Featured This Month:
Features
24 MANUFACTURING:
Hobby Guide to Metal
Lathe Work: Part 1
by Chris Williamson
27 PARTS IS PARTS:
Hole Drilling Redux
by Nick Martin
Events
27 Nov/Dec 2009 Results and
Feb/Mar 2010 Upcoming
Events
28 EVENT REPORT:
Mayhem in Miami
by Joey Daoud
ROBOT PROFILE – Top
Ranked Robot This Month:
30 3pd by Kevin Berry
24 SERVO 02.2010
MANUFACTURING
Hobby Guide to Metal Lathe Work: Part 1
● by Chris Williamson
First and foremost is lathe
safety. You are working around
very fast rotational parts with
high torque. Please be aware of
your surroundings, and remove
all jewelry, long sleeves, and
anything hanging that could
stand a chance to get caught up
in rotational parts. If you have
long hair, tie it up. Also wear
safety glasses at all times to
protect your eyes from chips
and oil. You and ONLY you are
responsible for your safety while
running machinery. Always check
your chuck to make sure material
is tight, and get into the habit
of removing the chuck key
IMMEDIATELY after use, as this
can become a projectile if the
lathe is turned on with the key
left in the chuck.
There are five basic parts to a metal working lathe. We'll go
over each of these parts and
explain exactly what they are for.
Follow along using Figure 1 as a
reference.
The first main component
to any lathe is the headstock
(section A). This is the area in
which all of the speed controls
and feed gearing is housed,
and the chuck is attached to.
This is one of the most robust
pieces on the lathe as it requires
a lot of force on some materials
for cutting. The more rugged
this area is, the less likely to
induce harmonic vibrations that
will end up as 'chatter' in the
workpiece.
The chuck is attached to
the spindle on the headstock,
and is normally hollow to allow
longer material to be worked
(section B). The chuck allows
you to hold material. Most
chucks are auto-centering,
meaning that as you tighten
down on your material, it
automatically keeps the part
centered. There are multiple
chucks that will fit most lathes,
ranging from three jaw, four jaw,
and six jaw applications. Three
and six jaw chucks are used for
