Horizontal lathes are machine tools used to cut profiles into rotating steel or wood pieces. They consist of a bed, headstock, and tailstock, and are available in woodworking and steel types. Lathes can produce complex profiles and precision engineering parts, but safety practices must be followed.
A horizontal lathe is a machine tool designed to cut different profiles into rotating pieces of steel or wood. A lathe typically consists of a precision machined bed or base with a driving mechanism and headstock at one end and a supporting tailstock at the other. The workpiece is firmly fixed in the headstock and rotated rapidly around its axis. A suitable machine tool is then brought to rest on the workpiece which cuts the required profile. The horizontal lathe is widely used in high precision machining operations and is available in a variety of sizes and designs.
Lathes have been used in various forms for centuries and have come to represent one of the cornerstones of precision engineering. In the case of the horizontal lathe, the nomenclature has the purpose of differentiating between lathes with horizontal or vertical orientation of the workpiece. The lathes are all built and work according to a common basic principle. A workpiece is clamped in a rotating drive head known as a paddle which is driven by a motor. A suitably profiled cutting tool is then pressed against the workpiece to make a corresponding cut.
The horizontal lathe can be used to cut cylindrical shapes from square pieces or cut decorative profiles such as those seen on table legs, lamp stands, pens and chess pieces. Precision engineering parts such as engine components, ball joints, medical equipment and aircraft parts are also turned on horizontal lathes. In fact, almost any steel or wood product that has shoulders, tapers, grooves or other complex profiles can be produced on these machines. Even the hollow shapes of the cups can be turned.
There are two main types of horizontal lathe: woodworking lathes and steel lathes or lathes. Woodworking lathes are generally the simpler of the two and consist of a bed, headstock, tailstock, and tool holder. The wooden piece is held firmly between the head and tailstock by means of cylindrical mandrels. The headstock is driven by an electric motor and rotates the workpiece while the tailstock spins freely. A suitable tool is supported on the tool holder and manually advanced to cut the workpiece.
Steel or power lathes work on the same principle and consist of tail and headstock assemblies at either end of a central bed. The main difference between the two types of lathe is the tool advance assembly and the headstock. A steel truss head has jaws that hold the workpiece instead of a cylindrical chuck. Engine horizontal lathe tool assemblies consist of a saddle that spans the bed and is fitted with a compound holder and tool holder. The entire assembly is automatically advanced along the axis of the lathe by means of a lead screw driven by the lathe motor.
The steel lathe tool bit is fixed in the tool holder and is brought against the workpiece by worm cranks. This configuration allows for extreme precision in the cuts performed, guaranteeing safety and control when cutting hard steel. Both types of horizontal steel and wood lathe are available in a range of sizes, power ratings and levels of automation. These range from small bench lathes for watchmakers to huge fully automated computer numerical control (CNC) lathes. In all cases lathes can cause serious injury if not used properly and safety practices should always be followed.
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