Guilloché / Rose Engine Metalwork

A form of lathe in which the rotary motion of the mandrel may be combined with a radial movement of the tool-rest, the result being a movement of eccentric character.  An eccentric chuck is also used with a stationary tool-rest, or the work in the lathe is, by means of suitable mechanism, made to oscillate slightly.  Whatever the method used, the result is the tracing on a flat surface, such as the back of a watch-case, of a series of waved or circular lines which may be considered to bear some resemblance to a full-blown rose.  The rose-engine is used to make complicated ornamental tracings on the engraved plates used for printing bank-notes, bonds, etc., and in decorating watch-cases and other metal-work. The work performed by it is called engine-turning.