Speaking of gorgeous, if you're ever in a machine shop and get a chance to look inside the headstock of a top end 1940-1970s vintage engine lathe, do it. The quality and precision makes automotive stuff look like hammered pot metal.
I hang out on a couple of online machinist fora and I agree. Even the outsides of something like, e.g., a Monarch 10EE are beautiful. Sculpted in a way that just doesn't seem to happen anymore.
Two of my favorite machine porn photos are from WW2 - a woman at a beautiful Warner & Swasey turret lathe: http://www.shorpy.com/node/1809 There's another one on that site of a woman using a Heald Borematic that I can't find right now, but it's even more amazing. I need to find it so I can order a large print.
