Talk:Machine tool

Clocks or firearms first?
Under History it says that the first crucial industry for machine tool development in medieval Europe was firearms, followed by clocks. According to Richard Currier in Unbound, it was clocks that came first, in the 13th century. Were machine tools really being used to make firearms before this? I know the first use of firearms in England was not until the 14th century and the 'industry' must have been tiny even at that point. LastDodo (talk) 10:29, 27 June 2019 (UTC)
 * If we include ancient clocks such as Greek water clocks or the pretty mysterious Antikythera mechanism (which is believed to be a type of astronomical clock/calendar) then clocks would far pre-date firearms. However that all pre-dates the European medieval period so I am not so sure how helpful it is.--Discott (talk) 07:42, 25 January 2021 (UTC)