The Centre Lathe
_The Centre Lathe is a machine that
is used to create cylindrical shapes from materials. It is
used generally for small amounts of material. A piece of material is
rotated and a cutting tool is brought up to the rotating material and it
shapes it.
Although every machine is different there are certain guidelines that one should stick to when using the Centre Lathe. These guide lines can be transferable when using otherr machinery within the workshop and even some hand tools for that matter..
Although every machine is different there are certain guidelines that one should stick to when using the Centre Lathe. These guide lines can be transferable when using otherr machinery within the workshop and even some hand tools for that matter..
These basic and common concepts and principles are as follows;
- Always insure that you use steady movements (Applied to all tools)
- Never leave a chuck key in a chuck (Pillar Drill)
- Keep the cutting tools sharp (Most hand tools, and the Band saw)
- Clean the machine before and after usage - this clears dust and any other small bits of material (Applied to all tools)
- Pay attention to the direction of the blades and cut (Band saw, hand saws and Pillar drill)
- Controlling the speed of the cut is vital as well especially when wood-turning (Band saw, hand saws and Pillar drill)
- Keep as much of the tool supported by its clamp or holders as possible it reduces the strain and does not cause material to move about. (Bench/Engineers vice when cutting, filing or shaping)
Common misconceptions in schools:
- Students will assume that machine is often set up correctly and ready to use straight away if this is the case and it has not been set up accordingly then the machine does not work to the best of it ability (Commonly occurred when using tools such as the Band saw, pillar drill and the scroll saw)
- That smaller materials will turn faster than bigger materials
- Some struggle to determine the difference between surface cutting speeds of big and small materials
- That the larger the diameter and the harder material, the slower the speed. EG. A piece of Aluminum would be turned at a much faster speed than Steel.
- That the process is noisy - if it is noisy then the machine has not been set up properly. (similar to a scroll saw)
- That more bigger the force you put on the material the faster it will cut (this is very common when using the band saw, pillar drill and scroll saw)
- That the tool is sharp enough for use - Blunt or worn tools will not work accordingly (The same applies when using hand tools such as saws or files, machines as well like the Band saw blade, pillar drill bit and the scroll saw blade.
- The cutting tool is set to the correct height (If the Pillar drill is not set to the height required you can drill to deep) - Personal experience- For Design and Make I was using half joints but I did not set the drill to deep and it over cut the piece of wood
- Leaving the chuck key in the machine can cause serious damage. (Same concept with the pillar drill)
- That it is okay to use the machine without tucking in clothes or any other loose items (Similar to Band and Scroll saw
- That there are always Swarf bits that they can cause injury because they are sharp.
Example of a plum bob used on the lathe.