A RARE STEEL-FRAMED CLOCK OR WATCHMAKERS WHEEL CUTTING ENGINE

A RARE STEEL-FRAMED CLOCK OR WATCHMAKERS WHEEL CUTTING ENGINEUnsigned, probably German, late 19th century The cutter frame with lever operated vertical dovetail slide incorporating rare X and Y tilt angle adjustment each with locking levers and respective curved slots calibrated in degrees acting against an adjustable wing nut stop above screw-adjusted horizontal slide with lever action, the 5.25 inch brass circular index plate with twenty one division rings ranging in even numbers from 60 to 100 with additional track for 75 teeth located via locking sprung detent fixed to the front of the frame and with central arbor passing through the box-shaped frame to hold the work against an adjustable end-stop clamp, the opposing side with steel bracket supporting drive pulley guide wheel aligned with the smaller wheel fitted to the cutter arbor, the whole on four steel down-curved supports.Length of frame 23.5cm (9.25ins); the whole approximately 32cm (12.5ins) long, 25cm (9.75ins) wide, 31 cm (12.25ins) high overall. Provenance: Acquired by the vendor direct from John Hooper around 15 years ago. The overall design, construction and layout of the current lot can be broadly compared to a German iron-framed wheel cutting engine illustrated in Crom, Theodore R. Horological Shop Tools 1700-1900 on page 634 (Figure 1276). Condition Report: In good original working condition with gentle age-related oxidation, patination and wear to surfaces. One screw for the cutter frame is missing but this will not affect the operation of the tool.Please ask the department for additional imagesCondition Report Disclaimer