Duncanrig Secondary School

Craft & Design

Technical Department

THE CENTRE LATHE

Contents

Craft & Design

Technical Department

THE CENTRE LATHE

Duncanrig Secondary School

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 (1)The Bed
(2)The Headstock
(3)TheTailstock
(4)The Carriage

Carriage

Live Centre
Headstock

Tool Post

Dead Centre
Compound Slide

Cross Slide

Tailstock

Saddle

Lead Screw
Bed
Apron
Feed Shaft

Base

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Technical Department

THE CENTRE LATHE

Duncanrig Secondary School

Technical Department

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

Clutch

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
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.

Gear levers

Spindle

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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
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.

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THE TAILSTOCK

CENTRE LATHE TOOLS

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Technical Department

THE CENTRE LATHE

Duncanrig Secondary School

TOOL BIT ANGLES AND CUTTING SPEEDS

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THE CENTRE LATHE

Duncanrig Secondary School

WORK HOLDING METHODS

THREE JAW CHUCK

FOUR JAW CHUCK

FACE PLATE

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THE CENTRE LATHE

Duncanrig Secondary School

Technical Department

LATHE PROCESSES
FACING OFF

Diagram

DRILLING
For accurate drilling on the centre lathe it is necessary to start 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.

Diagram

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.

Diagram

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.
Light cuts should be done at high speed whilst deeper or rough cuts
should be done at low speeds.

Diagram

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

Diagram

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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
height to remove this.

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Duncanrig Secondary School

Technical Department

LATHE PROCESSES
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.

Diagram

1.Face off and centre drill both ends.

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

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Duncanrig Secondary School

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

Diagram

KNURLING
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
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.

Diagram

BORING
Boring is the process of machining a cylindrical shape inside s
previously drilled hole.Take light cuts only.
Diagram

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PARTING OFF