Lathe (Wood and Metal)

Lathe is an awesome machine that spins your work (either wood or metal) in an axis (horizontal). The head of the machine clamps one end of your material that you are about to turn, then often you will clamp the other side of your material with the tail of the machine. When you turn the machine on, your material will be rotating in one direction, you can control the speed. Many cylindrical shaped pieces such as chair legs, candle holders, baseball bats, bowls or anything that is cylindrical can be made on a lathe. Kind of the same understanding as a pottery wheel where your hands stay in one point and your work is moving. However unlike pottery wheels where you manipulate the clay into a form, with the lathe in wood and metals, you change your forms by removing material. It is very wise to cut your material bigger than how you intended to result in a shape that you designed.