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The most basic lathes allowed craftsmen to free-hand the removal of material. Metal lathes and wood lathes technologically improved and eventually progressed into machine tools with integral heads. Each head mounted on cross-slides that ran the length of the lathe bed, over which the workpiece would rotate.

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Today each industrial metalworking lathe is fully automated, with heads that can hold multiple bits. This means that the same lathe can perform numerous processes – rough bits for grinding out material, finer ones for refining parts, even bits for sanding and polishing. With a CNC lathe, a trained operator can program a metalworking lathe to bring a single workpiece from raw material to finished product with no human involvement at all once the program is initiated. A few individuals can oversee an entire production floor equipped with CNC lathes.

Lathes on an industrial scale can be quite large, but a toolroom lathe tends to be a somewhat smaller machine tool. A metal lathe is the mainstay of many small machine shops or tool-and-die companies, due to its versatility. Beyond the machine shop, many other craftsmen and hobbyists find a lathe indispensable. You can use a lathe to create parts for an old car:

Nor is a metal lathe limited to specific alloys or metals; some metals may be easier to work with, but in theory any metal can be turned on a lathe. Here’s a delicate piece baby’s cup in pewter:

What is a lathe used for? Whatever you want or need! Go out and see what you can do with this incredibly versatile machine tool!

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With the invention of the engine lathe, which used an automatic feed to the cutting tool, basic lathes were used for precision metalworking. Even then, each lathe was unique, but the lathe operation was consistent.  Engine lathes helped usher in the Industrial revolution, which in turn introduced steam-powered lathes, capable of ever-greater rotation rates and the torque to rotate heavier parts. Lathes were now heavy duty machining tools. Like the milling machine, the lathe machine simplified the machining process as they became even more complete.The next great leap forward came in the second half of the twentieth century, with the advent of Computer Numerical Control (CNC). CNC-equipped lathes allowed operators to program a set of instructions for each machine tool. This allowed the exact duplication of those instructions, which meant parts that were increasingly accurate, and reduced the number of operators necessary to keep each machining tool running simultaneously. Today’s innovation provides increasingly precise CNC programming, with ever-growing numbers of axes.

In this case, the clay is the workpiece. The wheel is a rudimentary lathe, turning the workpiece at a set speed, and keeping it in one place. The head and cutting bits, in the example above, are the workman’s hands. They are the moving part – moving along the length of the workpiece (the “y” axis), and in and out towards the center of the workpiece (the “x” axis).

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Metal Lathe Projects How to Become a CNC Operator A Brief Introduction to CNC Machining A Guide to Buying a Metal Lathe CNC Programming: A Master Guide

Nearly everything! But today’s uses tend to fall in the categories of “industrial” and “artisan” machine tools. Industrial uses cover everything from a locally-owned machine shop making replacement parts for old cars, to state-owned enterprises producing heavy machinery. On the other end of the spectrum, craftsmen are using lathes to produce unique and breathtaking pieces in wood, metal, glass, epoxy, and nearly every other material imaginable.

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A skilled craftsman can turn a lump of metal into a cup, a lampstand, or even a chess piece with a lathe machine. There’s a huge variety of potential applications, and the ability to freehand the cutting and carving stages means that each piece still retains the unique touch of the craftsman.

On the industrial side, big lathes produce countless numbers of parts: driveshafts on cars, legs for tables, etc. Heavy-duty, large-scale lathe tools can be used to turn a giant metal cone or disc, while small-scale machines can cut out a metal chess piece.

A wood lathe carves wood into chair or table legs. Vertical lathes shape plastic and more and gunsmithing lathes fashion the barrel of a gun. Metalworking lathes are versatile and easily at home with a hobbyist or a professional.

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Lathes obviously work differently, utilizing a stationary cutting tool to trim the metal spinning around. Each lathe is a machine tool designed for heavy duty work, but modern lathes are designed for precision cutting and simplistic machining operation.

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Most woodworking or machine shop tools are easily recognized. Drills, punches, and vises are fairly simple tools with a clear purpose. Other machines might be a bit more complicated and lathes, particularly high-end ones, fall into this category.At its heart, a lathe is a simplistic device, designed to hold a section of material as a turning tool carves, cuts or shapes it. This is called the workpiece. Unlike a simple vise, a lathe not only holds a workpiece, but also rotates it. This allows another part of the machine, the head, to move along the workpiece, holding various cutting tools  to shape the workpiece.

Lathes, in some form, have been around since the Egyptians. Think of the resemblance to the pottery wheel; thrown pottery has been around for thousands of years, so it makes sense that lathes, which follow a similar principle but instead use a workpiece moving against a stationary cutting tool, would come along afterwards.