Intro to the Metal Lathe

Software engineer by day and machinist by night, Alex is a regular at A2. He helps build tooling and parts to service the equipment in the machine shop and has provided informal instruction to other members. He enjoys a good brisket sandwich, and spending time with his girlfriend, their cat, Meow Mix and dog, Queenie. He’s excited to share his passion of machining with you all!

If you’ve ever been interested in machining and metal fabrication this class is for you! Learn how to operate the iconic Southbend lathe. It will provide a great jumping off point to begin your machining journey and you will leave confident in your understanding and operation of metal lathes.

The materials fee for this class is $20. This is separate from the ticket price and is to reimburse the instructor for any tools or materials used in this class. This will be paid once, directly to the instructor at the start of the first class meeting. This instructor accepts payments in cash or through Venmo.

- Safety, machine shop & lathe specific

- Changing belt settings and back gear

- Setup tools, tool holders, and tool post for correct height and angle.

- Facing and turning down to diameter

- Understanding backlash and zeroing dials

- Demonstrate chatter

- How to use the tailstock, center drilling, centers

- Metrology-> use of calipers

- Using power feed (clutch, gearbox, selectors)

- Parting off

- Proper cleanup procedure

- Simple maintenance

- About the A2 community

Aluminum round bar stock

Closed toed shoes (preferably boots), no loose fitting clothes, ideally short sleeves, remove all jewelry, and hair longer than shoulder length MUST be tied up.

All students must be 18 years old or older.

Learn more about our class and ticket cancelation policies Here.

Please email ZWR1Y2F0aW9uIHwgYXJ0aXNhbnNhc3lsdW0gISBjb20= with any questions.

*Sales end 2 hours before the start of the class to allow the instructor and staff time to prep.

Also check out other Workshops in Boston, Meetups in Boston.