FLSO Wood Lathe
Wood Lathe
(Wood Latheimage)
There is a PPE tag mounted to the front of the Lathe which indicates that the operator must wear a full-face shield, contain or remove loose clothing items and jewelry, and to remove any extraneous materials from the work area. Also note that this machine is “locked out” during night hours, as it requires immersive instruction / training and staff monitoring during the daytime only. Further safety precautions are listed later in this document.
Description
A lathe is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, drilling, spindle turning and face turning. There are numerous ways to mount a work piece, and once this is done properly, hand-held tools are applied to the work piece while it spins, to create an object with symmetry about that axis. Axially symmetrical parts such as spindles, balusters, vases, columns, domes and bowl shapes can be created using this machine.
Parts
Here is a Parts Diagram poster of the lathe. The Wood Lathe in the SOA has a bed, which is a horizontal beam with a slot through the center to ensure that wood shavings and chips, fall free of the bed. At the left end of the bed (as the operator faces the lathe) is a headstock. The headstock contains high-precision spinning bearings. Rotating within the bearings is a horizontal axle, with an axis parallel to the bed, called the spindle. The spindle is hollow and has an interior Morse taper on the "inboard" (i.e., facing to the right / towards the bed), and also has exterior threads. Both of these features of the spindle allow various work-holding accessories to be mounted to the spindle. The outboard end of the spindle has a hand wheel to aid in mounting accessories and work pieces. The spindle is motor driven to impart motion to the work piece. The motor is beneath the headstock, concealed in the stand, and has an electronic rheostat-type speed control located on the pendant arm, which you can see in this photo and can learn more about later in this document.
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The counterpoint to the headstock is the tailstock, sometimes referred to as the “loose head”, as it can be positioned at any convenient point on the bed by sliding it to the required area. The tailstock contains a barrel, which does not rotate, but can slide in and out parallel to the axis of the bed and directly in line with the headstock spindle. The barrel is hollow and usually contains a taper to facilitate the gripping of various types of tooling. Its most common uses are to hold a hardened steel center, which is used to support long thin shafts while turning, or to hold drill bits for drilling axial holes in the work piece. Many other uses are possible.
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Another part of this lathe, which serves as a tool support structure, is called a “banjo”, which is a cast iron piece that sits crosswise on the bed. The position of the banjo can be adjusted by hand; no gearing is involved. Ascending vertically from the banjo is another part called a “tool-post”, at the top of which is a horizontal piece called a “tool-rest” or “steady rest”. In woodturning, hand tools resembling woodcarving chisels are braced on top of the tool rest and levered into the work piece as it spins, allowing the carving of axially symmetrical shapes.
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A work piece may be mounted / clamped in a three or 4-Jaw Chuck. We have two different types of chucks with various types of jaws used to grip a work piece. These holding devices mount directly to the lathe headstock spindle.
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For small diameter spindle turnings, a work piece may be pinched between centers (at the head stock and tail stock) by using a Spur Drive Centerat the headstock, which bites into the wood and imparts torque to it. The tailstock would have a Live Center installed to support the other end of the work piece. It has bearings, which allow it to spin with the work piece.
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There are two basic types of wood turning methods, which are based on the ways in which a work piece is mounted to the lathe. When a work piece is held only by one side with a faceplate or 4-jaw chuck, it is prepared for “Face turning”. When a work piece is held at both ends by a plate, chuck or spur drive at the headstock and a live center at the tailstock, it is prepared for “Spindle turning”.
Wood Lathe Turning Tools
Wood Lathe turning tools come in a wide variety of sizes and cutting profiles. They are hand-held by the lathe operator while bracing them against the tool rest and levering them into the spinning work piece.
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The Pendant Arm of the lathe has a moveable control box, which houses all of the operating controls, including the On-Off switch, Emergency Off switch, speed dial knob, etc. The control box should be positioned within reach of the operator by swinging the pendant arm into an adequate location.
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