Sharpe's establishment, and while he (Mr. Craven) was ready to admit
that so far as high class work and sanitary arrangements were
concerned, Messrs. Brown & Sharpe's were a model, they could not be
put forward as representative of American establishments generally. As
a matter of fact, many of the American workshops were not as good as a
large number of similar workshops in Manchester. Mr. Renold had
referred to the extensive use of gear cutters in the United States,
but he might point out that it was in Manchester that the milling
machine was first made. Mr. Samuel Dixon said he had certainly come to
the conclusion that no better work was done in America than could be
and was being done in this country; while as regards the enormous
production of milling cutters, that was simply an example of what
could be done where large firms devoted themselves to the production
of one specialty. With regard to the statement made by Mr. Renold that
the American thread was preferable to the Whitworth thread, he might
say he entirely disagreed with such a conclusion, and he might add
that after visiting a variety of Continental and American workshops he
should certainly not, if he were called upon to award the palm of
superiority in workmanship, go across the Atlantic for that purpose.
Mr. J. Nasmith remarked that whether English engineers were the
inventors of the milling machine or not, it must be admitted that it
was through this type of cutter being taken up by the Americans that
milling had become the success it was at the present time. English
engineers were very conservative, and it was only through the pressure
of circumstances that milling machines came into general use in this
country. When American inventions were brought to England they were
generally improved to the highest degree, but he thought the chief
fault of both American and Continental engineers was what one might
call "over-refinement;" there was such a thing as over-finishing an
object and overdoing it. If, however, American machinery was so much