Lathe Machine

A lathe is a machine tool which rotates the work piece on its axis to perform various operations
such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, or deformation, facing, turning, with tools that are
applied to the work piece to create an object which has symmetry about an axis of rotation.
Lathes are used in woodturning, metalworking, metal spinning, Thermal spraying/ parts
reclamation, and glass-working. Lathes can be used to shape pottery, the best-known design
being the potter's wheel. Most suitably equipped metalworking lathes can also be used to
produce most solids of revolution, plane surfaces and screw threads or helices. Ornamental lathes
can produce three-dimensional solids of incredible complexity. The material can be held in place
by either one or two centers, at least one of which can be moved horizontally to accommodate
varying material lengths. Other work-holding methods include clamping the work about the axis
of rotation using a chuck or collet, or to a faceplate, using clamps or dogs.
Examples of objects that can be produced on a lathe include candlestick holders, gun barrels, cue
sticks, table legs, bowls, baseball bats, musical instruments (especially woodwind instruments),
crankshafts, and camshafts.
History Of lathe Machine
The lathe is an ancient tool, dating at least to ancient Egypt and known and used in Assyria and
ancient Greece.
The origin of turning dates to around 1300 BC when the Ancient Egyptians first developed a
two-person lathe. One person would turn the wood work piece with a rope while the other used a
sharp tool to cut shapes in the wood. Ancient Rome improved the Egyptian design with the
addition of a turning bow. In the Middle Ages a pedal replaced hand-operated turning, freeing
both the craftsman's hands to hold the woodturning tools. The pedal was usually connected to a
pole, often a straight-grained sapling. The system today is called the "spring pole" lathe. Spring
pole lathes were in common use into the early 20th century.
One of the first lathes in the UK was the Horizontal Boring Machine that was installed by Jan
Verbruggen (article in Dutch Wikipedia) in 1772 in the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. It was
horse-powered and allowed for the production of much more accurate and stronger cannon used
with success in the American Revolutionary War late 18th century. One of the key
characteristics of this Boring Machine was that the object was turning as opposed to the tool
making it technically a lathe. (see attached drawing). Henry Maudslay who later developed many
improvements to the lathe worked at the Royal Arsenal from 1783 being exposed to this machine
in the Verbruggen workshop.[1]
Exact Drawing made with Camera Obscura of Horizontal Boring Machine by Jan Verbruggen in
Woolwich Royal Brass Foundry approx 1778 (drawing 47 out of set of 50 drawings)
During the Industrial Revolution, mechanized power generated by water wheels or steam engines
was transmitted to the lathe via line shafting, allowing faster and easier work. Metalworking
lathes evolved into heavier machines with thicker, more rigid parts. Between the late 19th and
mid-20th centuries, individual electric motors at each lathe replaced line shafting as the power
source. Beginning in the 1950s, servomechanism were applied to the control of lathes and other
machine tools via numerical control, which often was coupled with computers to yield
computerized numerical control. Today manually controlled and CNC lathes coexist in the
manufacturing industries.

Parts


Parts of a wood lathe
A lathe may or may not have a stand (or legs), which sits on the floor and elevates the lathe bed
to a working height. Some lathes are small and sit on a workbench or table, and do not have a
stand.
Almost all lathes have a bed, which is (almost always) a horizontal beam (although CNC lathes
commonly have an inclined or vertical beam for a bed to ensure that swarf, or chips, falls free of
the bed). Woodturning lathes specialized for turning large bowls often have no bed or tail stock,
merely a free-standing headstock and a cantilevered tool rest.
At one end of the bed (almost always the left, as the operator faces the lathe) is a headstock. The
headstock contains high-precision spinning bearings. Rotating within the bearings is a horizontal
axle, with an axis parallel to the bed, called the spindle. Spindles are often hollow, and have
exterior threads and/or an interior Morse taper on the "inboard" (i.e., facing to the right / towards
the bed) by which work-holding accessories may be mounted to the spindle. Spindles may also
have exterior threads and/or an interior taper at their "outboard" (i.e., facing away from the bed)
end, and/or may have a hand-wheel or other accessory mechanism on their outboard end.
Spindles are powered, and impart motion to the workpiece.
The spindle is driven, either by foot power from a treadle and flywheel or by a belt or gear drive
to a power source. In most modern lathes this power source is an integral electric motor, often
either in the headstock, to the left of the headstock, or beneath the headstock, concealed in the
stand.
In addition to the spindle and its bearings, the headstock often contains parts to convert the motor
speed into various spindle speeds. Various types of speed-changing mechanism achieve this,
from a cone pulley or step pulley, to a cone pulley with back gear (which is essentially a low
range, similar in net effect to the two-speed rear of a truck), to an entire gear train similar to that
of a manual-shift auto transmission. Some motors have electronic rheostat-type speed controls,
which obviates cone pulleys or gears.
The counterpoint to the headstock is the tailstock, sometimes referred to as the loose head, as it
can be positioned at any convenient point on the bed, by undoing a locking nut, sliding it to the
required area, and then re-locking it. The tail-stock contains a barrel which does not rotate, but
can slide in and out parallel to the axis of the bed, and directly in line with the headstock spindle.
The barrel is hollow, and usually contains a taper to facilitate the gripping of various type of
tooling. Its most common uses are to hold a hardened steel center, which is used to support long
thin shafts while turning, or to hold drill bits for drilling axial holes in the work piece. Many
other uses are possible.
[2]

