A fundamental machine tool used for turning operations. It clamps the raw material in a chuck and rotates it at speed while a stationary cutting tool is fed into the material to create cylindrical parts. Lathes can cut threads, bore holes, and face off ends.
Heard on the job
Chuck that bar stock in the lathe and turn it down to exactly one inch.
Related terms
Chuck
A specialized clamp used to hold a workpiece or a cutting tool in a machine.
Turning tool
A single-point cutting instrument used on a lathe to shape the outside diameter of a spinning part.
Parting off
Cutting a finished part off the end of the bar on a lathe with a thin blade-shaped tool.
CNC
Computer numerical control is the automated control of machining tools by a computer program.