If you appreciate the skill of an engine builder, then imagine the expertise required to build a fully functional version of that same engine at a tiny scale. You can find at a treasure trove of working small-scale models at the Craftsmanship Museum in Carlsbad, Calif. The museum displays 16,000 square feet of miniature marvels, including cars, boats, planes, steam engines, and all varieties of modern mechanical machinery.
The museum was founded by Joe Martin, who owned the Sherline Products Company, which sells metal-working machines to hobbyists. Sherline products were previously sold under the Craftsman name through Sears, but you can now find an extensive sample of its machines for sale on eBay.
In 2006, Martin started collecting and showing finished small-scale masterpieces, at his Vista, Calif. factory. Many of the creations were made using his machines. In 2011, the collection outgrew its space at the manufacturing plant and moved to a separate space in nearby Carlsbad.
The jewel that will catch the eye of any classic car enthusiast is the functional one-sixth scale scale model of a 1932 Duesenberg SJ. It took the creator, Louis Chenot, more than 20,000 hours to make. Six-thousand custom one-off parts were required for this car. To be clear: the Duesenberg model is fully operational.
What does this machine do? Nothing, but it looks extremely cool.
The museum offers hands-on high-tech shop tours—along with a wide variety of displays including a “Do Nothing” machine that does, well, nothing. It’s a mechanical magic of kinetic sculpture with 764 gears rotating and moving in synchronicity. It took the builder more than seven years to conjure up this machine.
An 18-cylinder two-row radial engine.
One of the museum’s volunteers, a worker at Sherline, built a half-scale working version of the 1876 Gatling Gun. And there’s an 18-cylinder two-row radial engine, similar to many used to power an aircraft fro the Second World War.
The Craftsmanship Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday.
