Can any of the horologist in the community explain where November went? Another busy month flew by at the Plumier Foundation as 2025 winds down and activity at 114 Point Street continues to ratchet up. | | A group of Kiski School students and English teacher Sarah Kinderman stopped by the McIlwain Warehouse on an architectural tour of Saltsburg lead by local historians Jack Maguire and Chuck Colton. The tour emphasized how the use of great buildings changes through time as the world evolves around them. This change is an essential part of conservation, as buildings that can’t be made useful are usually abandoned or torn down to make space for something else. | | | David gave the students a tour of the building telling the story of the renovation along the way. Naturally, he also used the opportunity to introduce the curious, young minds to the world of complex turning. | | We hope to see other curious students from the Kiski School make the trek down the hill to see what’s going on in the old McIlwain Warehouse! | | In 1888, Dr. Andrew Wilson (cousin of President Woodrow Wilson) purchased a resort at the confluence of the Kiskiminetas river on the bluffs overlooking Saltsburg and founded the Kiskiminetas Springs School. Not unlike part of the location's allure to Plumier, Wilson believed the natural beauty of the area would contribute to a thriving educational and creative environment. | | | Spencer had the opportunity to fly out to LA and see the exhibit for himself | | Plumier Intern Spencer Hamann is being featured in the Craft in America exhibit “Tools of the Trades: American Handmade Implements & Devices,” currently running in Los Angeles. Spencer is representing both Plumier and the craft of complex turning with some of the work he did at Plumier this summer. The Plumier Foundation is extremely proud of this accomplishment. Spencer is one of the most enthusiastic champions of complex turning in the community, and his energy is contagious. We are looking forward to seeing what he makes next and where it takes him. | | Plumier members Bill Robertson and Seth Gould are also featured in the exhibit, which runs until January 24th. We encourage anyone who finds themselves in the LA area to go check it out! | | Seth Gould's hand-forged and filed dividers and calipers from his own personal toolbox. See more of Seth's work on Instagram. | | 1/6th scale tool chest by Bill Robertson with hand-cut dovetails and molding done with scale hand planes. See more of Bill's work on Instagram. | | Plumier Intern Daniel Ravizza has finished another incredible hinged box. This box shows off the range of Daniel’s skills as a metalsmith, machinist, and complex turner. The body of the box is African blackwood and the top is red mallee burl, both cut on the rose engine with an elliptical chuck and puffy-polygon rosette back at the Plumier shop in Port Chester. | | | Daniel then took the components back to his home shop where he fabricated a silver bezel hand-fit to top and bottom with a clever spring-loaded hinge. He then made a plate out of an alloy of copper and silver called Shibuichi, which he inlaid in traditional Japanese style with a silver koi fish with copper spots and Shibuichi eyes. The plate was then patinated with traditional Japanese Rokusho patination, and inlaid into the lid of the box. Note the elegant, hand-cut “folds” in the corners of the plate that transition beautifully into the machine-cut facet lines of the burl lid. | | This box represents an impressive collection of skills and is a testament to how complex turning can be paired effectively with other crafts. See more of Daniel's work on Instagram. | | |
We’re putting to use our “new” Sigourney sensitive drilling machine, recently donated by a member who knew our love for these incredibly overbuilt machines. Sold by Pratt and Whitney, they were especially popular in the 1940’s war effort and most have the “war finish.” Despite their heft, they are one of the most sensitive drill presses capable of easily handling drills down to and below #80, yet with enough throat depth to drill holes in larger objects like large clock plates. We couldn’t be more grateful for the gift!
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The same member who donated the Sigourney drill also donated two lathes to Plumier to be sold to raise funds for the Foundation. One of the lathes was this Clausing 11, which is a Harrison M250 rebranded for the American market. It is very capable machine in a relatively compact form that is spoken highly of by everyone who has run one. This lathe found its new home in the workshop of Plumier member Seth Gould and it is an ideal match for his needs. Thanks to this generous donation, we were able to put the right machine in the hands of the right craftsperson for a fair price to the benefit of the Foundation—a true win-win!
