What work is a bench lathe suited to?

Turning small and medium parts such as shafts, bushes, pins, flanges, washers and threaded fittings, plus facing, tapers and threads. It is common in maintenance, toolroom and prototype shops.

Why do swing over bed and swing over cross slide differ?

Swing over bed is the largest part that turns above the ways; over the cross slide the carriage passes under the part, so it is smaller. For a long part, use the cross slide figure.

Do the stand and chuck come with the lathe?

A three-jaw chuck, dead and live centres, change gears, chip tray and tool kit are standard. The stand is optional on some models; its code is in the optional accessories list on the product page.

Where are chucks and lathe tools?

Spare and alternative chucks are on the Lathe Chucks shelf, tools on Lathe Tools, Morse sleeves on Morse Taper Sleeves.

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Lathes

A lathe spins the part in a chuck and removes metal with a stationary tool, turning diameters, faces, tapers and threads. The bench lathes on this shelf are sized for maintenance shops, toolrooms, prototype and training workshops: they set up on a stand or bench, run stepless variable speed and cut threads through change gears.

Size is read from two figures

Swing over the bed is the largest diameter that can turn in the chuck without hitting the ways. Swing over the cross slide is smaller: the carriage passes under the part, so on a long part this is the practical limit.

Distance between centres is the longest part that fits between chuck and tailstock. The numbers in a model name usually give both: 210x400, 250x550, 300x800 mm.

Spindle, taper and threading

Spindle bore is the thickest bar that passes through the back of the chuck; for batch parts cut from long bar it is the deciding figure. Spindle and tailstock tapers (MK2-MK5) decide which centres, drill chucks and Morse sleeves fit.

Thread range is given separately as metric (mm pitch) and imperial (TPI). Change gears are standard; a quick-change tool post set and live centre are offered as options by manufacturer code.

Variable speed

On a variable speed lathe the speed is set steplessly by a knob, without moving a belt; two-range models add a low and a high range. High speed suits small diameters, low speed large diameters and threading.

Frequently Asked Questions

What work is a bench lathe suited to?
Turning small and medium parts such as shafts, bushes, pins, flanges, washers and threaded fittings, plus facing, tapers and threads. It is common in maintenance, toolroom and prototype shops.
Why do swing over bed and swing over cross slide differ?
Swing over bed is the largest part that turns above the ways; over the cross slide the carriage passes under the part, so it is smaller. For a long part, use the cross slide figure.
Do the stand and chuck come with the lathe?
A three-jaw chuck, dead and live centres, change gears, chip tray and tool kit are standard. The stand is optional on some models; its code is in the optional accessories list on the product page.
Where are chucks and lathe tools?
Spare and alternative chucks are on the Lathe Chucks shelf, tools on Lathe Tools, Morse sleeves on Morse Taper Sleeves.