Lathe-ing around

This month before describing what I did on the lathe, I feel it would be sensible not to assume that all the readers of CMM have lathes and know how to use them.

I thought that it might be worthwhile providing a brief description of the anatomy of a metal turning lathe and some basics in use, which may inspire you to have a go at light engineering: if you haven’t already, of course.

A lathe is a truly wonderful machine, which, with a bit of imagination, can be used to make all manner of parts for projects. I had initially learned to use a lathe at school and then was taught how to use one with more finesse when I served my apprenticeship at British Aerospace in the early 80s. Some years ago I bought the machine I have now, a low mileage Harrison M300, which came from a school. Never before have machine tools for the home been so readily available, even for the shallowest of pockets. Not only are there lots of machines on the used