Metalworking lathes have a carriage (comprising a saddle and apron) topped with a cross-slide,
which is a flat piece that sits crosswise on the bed, and can be cranked at right angles to the bed.
Sitting atop the cross slide is usually another slide called a compound rest, which provides 2
additional axes of motion, rotary and linear. Atop that sits a toolpost, which holds a cutting
tool which removes material from the workpiece. There may or may not be a leadscrew, which
moves the cross-slide along the bed.
Woodturning and metal spinning lathes do not have cross-slides, but rather have banjos, which
are flat pieces that sit crosswise on the bed. The position of a banjo can be adjusted by hand; no
gearing is involved. Ascending vertically from the banjo is a tool-post, at the top of which is a
horizontal toolrest. In woodturning, hand tools are braced against the tool rest and levered into
the workpiece. In metal spinning, the further pin ascends vertically from the tool rest, and serves
as a fulcrum against which tools may be levered into the workpiece.
Accessories


A steady rest
Unless a workpiece has a taper machined onto it which perfectly matches the internal taper in the
spindle, or has threads which perfectly match the external threads on the spindle (two conditions
which rarely exist), an accessory must be used to mount a workpiece to the spindle.
A workpiece may be bolted or screwed to a faceplate, a large, flat disk that mounts to the
spindle. In the alternative, faceplate dogs may be used to secure the work to the faceplate.
A workpiece may be mounted on a mandrel, or circular work clamped in a three- or four-jaw
chuck. For irregular shaped workpieces it is usual to use a four jaw (independent moving jaws)
chuck. These holding devices mount directly to the Lathe headstock spindle.
In precision work, and in some classes of repetition work, cylindrical workpieces are usually
held in a collet inserted into the spindle and secured either by a draw-bar, or by a collet closing
cap on the spindle. Suitable collets may also be used to mount square or hexagonal workpieces.
In precision toolmaking work such collets are usually of the draw-in variety, where, as the collet
is tightened, the workpiece moves slightly back into the headstock, whereas for most repetition
work the dead length variety is preferred, as this ensures that the position of the workpiece does
not move as the collet is tightened.
A soft workpiece (wooden) may be pinched between centers by using a spur drive at the
headstock, which bites into the wood and imparts torque to it.


Live center (top); dead center (bottom)
A soft dead center is used in the headstock spindle as the work rotates with the centre. Because
the centre is soft it can be trued in place before use. The included angle is 60. Traditionally, a
hard dead center is used together with suitable lubricant in the tailstock to support the workpiece.
In modern practice the dead center is frequently replaced by a live center, as it turns freely with
the workpiece usually on ball bearings reducing the frictional heat, especially important at
high speeds. When clear facing a long length of material it must be supported at both ends. This
can be achieved by the use of a traveling or fixed steady. If a steady is not available, the end face
being worked on may be supported by a dead (stationary) half center. A half center has a flat
surface machined across a broad section of half of its diameter at the pointed end. A small
section of the tip of the dead center is retained to ensure concentricity. Lubrication must be
applied at this point of contact and tail stock pressure reduced. A lathe carrier or lathe dog may
also be employed when turning between two centers.
[3]

In woodturning, one variation of a live center is a cup center, which is a cone of metal
surrounded by an annular ring of metal that decreases the chances of the workpiece splitting.
A circular metal plate with even spaced holes around the periphery, mounted to the spindle, is
called an "index plate". It can be used to rotate the spindle to a precise angle, then lock it in
place, facilitating repeated auxiliary operations done to the workpiece.
Other accessories, including items such as taper turning attachments, knurling tools, vertical
slides, fixed and traveling steadies, etc., increase the versatility of a lathe and the range of work it
may perform.


