Blanchard, Thomas

Blanchard, Thomas

(born June 24, 1788, Sutton, Mass., U.S.—died April 16, 1864, Boston, Mass.) U.S. inventor. In 1818 he invented a lathe capable of turning irregular shapes, such as a gunstock. It duplicated the form of a pattern object by transmitting to the cutting tool the motion of a friction wheel rolling over the pattern. His invention was an essential step in the development of mass production techniques. He produced several successful designs of shallow-draft steamboats, and in 1849 he invented machinery for bending wood into complex shapes such as plow handles and ship's frames.

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Blanchard, Thomas (1788–1864) inventor; born in Sutton, Mass. A clever tinkerer from early age, he devised an automatic tack-making machine and a lathe for turning gun barrels. Working at the U.S. Arsenal in Springfield, Mass., in 1818 he built a lathe that could automatically produce precision interchangeable parts—an essential step in the direction of mass production. He later designed a steam automobile (1825) and several types of steamboats.