Photo Index - John Ballantine & Co. - Backnife lathe

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
John Ballantine & Co.
Preston, ON

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Lathe, Wood
Machine Size:	44" c/c, 5" swing over carriage
Submitted By:	Art Shaw

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Backnife lathe
Date of Manufacturer:	1904 -1910
Serial Number:
Last Updated	11/18/2006 12:00:00 AM

Comments:

I bought this machine from Brian Bivand who bought it as a basket case and put it together with the help of a backhoe to lift the backnife and guide assembly in place. The story is it was once in service in a piano factory. The base is 8' long and the total length is 9'.It has a carriage driven by a feed screw, carrying 2 (possibly 3) cutters. The first cutter rounds the stock. The second follows a pattern bolted to the bed, to cut the stock to rough shape. After the carriage passes, the backnife falls like a guillotine, cutting the stock to finished shape. It is capable of very intricate and crisp detail in the turning, all of which is incorporated in the backnife blade. Blades can still be made, but the cost is almost prohibitive (around $70 per inch). It came with a couple hundred pounds of blades, and there is a rough-cutting pattern for each blade. It also came with a 5 hp Century electric motor with patent dates 1899 and 1903.

Photo 1:

Comments: Sorry for the cluttered background. This is the backside of the lathe showing the backnife blade carrier that falls with a shearing action to cut the pattern in the turning stock.
Source: Photo by Art Shaw

Direct Link
IMG Code

Photo 2:

Comments: This end view shows how the turning is positioned so the backnife falls clear of the lathe bed.
Source: Photo by Art Shaw

Direct Link
IMG Code

Photo 3:

Comments: Brass badge J Ballantine, Preston, Ontario
Source: Photo by Art Shaw

Direct Link
IMG Code