Modes of use
When a workpiece is fixed between the headstock and the tail-stock, it is said to be "between
centers". When a workpiece is supported at both ends, it is more stable, and more force may be
applied to the workpiece, via tools, at a right angle to the axis of rotation, without fear that the
workpiece may break loose.
When a workpiece is fixed only to the spindle at the headstock end, the work is said to be "face
work". When a workpiece is supported in this manner, less force may be applied to the
workpiece, via tools, at a right angle to the axis of rotation, lest the workpiece rip free. Thus,
most work must be done axially, towards the headstock, or at right angles, but gently.
When a workpiece is mounted with a certain axis of rotation, worked, then remounted with a
new axis of rotation, this is referred to as "eccentric turning" or "multi-axis turning". The result is
that various cross sections of the workpiece are rotationally symmetric, but the workpiece as a
whole is not rotationally symmetric. This technique is used for camshafts, various types of chair
legs.
Varieties
The smallest lathes are "jewelers lathes" or "watchmaker lathes", which are small enough that
they may be held in one hand. The workpieces machined on a jeweler's lathe are metal. Jeweler's
lathes can be used with hand-held "graver" tools or with compound rests that attach to the lathe
bed. Graver tools are generally supported by a T-rest, not fixed to a cross slide or compound rest.
The work is usually held in a collet. Common spindle bore sizes are 6 mm, 8 mm and 10 mm.
The term W/W refers to the Webster/Whitcomb collet and lathe, invented by the American
Watch Tool Company of Waltham, Massachusetts. Most lathes commonly referred to as
watchmakers lathes are of this design. In 1909, the American Watch Tool company introduced
the Magnus type collet (a 10-mm body size collet) using a lathe of the same basic design, the
Webster/Whitcomb Magnus. (F.W.Derbyshire, Inc. retains the trade names Webster/Whitcomb
and Magnus and still produces these collets.) Two bed patterns are common: the WW (Webster
Whitcomb) bed, a truncated triangular prism (found only on 8 and 10 mm watchmakers' lathes);
and the continental D-style bar bed (used on both 6 mm and 8 mm lathes by firms such as Lorch
and Star). Other bed designs have been used, such a triangular prism on some Boley 6.5 mm
lathes, and a V-edged bed on IME's 8 mm lathes.
Smaller metalworking lathes that are larger than jewelers' lathes and can sit on a bench or table,
but offer such features as tool holders and a screw-cutting gear train are called hobby lathes, and
larger versions, "bench lathes". Even larger lathes offering similar features for producing or
modifying individual parts are called "engine lathes". Lathes of these types do not have
additional integral features for repetitive production, but rather are used for individual part
production or modification as the primary role.
Lathes of this size that are designed for mass manufacture, but not offering the versatile screw-
cutting capabilities of the engine or bench lathe, are referred to as "second operation" lathes.
Lathes with a very large spindle bore and a chuck on both ends of the spindle are called "oil field
lathes".
Fully automatic mechanical lathes, employing cams and gear trains for controlled movement, are
called screw machines.
Lathes that are controlled by a computer are CNC lathes.
Lathes with the spindle mounted in a vertical configuration, instead of horizontal configuration,
are called vertical lathes or vertical boring machines. They are used where very large diameters
must be turned, and the workpiece (comparatively) is not very long.
A lathe with a cylindrical tail-stock that can rotate around a vertical axis, so as to present
different tools towards the headstock (and the workpiece) are turret lathes.
A lathe equipped with indexing plates, profile cutters, spiral or helical guides, etc., so as to
enable ornamental turning is an ornamental lathe.
Various combinations are possible: for example, a vertical lathe have CNC as well (such as
a CNC VTL).
Lathes can be combined with other machine tools, such as a drill press or vertical milling
machine. These are usually referred to as combination lathes.

Woodworking lathes


A modern woodworking lathe.
Woodworking lathes are the oldest variety. All other varieties are descended from these simple
lathes. An adjustable horizontal metal rail - the tool rest - between the material and the operator
accommodates the positioning of shaping tools, which are usually hand-held. With wood, it is
common practice to press and slide sandpaper against the still-spinning object after shaping to
smooth the surface made with the metal shaping tools.
There are also woodworking lathes for making bowls and plates, which have no horizontal metal
rail, as the bowl or plate needs only to be held by one side from a metal face plate. Without this
rail, there is very little restriction to the width of the piece being turned. Further detail can be
found on thewoodturning page.


Metalworking lathes


A CNC metalworking lathe
In a metalworking lathe, metal is removed from the workpiece using a hardened cutting tool,
which is usually fixed to a solid moveable mounting, either a tool-post or a turret, which is then
moved against the workpiece using handwheels and/or computer controlled motors. These
(cutting) tools come in a wide range of sizes and shapes depending upon their application. Some
common styles are diamond, round, square and triangular.
The tool-post is operated by lead-screws that can accurately position the tool in a variety of
planes. The tool-post may be driven manually or automatically to produce the roughing and
finishing cuts required to turn the workpiece to the desired shape and dimensions, or for
cutting threads,worm gears, etc. Cutting fluid may also be pumped to the cutting site to provide
cooling, lubrication and clearing of swarf from the workpiece. Somelathes may be operated
under control of a computer for mass production of parts (see "Computer Numerical Control").
Manually controlled metalworking lathes are commonly provided with a variable ratio gear train
to drive the main lead-screw. This enables different thread pitches to be cut. On some older
lathes or more affordable new lathes, the gear trains are changed by swapping gears with various
numbers of teeth onto or off of the shafts, while more modern or expensive manually controlled
lathes have a quick change box to provide commonly used ratios by the operation of a lever.
CNC lathes use computers and servomechanisms to regulate the rates of movement.
On manually controlled lathes, the thread pitches that can be cut are, in some ways, determined
by the pitch of the lead-screw: A lathe with a metric lead-screw will readily cut metric threads
(including BA), while one with an imperial lead-screw will readily cut imperial unit based
threads such as BSW or UTS (UNF,UNC). This limitation is not insurmountable, because a 127-
tooth gear, called a transposing gear, is used to translate between metric and inch thread pitches.
However, this is optional equipment that many lathe owners do not own. It is also a larger
change-wheel than the others, and on some lathes may be larger than the change-wheel mounting
banjo is capable of mounting.
The workpiece may be supported between a pair of points called centres, or it may be bolted to a
faceplate or held in a chuck. A chuck has movable jaws that can grip the workpiece securely.
There are some effects on material properties when using a metalworking lathe. There are few
chemical or physical effects, but there are many mechanical effects, which include residual
stress, micro-cracks, work-hardening, and tempering in hardened materials.


Cue lathes
Cue lathes function similar to turning and spinning lathes allowing for a perfectly radially-
symmetrical cut for billiard cues. They can also be used to refinish cues that have been worn
over the years.

