Lathe Machine: Types, Parts and CNC vs Conventional Lathes

A lathe machine makes round parts. It spins the workpiece while a stationary cutting tool is fed along and into it, removing metal to produce cylinders, tapers, faces, grooves, bores and threads. Shafts, pins, bushes, flanges, pulleys and couplings all start life on a lathe, which is why it is the first machine in almost every workshop.

Parts of a lathe

• Bed — the heavy cast base whose ways guide everything else. Worn ways mean inaccurate parts.
• Headstock — houses the spindle and the gearbox or belts that set its speed. A geared head lathe changes speed with levers; older belt-driven lathes use cone pulleys.
• Spindle and chuck — the spindle spins; the chuck (3-jaw self-centring or 4-jaw independent) grips the work.
• Tailstock — slides along the bed to support long work on a centre, or to hold a drill.
• Carriage — moves along the bed and carries the cross slide, compound slide and tool post.
• Apron — the front of the carriage, with the handwheels and the levers that engage power feed.
• Lead screw and feed rod — drive the carriage for threading and for smooth power feed.

Types of lathe

If your parts are long and slender, a horizontal lathe is right; if they are big and heavy discs, look at a VTL — see CNC turning center vs VTL.

Conventional vs CNC lathe

Choose a conventional lathe when the work is varied and short-run: maintenance and repair shops, toolrooms, prototypes, and jobs where setting up a program would take longer than turning the part. They are cheaper to buy and simpler to keep running, and a good machinist can hold fine tolerances on one.

Choose a CNC lathe when you make the same part in batches. Once the program is proven, every part comes out the same, cycle times drop, and one operator can look after more than one machine. A turning center with live tooling can also mill and drill the part in the same setup — see live tooling vs a 2-axis lathe.

What to check on a used lathe

• Bed wear — the ways nearest the chuck wear first; check for a dip or scoring there.
• Spindle — noise and runout, and that every speed engages cleanly.
• Backlash in the cross slide and carriage handwheels (or, on CNC, in the axes).
• Chuck condition — bell-mouthed jaws won't grip true.
• Threading — on a manual lathe, cut a thread to prove the gearbox and lead screw.

For CNC lathes, our used CNC turning center buying guide has the full checklist.

Used lathe prices in India

A note on prices: figures below are broad indicative bands for the Indian used-machine market and move with age, spindle hours, brand, control generation and condition. Treat them as ballpark, not quotes — ask us for a current price against a specific machine.

• Used 2-axis CNC lathe: typically ₹5–18 lakh.
• Used live-tooling / C-axis lathe: typically ₹12–40 lakh.
• Conventional lathes usually cost far less than a CNC lathe of the same size; the price follows swing, length between centres and condition.

See used lathes in stock

Browse used conventional lathes and used CNC lathes and turning centers in our Nashik yard, or ask us — tell us the diameter and length you turn and we will suggest the right machine.