A lathe machine is a large tool that turns the piece it is working on, on an axis to either cut, sand, knurl, drill, face or perform other operations. This is done so that the piece created is symmetrical around the axis of rotation. Lathes are used in many different applications such as metalwork or spinning, thermal spraying, wood turning and glass work. Lathes have also been used to shape clay exactly like a potter’s wheel. So many different things can be produced by a lathe from candlestick holders to gun barrels, cue sticks, table legs, woodwind musical instruments, baseball bats and more.
A lathe typically does have legs to stand it up to working height but it’s not a necessity. Some do not and simply are sat on a bench or table to be worked on. The bed of a lathe is a beam that runs horizontally, often at an incline in order to catch chips and debris. The head stock sits at one end of the bed and has very high precision bearings that rotate with the spindle.
The spindle tends to have threads on the outside or there may be a hand wheel at the other end of the head stock. Foot power can be used to drive the spindle but a lot of modern lathes are now being made with an electric motors so that they can be powered by being plugged in. Whether the lathe is electric or not holds no bearing on the speeds. There are various types of mechanisms that can change the speed of the spindle. It’s just a matter of engaging the cone pulley and gears.
When it comes actually using the lathe, the piece must be supported at both ends. This stabilizes it and when necessary, applies force so there’s no risk of the piece breaking loose. There are times when the work piece is only attached to the spindle; this is known as face work. Went to work piece is fixed like this there’s a lot less force applied to the work has to be done very gently.
If something happens to the lathe chuck and you need lathe repair, there are several steps you need to follow.
- Disconnection – The very first thing you need to do for any kind of lathe repair is to disconnect the power source entirely. If the lathe is electric needs to be implied or if it has a battery needs to be removed. This is to ensure that the lathe doesn’t turn on while you’re trying to fix it.
- Size picking ? You’ll need to decide what lathe chuck you need. There are several different sizes that you can pick from. You’ll need to look for one that is suitable to the machine that you have and they can do most of the work for you. If you go to a machine tool repair service store and then there should be a professional working there that can help you pick out the right tool.
- Disassemble ? the first step in disassembling is taking the nut off the lathe chuck to do this you have to press the shaft lock button down and then you can get the nut unscrewed. It loosens by being turned counterclockwise. You’ll need to do this while still pressing down on the button. You might possibly need a small wrench to help you but the nut must be completely removed before you go on.
- Removal ? In this kind of lathe repair, after you have taken off the nut, you should be able to easily remove the existing piece. If the piece won’t move then press down on the shaft lock button and that should help.
- Replacement ? Now you’ll be able to insert the replacement in place of the old one. Make sure that it is inserted with the part that is not slotted facing down towards the bottom of the shaft. Then replace the nut and screw it back in.
There are different things that could require lathe repair. Some you can do yourself but some are only recommended to be done by a professional who knows what they’re doing. Any kind of machine tool services are helpful if you are at all unsure of what to do.
