Tools & manufacturing · 1774

Cylinder boring machine

A rigid boring bar cuts cylinders true enough for steam engines.

John Wilkinson patented his cannon boring machine in 1774 and used it to bore Watt's engine cylinders to within about the thickness of a thin shilling. Accurate cylinders made efficient steam power practical.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 2

Coke-fired iron smelting 1709
Watermill 300 BCE

What it led to 1

Watt steam engine 1776

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Patents awarded in England, 1700-1851 Latest: 455 patents per year (1851) Source: Our World in Data

UK coal production since 1700 Latest: 2.17M tonnes (2019) Source: Our World in Data