- 1). Clamp your sheet of metal to the chuck. Most chucks have three jaws to hold the metal and they will self center, however you will need to sure the metal sheet is perfectly on center.
- 2). Check the center of the metal piece by rotating the lathe by hand and using a dial indicator to judge the position of the sheet in relationship to the chuck and lathe.
- 3). Check to see that the cutting tool and carriage slide is under center. This is where the cutting tool is located. Once you check this, turn the lathe on and begin rotating the metal at a low RPM.
- 4). Move the cutting tool towards the base of the spinning metal sheet and apply a little bit of pressure. You will see that the tool shapes the metal slightly when pressure is applied. This is the general concept to using a metal lathe, the tool pushes and shapes the metal as it spins.
- 5). Test the cutting tool by applying pressure, then adjust the speed of the lathe so the tool can shape the metal without getting too hot. Once this is accomplished, push the cutting tool into the metal and slide the carriage across as you press and shape the metal into your desired object.
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