The ancient Egyptians and Romans already turned wood with machines operated by two persons. The arrival of the connecting rod and the crank in the 5th century brought rotation by pedal, a process similar to the first sewing machines. The use of the motive force of water was operated using the paddle wheels of a mill. In the 19th century, the wheels that powered the wood lathes were the size of a wheelwright's wheel and were fixed to the ceiling. They were later replaced by smaller cast-iron wheels with the arrival of electric engines.