The metal lathe and mill are the two basic machines of a machine shop. Together, they can make a nearly infinite variety of forms. The lathe primarily makes cylindrical shapes, while the mill makes parts with flat sides and angles. Lathes use a variety of tooling and attachments to perform operations such as straight and shoulder turning, facing, grooving, parting, tapers, and cutting various screw threads, all with a tremendous degree of precision. For most operations, the workpiece is held in the chuck and spun by the headstock, while the cutting tool is held in the carriage and moved left-and-right or in-and-out to cut the desired shapes.
Members have used MADE’s machine shop for a variety of projects, from custom candy molds to bicycle repair, prototyping and more! We supply some communal tools to work with the lathe, and recommend checking out Shapiro Metal Supply to find locally-sourced metal like aluminum, mild steel, copper, and stainless steel. Check out their selection of metals here.
Want to learn how to use MADE’s machine shop? Sign up for training here!