Glass-working lathes
Glass-working lathes are similar in design to other lathes, but differ markedly in how the
workpiece is modified. Glass-working lathes slowly rotate a hollow glass vessel over a fixed or
variable temperature flame. The source of the flame may be either hand-held, or mounted to a
banjo/cross slide that can be moved along the lathe bed. The flame serves to soften the glass
being worked, so that the glass in a specific area of the workpiece becomes ductile, and subject
to forming either by inflation ("glassblowing"), or by deformation with a heat resistant tool. Such
lathes usually have two head-stocks with chucks holding the work, arranged so that they both
rotate together in unison. Air can be introduced through the headstock chuck spindle for
glassblowing. The tools to deform the glass and tubes to blow (inflate) the glass are usually
handheld.
In diamond turning, a computer-controlled lathe with a diamond-tipped tool is used to make
precision optical surfaces in glass or other optical materials. Unlike conventional optical
grinding, complex aspheric surfaces can be machined easily. Instead of the dovetailed ways used
on the tool slide of a metal turning lathe, the ways typically float on air bearings and the position
of the tool is measured by optical interferometry to achieve the necessary standard of precision
for optical work. The finished work piece usually requires a small amount subsequent polishing
by conventional techniques to achieve a finished surface suitably smooth for use in a lens, but
the rough grinding time is significantly reduced for complex lenses.

Metal spinning lathes
In metal spinning, a disk of sheet metal is held perpendicularly to the main axis of the lathe, and
tools with polished tips (spoons) or roller tips are hand held, but levered by hand against fixed
posts, to develop large amounts of torque/pressure that deform the spinning sheet of metal.
Metal spinning lathes are almost as simple as woodturning lathes (and, at this point, lathes being
used for metal spinning almost always are woodworking lathes). Typically, metal spinning lathes
require a user-supplied rotationally symmetric mandrel, usually made of wood, which serves as a
template onto which the workpiece is molded (non-symmetric shapes can be done, but it is a
very advanced technique). For example, if you want to make a sheet metal bowl, you need a
solid chunk of wood in the shape of the bowl; if you want to make a vase, you need a solid
template of a vase, etc.
Given the advent of high speed, high pressure, industrial die forming, metal spinning is less
common now than it once was, but still a valuable technique for producing one-off prototypes or
small batches where die forming would be uneconomical.



Ornamental turning lathes
The ornamental turning lathe was developed around the same time as the industrial screw-cutting
lathe in the nineteenth century. It was used not for making practical objects, but
for decorativework - ornamental turning. By using accessories such as the horizontal and
vertical cutting frames, eccentric chuck and elliptical chuck, solids of extraordinary complexity
may be produced by various generative procedures.
A special purpose lathe, the Rose engine lathe is also used for ornamental turning, in particular
for engine turning, typically in precious metals, for example to decorate pocket watch cases. As
well as a wide range of accessories, these lathes usually have complex dividing arrangements to
allow the exact rotation of the mandrel. Cutting is usually carried out by rotating cutters, rather
than directly by the rotation of the work itself. Because of the difficulty of polishing such work,
the materials turned, such as wood or ivory, are usually quite soft, and the cutter has to be
exceptionally sharp. The finest ornamental lathes are generally considered to be those made
by Holtzapffel around the turn of the 19th century.

Reducing lathe
Many types of lathes can be equipped with accessory components to allow them to reproduce an
item: the original item is mounted on one spindle, the blank is mounted on another, and as both
turn in synchronized manner, one end of an arm "reads" the original and the other end of the arm
"carves" the duplicate.
A reducing lathe is a specialized lathe that is designed with this feature, and which incorporates
a mechanism similar to a pantograph, so that when the "reading" end of the arm reads a detail
that measures one inch (for example), the cutting end of the arm creates an analogous detail that
is (for example) one quarter of an inch (a 4:1 reduction, although given appropriate machinery
and appropriate settings, any reduction ratio is possible).
Reducing lathes are used in coin-making, where a plaster original (or an epoxy master made
from the plaster original, or a copper shelled master made from the plaster original, etc.) is
duplicated and reduced on the reducing lathe, generating a master die.

Rotary lathes
A lathe in which softwood, like spruce or pine, or hardwood, like birch, logs are turned against a
very sharp blade and peeled off in one continuous or semi-continuous roll. Invented
by Immanuel Nobel (father of the more famous Alfred Nobel). The first such lathes were set up
in the United States in the mid-19th century. The product is called wood veneer and it is used for
making plywoodand as a cosmetic surface veneer on some grades of chipboard.






Watchmaker's lathes


A watchmaker's lathe in use to prepare a decorative watch component cut from copper.


Watchmaker's lathe
Watchmakers lathes are delicate but precise metalworking lathes, usually without provision
for screwcutting, and are still used by horologists for work such as the turning of balance shafts.
A handheld tool called a graver is often used in preference to a slide mounted tool. The original
watchmaker's turns was a simple dead-center lathe with a moveable rest and two loose head-
stocks. The workpiece would be rotated by a bow, typically of horsehair, wrapped around it.

Transcription or Recording lathes
Transcription or Recording lathes are used to make grooves on a surface for recording sounds.
These were used in creating sound grooves on wax cylinders and then on flat recording discs.
Originally the cutting lathes were driven by sound vibrations through a horn and then later driven
by electric current when microphones were used in recording. Many of these were professional
models, but there were some used for home recording and were popular before the advent of
home tape recording.

