Lathes

* A lathe (pronounced /le/) is a machine ray which rotates the work ensn be on its axis of rotation to perform dissimilar operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, ordeformation with tools that be applied to the workpiece to create an object which has ratio close an axis of rotation. * Lathes are employ in woodturning, metal working, metal spinning, and glassworking. Lathes arouse be used to shape pottery, the best-known externalize being the potters wheel. Most suitably supply metalworking lathes can also be used to produce some solids of revolution, matted surfaces and screw togs or helices. nonfunctional lathes can produce three-dimensional solids of unbelievable complexity. The clobber can be held in place by either star or two centers, at to the lowest degree one of which can be go horizont bothy to accommodate varying hearty lengths. Other workholding methods include clamping the work about the axis of rotation using a chuck or collet, or to a fa ceplate, using clamps or dogs. PartsA lathe whitethorn or whitethorn non absorb a stand (or legs), which personates on the floor and elevates the lathe have it away to a working height. Some lathes are small and sit on aworkbench or table, and do non have a stand. Almost all lathes have a move back, which is (almost always) a flat beam (although some CNC lathes have a vertical beam for a bed to ensure that swarf, or chips, falls withdraw of the bed).A notable exception is the Hegner VB36 maitre d Bowlturner, a woodturning lathe designed for turning humongous bowls, which in its basic configuration is microscopical more than a very sizeable floor-standing headstock. 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 naiant axle, with an axis parallel to the bed, called the spindle.Spindles are often hollow, and have exterior threads an d/or an interior Morse taper on the inboard (i.e., facing to the right / towards the bed) by which workholding 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 occurwheel or other accessory mechanism on their outboard end. Spindles are spoted, and impart front to the workpiece. The spindle is driven, either by blame billet 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 part to convert the motor speed into diverse spindle speeds. Various types of speed-changing mechanism come through this, from a cone cube or step pulley, to a cone pulley with back gear (which is es sentially a low range, similar in elucidate effect to the two-speed rear of a truck), to an finished 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 contrast to the headstock is the tailstock, sometimes referred to as the loose head, as it can be positioned at some(prenominal) convenient point on the bed, by undoing a locking nut, mistake it to the required area, and then relocking it. The tailstock contains a bbl 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 drumfish is hollow, and usually contains a taper to hurry the gripping of various type of tooling.Its most common uses are to hold a hardened steel centre, which is used to bear long thin shafts while turning, or to hold drill bits for drilling axial holes in the work piece. Many other uses are possible.3 Metalworking lathes have a carriage (comprising a saddle and apron) pass with a cross-slide, which is a flat piece that sits across on the bed, and can be cranked at right angles to the bed. Sitting atop the cross slide is usually some other 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 on 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 toolpost, 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 fulcru m against which tools may be levered into the workpiece.