The types of modern lathes are as varied as are the occupations of those who use them. The mechanic, the soft-wood turner, and the amateur, for instance, differ so greatly in their requirements that lathes which would be well suited to one would be very poorly adapted, if not practically useless, to another.

Thus the professional turner of soft wood, with a lathe of which the frame and even the fly-wheel are of timber, will use a high rate of speed, sharp tools, and light cuts, thus obtaining results with which the owner of an elaborate lathe cannot at all compete. A modern mechanic's lathe, on the other hand, has very different demands made upon it. For this the greatest possible steadiness in all its working parts is the main requirement, and it is of great advantage to have the means of obtain-ing a slow speed, so as to be able to take the heaviest cuts which its strength and the power available warrant. As a result, timber has given way to cast iron or gun-metal or steel in almost every part of a lathe. In nearly all these modern lathes a metal spindle revolving in metal bearings determines the axis previously referred to, and as this spindle turns in one direction, the revolving wood has a movement that is steady, smooth, and continuous. The cutting tool is supported on an adjustable rest, and the speed of revolution may be varied within comparatively wide limits.

The next paper will take up the modern lathe somewhat in detail, with illustrations, and a description of its parts, together with a description of the tools to be used in the work.