LathesLathes are machine tools designed primarily to do turning, facing and boring, Very little turning is done on other types of machine tools, and none can do it with equal facility. Because lathes also can do drilling and reaming, their versatility permits several operations to be done with a single setup of the work piece. Consequently, more lathes of various types are used in manufacturing than any other machine tool.The essential components of a lathe are the bed, headstock assembly, tailstock assembly, and the leads crew and feed rod.The bed is the backbone of a lathe. It usually is made of well normalized or aged gray or nodular cast iron and provides s heavy, rigid frame on which all the other basic components are mounted. Two sets of parallel, longitudinal ways, inner and outer, are contained on the bed, usually on the upper side. Some makers use an inverted V-shape for all four ways, whereas others utilize one inverted V and one flat way in one or both sets, They are precision-machined to assure accuracy of alignment. On most modern lathes the way are surface-hardened to resist wear and abrasion, but precaution should be taken in operating a lathe to assure that the ways are not damaged. Any inaccuracy in them usually means that the accuracy of the entire lathe is destroyed.The headstock is mounted in a foxed position on the inner ways, usually at the left end of the bed. It provides a powered means of rotating the word at various speeds . Essentially, it consists of a hollow spindle, mounted in accurate bearings, and a set of transmission gears-similar to a truck transmission—through which the spindle can be rotated at a number of speeds. Most lathes provide from 8...
