James Nasmyth (19 August 1808 – 7 May 1890) was a Scottish engineer, inventor, and artist. Nasmyth developed a process to make an accurate air hammer. He also invented the full-circle planer, a revolutionary machine that reduced the time required to machine wrought iron railings. In addition to his engineering contributions, Nasmyth was an accomplished artist and painted a number of watercolours and oil paintings, many of which depict the countryside around his home in Scotland.
Nasmyth was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1808. He was the son of Alexander Nasmyth, a prominent landscape painter and Portrait miniature painter. In 1823, at the age of fifteen, he was sent to work in the locomotive works of Henry Booth in Liverpool. After two-and-a-half years of studying under Booth, Nasmyth returned to Scotland in 1826 to do an apprenticeship at the Albion Works in Glasgow, owned by John and Arthur Anderson. Here he gained experience in machine tools and other machines that could be used in the production of metal items.
In 1829, Nasmyth moved to Manchester and set up his own machine workshop at Chorlton-upon-Medlock. Here he manufactured hydraulic presses, lathes, planing machines, and stamping machines. He also developed his own patented machines, such as the screw cutting lathe, the planer, and the full-circle planer.
Nasmyth also made a number of inventions which improved the efficiency of existing machines. He invented the automatic trip hammer which replaced manual labour by mechanical means and increased the production rate of a blacksmith’s workshop. He also invented a method to make an accurate air hammer, known as the Nasmyth air hammer. This improved the accuracy of rivets and allowed previously difficult metals to be worked more accurately.
Nasmyths work in engineering was recognised both nationally and internationally. In 1857, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. He won a number of international awards, including the Grand Gold Medal at the Paris Exposition of 1867. He was also elected a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1875.
He was also an accomplished artist and painted a number of watercolours and oil paintings, many of which depict the countryside around his home in Scotland. Several of his works are held in the National Gallery of Scotland.
Nasmyth passed away in 1890 and is buried in Scotland. His engineering designs, particularly the full-circle planer became highly valued and used throughout the world. Today, the Nasmyth name is still well known in engineering circles, and there are many Nasmyth-designed machines still in operation around the world. His pioneering work in engineering was a major influence on the industrial revolution in Europe and helped to create some of the machines used today.
