THE CENTRE LATHE

The centre lathe or metal turning lathe is a machine used to turn metal or plastic bar into
cylindrical shapes.In addition there are my other operations that can be done on this type of lathe.
The work, which usually rotates towards the operator , can be griped securely in a chuck,
bolted to a face plate or set up between two centres.The cutting tool, mounted on a tool post on
the top of the carriage can be moved along the bed or at right angles to it.The lengthways
movement (or traverse) of the cutting tool produces a circular surface on the workpiece and the
cross transverse produces a flat surface.
In addition to these operations the centre lathe is used in the school workshop for
producing tapered work (with the compound slide),for drilling and boring holes,parting
off,knurling and screwcutting.
The size of the lathe is specified by (a) the maximum distance between centres and (b)
the height of the spindle centre above the lathe bed.
The main parts of the centre lathe are

THE BED
The bed of the lathe is made form cast iron for strength and rigidity. Its surfaces are
machined true and accurate to ensure smooth movement of the tailstock and carriage and perfect

alignment of these components with each other with the headstock.

Beds are usually either flat-bed or prismatic v-type section or sometimes a combination
of both.
Note the capacity of a lathe can be increase by the inclusion of a GAP BED situated
immediately in front.of the headstock.
This allows large diameter work to be turned.
THE HEADSTOCK
The headstock is securely fixed onto the left hand end of the bed and carries the drive
gearing and main spindle.This spindle is hollow to take tapered centres and allow metal and
plastic of suitable diameter to pass through. It is also screwed at the right hand end to enable
chucks and face Spindle plates to be easily attacked and removed.This spindle, known as the
live centre because it rotates with the work,is driven by a series of gear wheels whose power is
transmitted by means of v-belts from an electric motor.
THE TAILSTOCK
The tailstock has a hollow spindle designed to take tialstock ( or dead) centres and drill
chucks.In use the tailstock centre supports thefree end of the work being turned whilst the drill
chuck is used when drilling or reaming work that is held in a chuck or face plate.
The tailstock can be located in the desired position by sliding it smoothly along the bed
and clamping securely with the tailstock bed clamp. Fine Design adjustment, to bring the dead
centre up to the work, is made with the handwheel.The outer surface of the spindle is graduated
in millimetres to & allow holes of an exact depth to be drilled.The spindle is clamped in position
using the spindle clamp.
THE CARRIAGE
The carriage unit consists of the saddle, cross slide, compound slide (or rest), tool post
and apron.
The SADDLE, or carriage base, spans the bed of the lathe and moves smoothly on the bed
guides,when the apron handwheel is turned or when automatic fed is engaged.
The CROSS SLIDE,mounted on a dovetail shapes section on top of the saddle,can be moved at
right angles to the bed length by using the cross feed handle.
The COMPOUND SLIDE,which carries the tool post and cutting tool,is fed by hand only.It is
attached to the top of the cross slide by a swivel pin and can be pivoted and locked at any desired
angle when turning short tapers,boring or screwcutting.
TheAPRON hangs down from the front edge of the saddle. The leadscrew,or feedshaft,passes
through the apron and when engaged by the appropriate gearing and controls cause the
Whole carriage to move smoothly along the bed. The apron also contains the feed mechanism
and control for the automatic movement of the cross slide.
CENTRE LATHE TOOLS

TOOL BIT ANGLES AND CUTTING SPEEDS

WORK HOLDING METHODS

THREE JAW CHUCK

FOUR JAW CHUCK

FACE PLATE

LATHE PROCESSES
FACING OFF
Before turning the workpiece to shape the ends should be turned
square. This process is known as FACING OFF. The cutting tool
moves across the end of the workpiece and at right angles to the axis of rotation to
produce a flat, smooth surface. Facing off should be done at high speed.
If the cutting tool is not set to the correct height a small conical pip of metal will be
left.The cutting tool should be reset to the correct CENTRE
height to remove this.
DRILLING
For accurate drilling on the centre lathe it is necessary to start the THE
hole using a centre drill.This drill, also known as a combination or slocombe drill,
combines a drill and 60 countersink to match the
point angles of centre lathes.
The work to be drilled is held in a three jaw chuck whilst the centre
drill is secured in a Jacobs (or drill) chuck fitted into the tailstock spindle. This gives a
safe and accurate start for the twist drill as shown.
THREADING
A tap, held securely in a drill chuck, can be used to accurately start and cut a thread in a
previously drilled hole in the work piece.The
motor must be isolated and the drill chuck rotated by hand.
Design
PARALLEL TURNING
When the cutting tool moves parallel to the axis of rotation of the work piece a
cylindrical shape is formed. On lathes used in schools the maximum depth of cut should be no
greater than 1mm for
roughing and about 0.25mm for finishing cuts.
The cut should be started by hand before engaging automatic feed.
Craft
Light cuts should be done at high speed whilst deeper or rough cuts should be done at
low speeds.
TAPER TURNING
To turn very short tapers such as chamfers a form tool (i.e. A
specially ground tool) is used.
Short tapers can be cut using th compound slide as shown.The slide
is swivelled to the correct angle then clamped and the taper cut by feeding the tool into
the workpiece with the cross slide and

compound slide handles.

Longer tapers can be cut using the power feed by setting the
tailstock out of line with the head stock and positioning the work
piece between centres as shown opposite
TURNING BETWEEN CENTRES
The sketch shows a work piece securely fitted between centres and
ready for turning. If the work is too long it will tend to bend as the cutting tool nears the
centre.Tp prevent this it is usual to use a fixed steady or a travelling steady for support. A brief
outline of the
process for turning between centres is as follows.
1.Face off and centre drill both ends.
CENTRE
2.Screw driving plate into headstock spindle, fit soft centre. Fit
revolving centre into tailstock as shown.
3.Fit lathe carrier (driving dog) on to the work piece as shown.
4. Securely set up work between centres. Depending on the type of
PARTING OFF
The work, securely held in a chuck, can be cut or parted off t the
required length by using a parting tool as shown.The lathe must run at a slow speed and
the cut made as close to the chuck jaw as is
practical for maximum support.
The parting tool should be supplied with an even flow of cutting fluid and fed at right
angles into the work with a slow and even pressure KNURLING
Design
Knurling is the process of impressing a straight or diamond shapes
pattern onto the surface of a workpiece such as a centre punch to
&
give a better grip. Coarse, medium and fine knurling tools are
available.The lathe should run at the slowest speed and the knurling tool slowly fed in a t
right angles to the axis of rotation of the work.
Automatic feed should then be engaged and the knurling toll fed
across the face of the work from right to left.
When the knurling tool reaches the left hand end, the fed should be Craft
disengaged, the tool fed a further 1/2mm into the work and then
automatically fed back to the start. Plenty of oil should be used and the process repeated
until the knurling operation is complete.
BORING
Boring is the process of machining a cylindrical shape inside s previously drilled

hole.Take light cuts only.