What is a woodworking lathe?
A woodworking lathe is a machine that shapes wood, particularly in cylinder shapes.
A woodworking lathe turns wood by placing the wood onto the center at one end of the lathe. The wood is attached here and there is space between the end of the wood and the other end of the lathe. The machine is long and narrow in shape. The machine is powered by electricity, turned on and the wood spins on the lathe. This is part of the reason that using a lathe is called turning, the wood turns on the lathe to be cut.
There are different tools and blades used to cut into the wood. These hand held tools with sharp blades are placed against the wood as it turns on the lathe. The lathe speed can be adjusted, depending on the type of cut or grooves that are being made on the wood. The speed of the lathe determines how deep of a cut is made into the wood and how much control the person turning the wood has over the machine and blades. When the blades are placed against the wood at different angles, the shape of the cut changes as well.
Also, the hand held tools have different shaped blades too, to make different shapes and patterns in the wood. For example, some blades may be V shaped or have a flat edge to them. Each tool has a different function and reason to be used, depending on what is being made or created.
Furthermore, a wood lathe can also be used to smooth wood and to create bores into wood. A boring tool is used to create completely smooth holes into the end of the wood. This is useful for when placing two pieces of wood together or when wanting to create a pencil holder or cup even. While smoothing wood on a lathe is much faster and quicker to do. Sand paper is held against the wood as it turns to give a very even, fine finish to the piece.
Lastly, a wood lathe is available as a mini lathe or a full sized lathe. A full sized lathe can turn large pieces of wood and can handle harder, denser woods better than a mini lathe. A full size lathe is used to create legs for tables, base ball bats, bowls and platters for instance. While a mini lathe is better suited for softer woods and smaller projects. For example, a mini lathe is perfect for making pens, toys tops, chop sticks and other items that are small or miniature in size.
A woodworking lathe is a very versatile tool that has the advantage of completing projects much more quickly then by conventional means or by using other tools. A lathe cuts done on the amount of work that is done manually by hand.
Among the myriad tools available to create decorative or functional products is a tool called a lathe, which spins material at a controlled speed so that a latheworker can press a sharp tool against the material to shape it. A woodworking lathe is a lathe specifically designed to handle various types of wood, as opposed to a metal lathe which handles exclusively metal, or a glassworking lathe, which functions in an entirely different manner than other types of lathes. The woodworking lathe is the oldest type of lathe, supposedly dating back to ancient Egypt–in a non-motorized version, of course.