METAL LATHES A BEGINNERS BUYING GUIDE
What makes the perfect workshop? I think we can all agree on a warm, dry space with a well-lit
bench of stout construction, a strong vice, a good selection of quality hand tools and a bench drill
(USA = drill press). However, beyond that what you really need - is a lathe. The only machine
tool able to produce a replica of itself the lathe can not only turn, bore, grind, drill and generate
screw threads but even, with a few simple modifications, be converted into milling machine or
even a shaper capable of producing flat surfaces. It can be adapted to make the most precise of
circular components or, with suitable cunning, set up to machine a crankcase or rebore a
cylinder. With a lathe in your workshop you will not only be able to save a great deal of money
but also complete jobs to a much higher standard than without. For example, would you like
exactly 1.5 turns of threads protruding neatly from every nut on your classic motorcycle or car
rebuild? Do you need to loose 2 lbs from your racer by thinning bolt heads and drilling into their
stems? Turn distance pieces to locate part X into part Y without Y bending all over the place
when the nut is tightened? Build a model of a radial, rotary Bentley aero engine? With a lathe
those jobs and a hundred others - will be simplicity itself (OK, the Bentley might not be so
easy ..). If your interest is watch, clock or instrument making look at this section.
Until the1980s small lathes were always difficult to find, with even worn examples commanding
high prices. Today the situation is, happily, much easier, and prices - in relation to earnings - far
lower.
As ever, with any mechanical device from automobile to washing machine the main
considerations are: will it do the job - to buy new or used - and how much to pay? As in other
fields, the market is now awash with cheaply built machines from China that country having
largely displaced the former leaders, Korea and Taiwan, in the manufacture of these products.
Machine tools from all these countries offer a lot of metal for the money, however, although
they often look the part, a cursory examination will reveal that they often lack several vital
elements amongst which the most important general ones are quality of materials; care in
assembly and set up and, more specifically, tumble reverse; backgear and a selection of slow
spindle speeds. Proper British and American small lathes (but not most modern "European" or
Far Eastern examples) normally include all or most of these essential features. However, they are
expensive to provide and, by including them, the makers reduce their competitive edge on price.
However and this cannot be overstated these features do make an enormous difference to the
usability and functionality of any lathe. The result is that a second-hand but properly-specified
British, American or European machine can be worth as much as, and sometimes more, than a
new Far-Eastern example. The well-known maxim: "Regrets about the low-quality last far, far
longer than the celebrations over the low price" applies especially well to machine tools. An
expensive, well-made lathe will but be much more pleasant to use, have increased versatility and
eventually prove much easier to sell whilst also recouping a greater percentage of its purchase
price. Surprisingly, spares and accessories for the older English machines are often easier to find
as well: many are still supported by their makers, there are third-party companies specialising in
their manufacture and lots of bits on eBay. Incidentally, in years gone by, makers and
distributors would prepare special "show-finish" machines to attract the more gullible buyers
attention in showrooms, trade fairs, exhibitions and model-engineering shows. Fortunately, the
present incumbents of the trade appear not to appreciate this little trick, or perhaps they lack the
energy to do it; but just in case they wise-up, beware.
Clicking on any self-help web site run by owners who have a cheaper, imported machine
inevitably throws up a set of rebuild instructions, together with hints and tips for overcoming
their other (often extensive) problems. When these sites start with articles explaining: "How to
make a set of useful accessories" (as they do with properly-made lathes) - and makes no mention
of putting the original machine to rights - we will know things are improving on the quality front.
The following pointers should help you select a suitable model:
Size:
When you see a lathe branded as, for example, 4" x 24" what does this mean?
The "English" method of sizing a lathe is to quote the centre height - or "throw" - the distance
from the centre of the chuck to the nearest point on the bed. In this case the centre height is 4"
and the distance between centres (the maximum length of material the lathe can accommodate)
24". With a bigger-and-better attitude the Americans of course quote the largest diameter of a
workpiece that can be turned clear over the bed - termed the "swing" - and so, in the example
above, the American sizing would be 8" x 24". Some American makers, South Bend for
example, also quoted the bed length as part of the specification; however, this is an irrelevant
figure - it neither tells you the longest piece of material that can be turned, nor the length of the
lathe. How big to go? Well, bigger is not necessarily better - and moving larger machines can be
an expensive proposition. For most home machinists and small repair workshops something
between a 3 x 15 and 6 x 30 machine will be ideal. However, whilst the former would be
light enough to lift off the bench yourself, the latter would need an engine crane and a trailer to
get home.
Lathe beds:
Arguments have raged long and hard over the best profile for a lathe bed and the claimed merits
of "English" flat and "American" V ways. On smaller lathes there can be no doubt that it simply
does not matter which you have. Claims favouring one over the other are just that, claims. In
practice you will be able to discern absolutely no difference in performance between them.
Round-bed lathes of various sizes, and with single or twin bars, have always been available -
with some designed down to a price (the round bed being simple and cheap to produce, often
from a length of standard bar stock) but others of very high, almost toolroom quality.
Headstock bearings:
Arguments are often advanced in favour of a roller-bearing headstock over the plain-bearing
type. Whilst it is true that the lighter lathes made before 1945 often had very marginal bearing
