A lathe is basically a tool which spins a material for various operations like drilling, deformation, sanding, knurling and cutting. The most common of materials can be metal, plastic or wood.

In explaining the operational premise of a lathe, a potter’s wheel would be the best lathe to mention. A spinning mount point is utilized in “shaping” the material, to whatever shape it should be fashioned to.

A wood lathe is a lathe aimed to do operations with pieces of wood. Be it for sanding, or shaping, a wood lathe is a specialized woodworking tool, often used in shaping blocks of wood into cylindrical form. Baseball bats, table legs, chair legs and cue sticks would be good examples of what a wood lathe is geared to make.

Most wood lathes come in this setup: The material is connected to the wood lathe’s spindle, also known as the head stock, and the tail stock. A horizontal rail, which serves as the tool rest, stands in between the material and the operator, as the spindle spins the material. The operator then positions his/her shaping tool or tolls, which are oftentimes hand-held.

When it comes to the oldest of lathe types, wood lathes have been around longer. As, other lathe types descend from wood lathes, innovations in the design and specialization of wood lathes have gone from basic to radical, making it the most common of lathe types in the world.

There are actually more specialized wood lathes which are used in making wooden bowls and wooden pots. Wood lathes of this type may differ in setup, but still maintain the basic principle fueling the more “standard” wood lathes.

Another “variation” of wood lathes is the Rotary Lathe, invented by Immanuel Nobel, the father of the famous Alfred Nobel. The rotary lathe is basically a wood lathe calibrated to peel the bark off softwood logs. A continuous or semi continuous roll peels off unwanted portions of a log with the help of sharp blades positioned to successfully do so. The mid 19th century bore witness to the birth of rotary wood lathes.

As wood lathes are tools of the trade for woodworkers, other lathe types aimed for specific jobs also exist. There’s the watchmaker’s lathe, ornamental tuning lathe, the metal lathe and glasswork lathes. Lathes of these types are still run by the same principle, and serve pretty much the same purpose as wood lathes do.

When it comes to shaping woodpieces, wood lathes make things fast and easy.