A lathe is a machine tool primarily used for shaping pieces of metal and sometimes wood or other materials. Lathes operate by spinning the block of material to perform various tasks such as cutting, sanding, or drilling with tools that are applied to the work piece. Operating a manual lathe can be a difficult undertaking. By paying close attention to the steps you need to successfully cut material, you can continuously create accurate parts.

Turn the machine on and warm it up. It is crucial to warm up a machine that has not been in use overnight. This process will distribute the oil and lubricate the numerous moving parts. Set the RPMs to about 1,000 and start the spindle. You can start even slower and slowly raise the RPMs to 1,000 during the first few minutes.

Set the jaws for the job. Remove the old jaws by loosening them with Allen wrenches and sliding them out and replacing with the correct sized jaws for the job. Depending on the size of the raw material, you may need smaller or bigger jaws. Make sure they are tightened properly and in concentrically. Run the jaws to see if they are properly installed.

Set the tool for the job. You can place a tool block with a tool holder in the tool post. This will cut the outer dimensions of the part. Alternately, you can place a boring bar or drill in the tails stock for drilling holes or boring inner dimension.

Place the raw material in the chuck jaws and tighten with the chuck key. This will hold the material in place while you are cutting. Set the RPMs according to the material used as well as the insert or drill used. Harder tooling can work with faster RPMs and feed into the part.

Start the cycle and bring the tool close before starting the spindle. Reset all your measuring devices to zero, whether on the ways for the tail post or the measuring wheel on the tail stock. By resetting these measuring devices for your tooling, you can cut multiple pieces to the same dimensions every time. This reset sets a starting point reference for running more than one piece in a production run to maintain accuracy.

Clean the lathe with compressed air after every cycle to prevent metal chip buildup. Metal chips can get caught in the jaws and cause cut dimensions to be inaccurate. A clean machine prolongs the its life and assures parts are cut to exact specifications.