| | | What’s going on with the Lawler? | | |
Christian has made great progress on modifying the Lawler OT lathe. If you hadn’t guessed with the loose parts hanging around in our last update, it is pretty clear now with the vines of cable sprouting out of the Lawler that he is modifying it for stepper motor controls. It may not be pretty like the MADE or Holtz 1636, but the Lawler will now expand our capabilities for totally new complex turning techniques as demonstrated by turners like Phil Poirier, as well as enabling some efficiencies in small production runs. It is just about ready to start running some programs and we are very excited to see what Christian comes up with on this new exploration in OT tech.
| | Here’s a unique opportunity to purchase an incredibly well-tooled Rivett 608 lathe! It sits on the coveted oak base, which has a beautiful patina. This lathe comes with a ton of tooling including chucks, steady rests, and a collet closer. It also comes with an entire second 608 for parts or to be completed as another working lathe. Among the tooling is also the highly rare and much sought after milling attachment. Getting all of this Rivett tooling in one purchase is a unique opportunity for any machinist or collector. The lathe is currently located in southeastern Massachusetts. Please contact David if you are interested. | | | The Bower Rose Engine has made it to its new home in the front room of the McIlwain Warehouse! | | | | Of all the incredible machines in the Plumier collection, the Bower, in our opinion, is the most beautiful. John Bower was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland in either 1795 or 1796. We learned recently from a descendent of Bower that his father, John Bower Sr., was a prominent clockmaker, and his mother was also an engineer according to census records. John Bower Jr. went to work in Clerkenwell, London and at some point got himself mixed up with messieurs Holtzapffel and complex turning. Bower converted several of Holtzapffel’s ornamental turning lathes into rose engines. This particular rose engine is of an exceptional quality that stands out amongst it contemporaries. The cast components like the headstock and tailstock are not painted, they are cast iron burnished to a beautiful satin finish. Bower spared no effort on small, atheistic details. It is truly a work of art and makes the perfect center piece for the entrance of Plumier. | | |
Bower also invented an early straight-line attachment, which won an award for industrial design in 1827. Holtzapffel No.1636, made in 1838, has one of a very similar design.
If anyone has more information to share on John Bower than the limited information online and in OT publications, it would be greatly appreciated.
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Member Neil Johnson has been on an extended stay in Saltsburg learning both machining and complex turning skills. He volunteered some time to make a much needed clamp rack for our cabinet shop. Every bit of new shop infrastructure and organization helps—thank you Neil!
| | | Member Joe Acierno came out to Saltsburg to see the new shop and do a bit of engine turning. Joe was a regular at the Port Chester shop and it was great to hangout with him again in Saltsburg. We hope to see him back soon! | | We took a Plumier field trip to Columbus, OH to see member Mike Stacey at Columbus Machine Works. Mike is the “M” in MADE Lathe, and Lindow Rose Engine is now based out of Columbus Machine Works. David stopped by to do a bit of QC on the next batch of LREs and see a few of the new accessories in production. Meanwhile, Mike treated the rest of the group to a tour of the machine shops. Columbus Machine uses everything from WWII-era lathes, to the latest Haas CNC milling machines to make a limitless range of precision parts, including for the LRE and MADE Lathe. | | David and Mike tuning freshly assembled LREs | | Engine turning barrel with new bronze rosettes | | New, dedicated engine turning slide rest for the LRE | | Mike and Joe at a massive American Pacemaker lathe | Satisfying lineup of the next batch of LREs | | David instructing Seth Kilian on setting the barrel preload | LRE tooling ready to ship | | Lindow Rose Engine No. 1, a true "Ship of Theseus" of rose engines, in the shop for some upgrades | | Mike sharing his love of Warner & Swasey turret lathes with Christian and Joe | | We had a lot to be thankful for in Saltsburg this Thanksgiving. Plumier’s new home would not exist without the support of our members. Thank you to all of you who have generously supported our vision—this is only the beginning. We hope everyone in the Plumier community had a great Thanksgiving. | | Don't forget we are holding an Open Shop Saturday next week on December 6. We look forward to seeing you there! | | |
Support Ornamental Turning, Support Plumier. You can donate through the Join Us! page on our website, Donate Here.
We have also set up a Go Fund Me page which accepts donations of any size with more flexibility. It can be found here, Donate Through Go Fund Me.
A check sent to the address below is also a welcomed form of donation.
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