Lathe tools come in different shapes and sizes for cutting, forming, or removing material from stock. They can be divided into wood and metal lathe tools, and by function. Specialized tools are also available for specific tasks. Tools must be used correctly to avoid defects, damage, or injury.
Turning tools cut, form, or remove material from stock that is typically rotated about a primary axis on a lathe. These tools come in a variety of sizes and shapes; the types of tools depend largely on the material of the magazine, the types of cuts desired and the type of lathe. Lathe tools can be divided into two broad categories: late woodworking tools and metal lathe tools. Both types of tools share a common history and many of the terms are interchangeable between both types.
The biggest differences in utensils are how they look and how they are held. Woodturning tools are usually long-shaped pieces of high-carbon steel or tool steel with a handle at one end. These are largely used with the aid of a bezel and then manipulated by hand to obtain the desired profile. Metal lathe tools are usually shorter and made of tool steel or carbide, and are usually clamped and held rigidly in place by a tool holder.
Lathe tooling can also be described by function. External tools will generally cut, shape and shape the outside of the raw material. The internal tools will work to remove the material from inside the stock. When tools are not rigidly supported and/or misaligned properly, a defective part, broken and damaged tools, or injury to the lathe operator could result.
Some turning tools may not be interchangeable with each other, as cutting or forming geometries are tightly controlled for use with a particular material. Sometimes lathe tools might have removable inserts; this can provide the operator with limited flexibility which, when changing inserts, usually results in minimal changes to the entire turning operation. Lathe tools are designed specifically for a particular turning operation.
It is often best to classify tools according to their function, and variations of tools allow the user to generate the required profile. For example, a part might require both internal and external threads. A thread turning tool is used to generate both, but the external tool is made specifically for external threads, while the internal tool is different in both size and shape from its external counterpart. In this case, a similar function is generated for each tool, but each tool is very different.
External tools cut material from the outside of the part as the material is passed. The material removal speed, in any case, is governed by the type of tooling, the rotation speed of the lathe and the advancement of the tool itself. Examples of some external lathe tools include turning, facing, grooving/parting/undercut, and V-grooving tools.
Internal lathe tools are largely used in line with the axis of the lathe spindle itself. This isn’t always true, because some lathes have secondary or tertiary spindles or axes that provide alternate orientations. Some internal lathe tools include drills, reamers, boring bars, and taps.
There are also specialized lathe tools; these are usually single function tools that are meant to perform a particular task. Specialized tools are desired because they can replace multiple independent tools or easily create a difficult feature on a part. Examples of more specialized tools include broaching, knurling, forming, burnishing, and multi-step drilling or reaming tools.
Sometimes the tools are used in an unconventional way. For example, if an outside bevel is needed, a plunge cut with a V-groove tool could easily accomplish this task. If a V-groove tool is not already set up on the machine, however, the lathe operator can generate the same profile shape using an alternate tool. For example, if an external grooving tool were available and if the operator was skilled enough, this tool could be skillfully manipulated to generate the same chamfer profile. This would be considered unconventional, but is usually done to save the operator additional setup time and as an effective way to reduce additional tooling expenses.
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