capacity (the rest of the lathe was usually pretty marginal too), machines constructed since then
have, almost without exception, been provided with a headstock and spindle assembly well able
to handle all the loads and speeds it is likely to encounter. The headstock on the popular 3.5 x
19 Myford Super 7 is a good example: the front bearing is a tapered bronze bush, whilst the
left-hand end of the spindle is carried in a pair of ball races held in an adjustable sleeve. The
tapered bush carries all the cutting loads and keeps the spindle in accurate alignment - the ball
races merely support the spindle, allowing it to turn, whilst their housing provides a way of
adjusting the front bearing clearance.
Some German VDF lathes were made in two forms; one was the "commercial" version, which
used a roller-bearing headstock, the other was the "Super-precision" variant - and that had a
plain-bearing headstock. VDF (a consortium of makers) were held in high regard for the quality
of their machine tools - and if they fitted plain spindle bearings to their best machines, then you
can be sure they had the utmost confidence in them to do a superior job.
There is, however, one very definite advantage in using ball or taper roller bearings in a
headstock - the ease of replacing them. Whilst a well-used plain-bearing set-up may suffer wear
to both the bearings and spindle (and require very expensive rectification) with ball and roller
bearings it is just a case of modest expenditure and careful mechanical work to return a
headstock to as-new condition.
Backgear and screwcutting: (Back Gear Screw Cutting = BGSC)
As its name implies, "backgeared" is a set of gears mounted at the back of the headstock
(although in practice they are often located in other positions) that allows the chuck to rotate
slowly with greatly-increased turning power the usual reduction ratio used being around 6 : 1.
At first, the ability to run a workpiece slowly might seem unnecessary but a large-diameter
casting, fastened to the faceplate and run at 200 rpm (about the slowest speed normally available
on a lathe without backgear), would have a linear speed at its outer edge beyond the turning
capacity of a small lathe. By engaging backgear, and so reducing the spindle speed but greatly
increasing the torque, even the largest faceplate-mounted jobs brake-drums and discs for
example - can be turned successfully. As a rule a spindle-speed range that starts from 20 to 70
rpm, and extending to around 800 rpm, will prove to be satisfactory for the majority of tasks
undertaken by mechanics, experimental engineers and model makers. If the range goes to 1200
rpm or so (or even 2000 r.p.m), then so much the better, but speeds beyond this are, in reality,
rarely needed except for polishing.
Screwcutting:
An operation that also requires slow speeds, typically between 25 and 70 rpm - especially if the
operator is a beginner, or the job tricky. A higher bottom speed means that screwcutting
(especially internally, into blind holes) will be very difficult, if not impossible. These lathes are
advertised as "screwcutting", but what that really means is just a power feed along the bed. Even
if you go to the trouble of making up a pulley system to reduce the spindle speeds, you will find
the torque required when turning large diameters causes the belts to slip. The only solution is a
gear-driven low speed: a proper small lathe, with a backgear fitted, not only becomes capable of
cutting threads - but can also tackle heavy-duty drilling, big-hole boring and large-diameter
facing. In other words, it is possible to use it to the very limits of its capacity and strength. Of
course, there are exceptions to the rule and some specially fitted lathes the beautiful American
Hardinge HLV for example - where, because of adjustable stops and quick-withdrawal
mechanisms, screwcutting is possible in safely at 1000 r.p.m.
On cheaper lathes screwcutting is done with changewheels so called because each change of
pitch requires the gear train to be reset. However, on more expensive lathes, a screwcutting
gearbox can be employed where changes of pitch or feed rate merely require one or more levers
to be repositioned. A powered traverse along the bed is known as a sliding feed and may, on
some lathes, be accompanied by a mechanism that gives powered movement of the tool across
the bed so-called power cross-feed or surfacing. Whilst a gearbox-equipped lathe might
seem the obvious thing to have, it does generally (but not absolutely) limit the operator to those
pitches contained within the box. However, whilst a changewheel lathe can be made to generate
almost any pitch within (very) wide limits, on balance the ability to switch quickly from rapid to
fine-finishing rates of feed means that a gearbox-equipped machine will always be favourite.
Slide rests and toolposts:
Most lathes likely to be encountered will have a compound slide rest that is, a slide that
moves across the bed and a separate top or tool slide bolted to it that can be angled round.
Some older lathes combined both functions into one unit, but these types are difficult to use and,
because of the way they are constructed and held (by one bolt), introduce unwanted flexibility. If
you can find a lathe with a T-slotted cross slide so much the better. All Myford lathes have them,
as do many Boxfords and if the latter are without they can be bought from a third-party
supplier. The T-slotted slide is largely a peculiarity of the English lathe and can be employed
not only as a boring table but also to mount such useful things as a milling slide and a rear
toolpost. As a matter of economy most lathes are supplied with either a single-tool holder or a 4-
way toolpost. Both can be surprisingly versatile with the cheap, single holder often being
adaptable to hold a variety of oddly shaped tools for special jobs. However, for the majority of
ordinary turning work a quick-set toolholder will be an invaluable addition. These comprise a
central block on which fit height-adjustable toolholders, the precise settings of which can be
locked. The idea is to have a selection of holders, each with its own tool, that can be swiftly
interchanged as required. The units come in a variety of types from impossibly expensive Swiss
models to reasonable-priced UK and European examples and cheap but efficient imports from
the Far East. Email for details of units we can supply.
Tumble reverse:
This is a simple but ingenious gear mechanism, usually built into the changewheel gear train
that, when moved into mesh (usually by the raising or lowering of a lever, or rotation of a knob),
