The wood lathe is a machine very similar to the metal lathe in the machine shop. It spins a piece of stock at a variable speed, and lets the turner create round objects. Unlike the metal lathe, there is not a cutter secured to the machine that is moved into place to cut. On the wood lathe, a turner will instead use long handled chisels to carve away the wood. Another difference is that for most projects, the wood is not clamped down in a found vise like the machining lathe, instead, two free-spinning center points on each side of the piece clamp the wood between them and hold it centered. | The wood lathe is a machine very similar to the metal lathe in the machine shop. It spins a piece of stock at a variable speed, and lets the turner create round objects. Unlike the metal lathe, there is not a cutter secured to the machine that is moved into place to cut. On the wood lathe, a turner will instead use long handled chisels to carve away the wood. Another difference is that for most projects, the wood is not clamped down in a found vise like the machining lathe, instead, two free-spinning center points on each side of the piece clamp the wood between them and hold it centered. |