially blown...instantly a dedicated subscriber. Thank you and I can't wait to see what's next!
So glad we're back on the mechanism, been looking forward to more on that. Stunning lathe, absolute genius.
Gracias por enseñar todo esto !! Es fascinante la tecnología que utilizaban graiting from Argentina !!🇦🇷
Awesome Chris, thank you for your excellent videos.
Superb! A lot of thought has gone into this. Obviously your clock making experience has helped.
We tend to forget that it all started with simple, but effective basics.
Excellent video! With the amount of thought and rigor you've put into this, I feel comfortable thinking of you as a genuine scholar. You are a credit to machinists throughout time, and your work's value cannot be overstated.
This is still my favourite channel. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I love your work and the incredible detail that goes into it.
Chris, it's always a blast to see what you've been up to.
Thanks for being so curious and sharing it with us.