has the effect of reversing the direction of travel of the carriage and hence the cutting tool as
well. In its neutral position it also allows the headstock spindle to rotate freely and quietly
without having to drive the changewheels and leadscrew. Ideal when using the lathe in the spare
bedroom next to the nursery.
Gap bed:
This is a valuable feature that, combined with backgear, enables a small lathe to do work well
beyond its nominal capacity. Sometimes the gap is a simple step down in the bed below the
chuck; sometimes a section of bed is removable. In either case, although the machine is more
expensive to produce, it does provide the user with a most useful facility. If the lathe is 4.5" or
more in centre height (a 9" swing) then, for amateur use at least, the provision of a gap bed
becomes less important.
Centres:
Today all lathes have a morse taper in headstock and tailstock. The size of this taper is
important and, for other than tiny work, at least a No. 2 is required and, as the tailstock is often
used to hold a drill chuck - even better if it can be a No.3. Most Viceroy and the smaller
Colchester and Harrison lathes are so equipped and consequently very handy for heavy-duty
drilling jobs. If the taper is a No. 1 Morse it will be a source of constant frustration.
Drive systems:
Early small engineering lathes of the late 19th and early 20th century were driven by either a
round leather "rope" (running in what look to modern eyes like small V-belt grooves) or, more
efficiently, flat belts. By 1914, the flat belt had become the industry standard (though round belts
continued to be used on watchmakers' lathes) and, even though V belts became widely available
during the 1930s, many makers persisted with the flat type until the end of the Second World
War. Endless flat belts are renowned for smooth, vibration-free running, especially around small-
diameter pulleys, yet for efficient power transmission the pulleys do need to be set some distance
apart. Flat belts with a joiner - often called alligator clips - suffer from a clacking noise as they
run and, at high speed, can induce vibrations marks into the turned surface. After the War an
increasing demand for compact, bench-mounted machines with the motor and countershaft
mounted directly behind the headstock forced manufactures to adopt V belts; their superior grip
on short centres was thought, on balance, to outweigh the disadvantages of vibration round small
pulleys at (infrequently-used) higher speeds.
Although V belts are now considered essential for small lathes there are still modern toolroom
lathes, grinders and high-speed drilling machines that continue to use the flat type. Even some
large, geared-head lathes of recent years employ them to transmit power from motor to
headstock in an effort to cut vibration and get away from the annoying difficulty of having to
find several V belts all exactly the same length. If you have ever tried to replace the multiple V
belts on a large machine, and been exasperated by the resulting gear chatter and vibration as two
or three unequal-length belts fought each other for supremacy, you will see why. When the
author replaced his Colchester Student lathe with a more modern example, he was delighted to
discover that the makers had given up the "unequal struggle" as well - and reverted to using a
single, wide, flat belt made by Firestone.
If the older, smaller lathe you are considering has a flat belt, dont worry; fitted with a new,
correctly aligned endless flat belt, it will be every bit as good as a V-belt machine and quieter,
smoother and safer into the bargain. By the way, the pulleys over which flat belts run are not (as
you may have noticed) flat. They have a pronounced dome towards the middle, the function of
which is to keep the belt running centrally. If you make up your own pulleys, make sure they are
domed - otherwise you will be "doomed" to failure.
Only watchmakers, spinning and woodturning lathes are generally driven directly from the
electric motor. Most others to obtain a suitable speed range for metal cutting - use either
electronic variable-speed drive or a traditional countershaft where a small pulley on the motor
(running at around 1400 r.p.m.) drives a large pulley on a separate shaft to turn it at around 500
r.p.m. Mounted on this shaft is a replica of the pulley on the lathe spindle, but arranged so that on
the middle speed the lathe runs at countershaft speed and on the other two at double and half that
rate. This results in a speed range of 1000, 500 and 250 r.p.m. in direct drive and (in the 6 : 1
reduction backgear) 166, 83 and 42 r.p.m. - a range commonly found and an almost ideal
solution.
Plain lathes:
There is one type of lathe that you may come across, the plain-turning or training lathe, where
caution is required. We need to distinguish here between small watch, clock and instrument-
makers lathes and bigger machines. The tiny, precision lathes designed to handle small and very
accurate work by skilled professionals are, almost exclusively, plain turning; what we are
discussing here are larger machines, between 3 and 6" in centre height. Several types have been
manufactured and all are likely to be encountered. An American expression, "Bench Lathe" (now
defunct except in its plainly descriptive form) gives a useful indication of one variety -
beautifully made, precision plain-turning lathes of between 3 and 5 inches in centre height. These
were offered by once-famous US makers such as Stark (the originators of the type), Ames,
Hjorth, Potter, Pratt & Whitney, Rivett, Cataract, Wade, Waltham, etc., as well as by European
manufacturers including Holbrook in England, Schaublin, Habegger and Mikron in Switzerland
and G.Boley, Boley & Leinen and Lorch in Germany. Surprising numbers of these machines are
about even the American ones and all lack a gap in the bed, backgear, slow speeds and
screwcutting. However, they can make a useful standby machine and, of course, are ideal for the
manufacture of small parts to very fine limits. Another type, and much more likely to be found,
is the training lathe; these were based on an established screwcutting design, but stripped of
backgear and power feeds, fitted with a low-powered motor and designed to teach basic skills on
a cheaper, less-easily damaged machine. In the UK the most prolific makers of this type were
Boxford with their T and TUD models, Viceroy (with a variety of types) and the Raglan
Loughborough. On a plain lathe all movements of the tools are hand-operated and although
this might not seem to be a serious disadvantage for the casual user - it is. Remember, every
