Over time things like machine tools have gotten more accurate, ie I assume early metalworking lathes had a much higher range of error than modern ones.
So how were the more accurate machines made using what must have been a less accurate machine?
In: Engineering
Tighter tolerances and better techniques, for one. Cannons (to use an example from the “The Perfectionists” book below) used to be rough sandcasts. The bore in those cannons was… technically aimed the right direction, but not as straight or smooth as is necessary for accuracy. Then boring with a lathe was discovered, and suddenly cannons were axially straight, and much more accurate. This also led into making useful pistons, and a lot of other advances. Everything that followed was better, as a result.
Sometimes there are leaps forward, and sometimes it’s decades of incremental improvements.
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