"DanO" luv2^fly99@cox.^net wrote in message
...

"jan olieslagers" wrote in message
...
The recent thread about lathes and related machinery leaves me at a loss
with the terminology, me not being a native English speaker.

A) I think I can imagine a lathe, if I understand correctly it is called
a "tour" in French and a "draaibank" in my native Dutch. That means,
the piece of stock you are going to work on is clamped between two
centerpoints, the machine makes it turn, then you press a tool somewhere
and it cuts a circular groove. Right so far?

B) If correct on A, how to understand the dimensions? Perhaps a 36x9"
lathe has 36" between centers, and 9" is the max. diameter of basic
stock?

C) if we're done about the lathe, what is a mill (in this context)?
Google wasn't too helpful on this one, given windmills and what not.

Excuse my lack of English profiency, thanks in advance!

On a lathe, you rotate the work piece and manipulate the cutter.
On a mill, you rotate the cutter, and manipulate the work piece.

In the US they usually list the swing before the distance between centers.
A 36x9 would be a 36" swing with 9" between centers, so it safe to assume
your example in (B) is the opposite. A 9" swing, with 36" between centers.
A common size for a smaller machine.

The swing indicates the maximum diameter you can spin or "swing" in the
chuck. However, they are usually rated at the chuck. You have an "apron"
that holds your cutting tool on a metal lathe, and the swing is always
reduced by the apron. So the swing of a 9" lathe, on a long enough work
piece to require the "tail stock", would usually be about 5".

Hmm, back when I was using these things, the "swing" was the largest RADIUS
that could clear the apron and bed, not the largest diameter. So a 9" lathe
could turn an 18" diameter part. That didn't neccessarilly mean that the
tool post could be used to its full extent.

BTW, what's a good used 9x36 lathe go for these days?