knob, lever and other control on a lathe saves you from having to replicate its action by hand.
Although auto-electricians, who need to do simple, short, repeat jobs might find a plain lathe
satisfactory, almost nobody else will. The one exception to this rule might be to employ a plain
lathe as a second machine, either appreciably larger or smaller than the main one.
Combined lathes and milling/drilling machines:
There have been, in the past, many ingenious attempts to manufacture a "universal" or
"combination" machine tool based around an ordinary centre lathe. Some were even special
machines that broke away from the conventional concepts and attempted a truly radial solution
based on what was, in essence, a slotted surface plate to which could be attached numerous
(expensive) accessories. These allowed an astounding variety of operations to be carried out
including turning, vertical and horizontal milling, conventional and radial drilling, shaping,
precision grinding, tapping, indexing, dividing, gear cutting, sawing, engraving and horizontal
and jig boring, etc. Unfortunately, despite some very ingenious and clever engineering they all,
without exception, failed to capture the imagination of sufficient numbers of customers to make
them viable - and were quietly abandoned. Some specialist examples, for shipboard and military
use for example, did find a niche market for a while; however, the serious compromises inherent
in their design - and their subsequently inferior performance - ensured they remained little
known.
Today, variations on machines of this type are still produced - but offered exclusively as cheap
imports for amateur use. However, one particular version - it mounts a milling head on top of a
lathe headstock - is little more than a joke. On most of this type it is instructive to move the
milling head to its closest proximity to the "table", and then see just what an impractical
proposition the whole idea is. In addition, you need to consider the complete unsuitability of a
lathe bed to act as the support for a milling table, as well as the enormous length of the chatter-
inducing overhang between cutting tool and supporting column. Some of the better-quality
European machines, notably Emco with their Emcomat and Maximat 7, 8.4, 10 and 11, had
independently powered milling/drilling heads mounted on the back of the lathe bed - and were a
successful solution. If you have a very limited amount of room a combined machine may be all
you can accommodate - but really, if you want a milling machine, buy a separate unit.
Feel, fit and finish:
Any used lathe, (and new ones, of course) should, when properly adjusted, have a certain "silky
feel" to the controls. Treat with grave suspicion any new machine that has backlash in the feed
screws, play between carriage and bed, or in the cross and top slides - and whose headstock
spindle does not rotate smoothly. Even fragile plastic knobs on the end of controls levers can be
frustrating; these should be substantially made and able to be wound on until dead tight - without
falling apart. In addition, although a poor-quality cosmetic finish might not seem to matter, if the
makers of a machine tool, which, by its very nature is supposed to be a superior product, are bold
enough to put on the market an ill-finished job, imagine what they are prepared to neglect about
the bits you can't see. A good tip with any lathe is to wind off the cross slide and tailstock and
look at the quality of the machining. Some Far-eastern lathes have been found with slides so
badly finished - and with such irregular contact patches - that it was impossible for them to move
smoothly or be locked down securely.
Electricity:
A small lathe will be usually be fitted with an electric motor of between 0.33 and 3 h.p. running
from either a 1-phase or 3-phase supply. The former can be connected to a domestic electricity
supply the latter cannot. However, a 3-phase motor need not put you off, today they can be
powered from a converter or inverter Whilst the former is inexpensive, the inverter type now
costs hardly any more and is far superior. It takes 1-phase current from the home supply and
changes it to a 3-phase - whilst also (and very usefully) allowing the motor speed to be varied.
Most inverters also have an "over-speed" function, DC injection braking and other clever
electronic features. Because most inverters put out the same voltage as they take in e.g. 110v or
240v, it's usual to connect the inverter direct to the motor, so getting round problems with the
rest of the machines electrical system that might contain coils or transformers that need to be
supplied with 440, 220 or 110 volts. However, once the inverter is set up and the motor running
there is no harm in trying the original "power-in" connection on the side of the lathe to see if the
original switchgear can be used successfully. If you do, and it cant, dont be surprised. Most 3-
phase motors are wired in what is called a "STAR" configuration to run at 440 volts, or 380, etc.
depending on the country of use. Happily, most can be easily be switched over to a DELTA
configuration for use with lower voltages of, typically, 110, 240 or 250 volts, etc. Removing the
terminal plate on the motor often exposes a little chart showing you how to rearrange the links
and what the various voltages are. If the links are not obvious, or you have any at all doubts
about how to proceed, any good motor-repair shop will be able to arrange the wiring for you. A
good quality inverter by Siemens - and its worth spending a little extra for a reliable, proven unit
- will cost between 145 and 300 (at 2008 prices).
A word of warning: do not be tempted to use too powerful a motor. Any dig-in, or other
accident, will be made much worse with potentially serious consequences. Lathes up to 3.5-inch
centre height will run happily on 0.33 to 0.5 h.p. From 3.5 to 5-inch 0.75 to 1 h.p. is usually
sufficient with only industrial 6 to 7-inch lathes requiring more.
Health and safety:
Any work with a machine tool involves an element of risk. You are soft; the machine is hard, fast
and sharp and does not take prisoners read some essential hints and tips about safe use. Its not
exhaustive, but might help avoid trouble. Never approach a machine tool with a casual attitude.
At the most basic level, before starting work wear tight-fitting clothing; remove anything loose;
fasten away long hair and ensure buttons are fastened and zips closed; wear eye protection and, if
the thing you are turning is giving out unknown fumes, a mask.