Summit is one of the largest providers of manual lathes to the metalworking industry. We carry a wide range of lathe sizes and speeds, with swings from 14 inches up to 63 inches. There’s a conventional lathe for any application here at Summit from precision metal lathes, powerful engine lathes, to massive big hole lathes. For questions or availability, contact us today.
Manual lathes date back to 1300 BC in Egypt but they gained popularity in many well-known industries during the industrial revolution.
Known as the “mother of machine tools”, the conventional lathe has been an industry staple for over a hundred years. A manual lathe is a powerful tool that can be used for many cutting tasks. A full range of uses include shaping, drilling, knurling, turning, cutting, and deformation. This kind of versatility in a single piece of equipment is hard to beat. That’s why so many woodworkers and metalworkers use manual lathes for the basis of their work.
Modern technology has influenced the machine world by automating lathes. Although these can help mass produce products that are designed to identical specifications, manual lathes still play a vital role in manufacturing a variety of individual items for both large-scale operations and bespoke customers alike.
Manual lathes are used equally for shaping metal or softer materials like wood. Usually, a workpiece is secured in a collet or lathe chuck and a cutting tool is held in a tool post. The lathe is then turned on and the parts begin to rotate. The tool is then brought to the rotating part and the unwanted materials are removed.
Summit offers precision manual lathes with spindle bore sizes between 1.5″ and 5.1″. Looking for manual lathe machine equipment? Reach out to our sales department for more information at (800) 654 3262.
Every Summit manual lathe comes with a quick-change gearbox as standard, used for cutting metric, module, and diametral pitch threads as well as standard American (inch) threads.
What about the heavyweights, we hear you ask? Well, Summit 30″-5 metal lathes with a swing have earned a reputation as heavyweights amongst mid-sized lathes. Like all our manual lathes, the Summit 30″-5 is ISO compliant with a variety of built-in safety features. The Summit 30″-5 metal lathes offer the highest horsepower to tackle heavy duty chip loads.
All of our manual lathes are ideal for prototyping small size to medium size production lengths, and for metalworkers who have experience and are confident in their skills to ensure pinpoint accuracy. Are you looking for manual lathes for your shop that stand out from the competition? Contact Summit Machine Tool today and let us work with you!
