Lathe Operations
ACCT-MOI-6
By: Amber Rolader, 2011
Parts of a Wood Lathe
Modern Woodworking Lathe
Safety Precautions
Lathe Operations
Machine tools, even small ones, do not take
prisoners.
Learn from others’ past mistakes.
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Never, ever, leave a chuck key in a chuck.
Lathes - and especially some milling machines - are very
top heavy. Take care when moving them round the workshop,
and don't do it alone.
Moving a machine? Take off rings and other jewelry. A friend
was pulled over and his hand badly mangled by a toppling
machine when the sharp edge of a tool-post bolt caught his
wedding ring.
Keep a clear, safe and oil-free working area around your
machine tools. You must be able to think of better things to do
than tripping, slipping or falling onto a rotating cutter or
mechanism.
Wear snug-fitting, tightly woven clothes and remove
anything that might get wound into rotating mechanisms.
Wear eye protection.
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If you don’t how it works, read the instruction manual.
After setting up any turning job, take a moment to pull the job
round by hand to check that everything clears.
Remember, you are using a machine tool - an expensive,
precision device. Keep it clean and oiled - and don't abuse it.
Keep the machine and area clean.
Lubricate plain headstock bearings with light oil - little and
frequently. Adjustable-drip oil pots (as fitted to Myford ML7
lathes, etc.) may look old-fashioned, but you can see exactly
what is happening - and they are completely effective.
If your lathe headstock has an oil supply held in reservoirs
under the bearings, with wick or other feed - check the level
every day.
Small lathes need all the help they can get. The secret of
successful operation is to keep the cutting tools sharp by using
a slip stone across the top surface; the sides rarely need
attention.
Metalworking Lathe
Metalworking Lathe Part Identification
Small Metalworking Lathe
Large, Old Lathe
Watchmaker’s Lathe
Made with a Lathe
Turned Chess Pieces
Tips & Tricks
Lathe Operations
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Keep as much of the tool supported by its
clamp or holder as possible.
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This reduces strain on the lathe and the tendency
for the cutting tool to “chatter”.
Check that the top slide is not
unnecessarily forward; keep the cutting tool
as near to the center of the compound slide
assembly as possible.
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When taking a cut with one slide, for the
best finish, lock the others (top slide, cross
slide and carriage).
On anything other than short, light jobs
always use the tailstock center to support
the work-piece end.
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This both reduces headstock bearings loads and
eases those forces that will, in time, make your 3jaw chuck inaccurate.
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Use a 4-jaw chuck to grip irregular or
roughly finished material - using your 3-jaw
like a bench vice will ruin it.
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If you find a 4-jaw independent chuck difficult
to set up, persevere - it quickly becomes
easier with practice.
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It helps to use a magnetic base and a goodquality dial-test indicator.
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Before inserting a center in either the headstock or
tailstock, clean out the taper carefully (and center) first.
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The headstock center is soft and the tailstock center is hard
– but there is no harm in using a hard center in either.
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The soft headstock center can be trued-up by being turned
in position with the top slide; when this has been
done make a small corresponding mark on both the
center and spindle nose so they can always be put back
together in the same position.
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Do not mesh change wheels tightly; some clearance
between them is necessary.
 Insert a sheet of newspaper between them and press
into mesh - this gives the approximate clearance
needed.
 Lubricate with a dry "open-gear" lubricant, or thick oil.
 Avoid grease, it can stick and create a mess.
Occasionally, dismantle the train of gears to the lead screw
and clean the gear teeth.
 Accumulated swarf beds into them and may need picking
out with a scriber.
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On small lathes parting-off operations are likely
to cause the greatest trouble.
 Using a rear-mounted tool-post, in
conjunction with an inverted tool, is the
best solution.
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Heavy-duty drilling with a tailstock chuck?
 Go round the chuck and use the key in all
three positions - it may tighten a little more
each time.
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When truing up a lathe faceplate, place your centers
in the headstock and tailstock spindles.
 Place a metal rod, center-drilled at each end,
between the centers and apply pressure with
the tailstock wheel, as though you were setting
up to turn between centers.
 Lock up the tailstock. The thrust created will
remove any slight endplay in the headstock
bearing that, if not removed, would result in a
“wavy” surface finish.
 This idea also works when facing off work bolted
to the faceplate - if physically possible to set up.
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Machining titanium or magnesium?
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Both can ignite and then burn with great intensity.
Use a constant flow of coolant and keep the accumulation
of turnings to a minimum.
If the material does catch fire don’t use water as an
extinguisher, it will make matters much worse.
Get a large bucket and fill it with dry sand. Cover it and
keep it by the lathe.
The sand will smother the flames very effectively - or buy
one of the special fire retardants used in industry.
Helpful diagrams for using Lathes
Another helpful diagram
And another helpful diagram
Works Cited
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All pictures are from www.wikipedia.org
 All picture files are licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (you are
free to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work)
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“Safety Precautions” and “Tips & Tricks” taken from One
Hundred and Fifty Years of “How to Use a Lathe” books
 “Hints & Tips for Using a Lathe”
http://www.lathes.co.uk/page13.html