A lathe is a wood turning machine tool that is used to shape metal. By rotating a workpiece against a cutting tool. Spinning metal attached to a chuck makes it suitable for creating symmetrical and cylindrical components. The workpiece is secured between the chuck or centers of the lathe and rotates while a stationary cutting tool removes material to achieve the desired shape, diameter, and surface finish.

Lathes can perform various operations such as turning (reducing the diameter), boring (enlarging an existing hole), facing (cutting a flat surface on the end), threading (creating threads), and knurling (creating a textured surface). They are commonly used in manufacturing industries for producing parts like shafts, hubs, bolts, screws, and various cylindrical components. Lathes come in different sizes, from small bench top models to large industrial machines, and are usually manually operated.

Lathes, mills and CNC machines can be used to manufacture firearms.

The benchtop models are all in need of fine-tuning on delivery and ongoing, requiring additional skill. Here are some models. These lathes are made in China. They are generally not recommended direct to consumer, requiring instead setup at destination country before retail.
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* Grizzly G0602, G0752 or G0760Z Metal Lathe
* Baileigh Industrial ML-90 Mini Lathe
* Warco WM24P Metal Lathe
* AL-250G - Bench Lathe
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!!Upgrades
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* Add weight: you probably do not want to buy a lathe under 150kg in weight. Adding weight versus vibration dampening
* Hardened bed and ground bed