Seems you can do all kinds of creative stuff if you have one of these. If you didn't have metalshop in high school, how do you get the hang of one of these things? Should I just hang out at a machine shop for a couple years? 
Doesn't seem like any avenue for learning here in Tallahassee.
There are some darn good books on how to use a lathe. They usually go by clever titles, like "How to Use a Lathe". You can download some from the web. Old Army and Navy manuals are online as well.
Once you've got one, just do some practicing.
I just practiced and guessed. Now, I have to show my dad how to use it.
Wow, this thread got posted twice.
Wow, this thread got posted twice.
You need to find a copy of "How To Run a Lathe" by South Bend.
Check with your local community college. If they offer a basic manual machining course I would strongly recommend taking it.
You can make a lot of stuff from trial and error. If you want to get really good, take a course and read some books.
did you ever come across something in life that you realize is "just right" for you?
Metals I, Metals II, Metals III, Metals IV; Downers Grove South High School. Machine Tool 2 years: DAVEA (DuPage County Vocational High School - Illinois)
I fell in love with those classes. Lathes, drills, milling machines, EDM, surface grinder...... I think it is now illegal to teach those classes in high school, you know, accounting and computers.......
I know they do HAAS CNC lathe training at Tallahassee Community College, so they might have some manual stuff in their engineering technology program too.
Or you can come up to NJ and take the Mechanical Prototyping class I teach in ~My Community College~
Seriously, that "How To Run a Lathe" book by South Bend is great. I've had a copy for almost 40 years.
The South Bend book is good, it's not hard to pick up the basics.
Work safe!!!
It's very easy to hurt yourself with a manual lathe, lot's of exposed machinery and very sharp edges (both the tools and the stock). Treat it with the same respect as any other power tool capable of removing fingers, pulling your scalp off, or flinging smoking hot bits of metal into your eyes.
Carter
File on the lathe left handed - your left arm over the chuck can get caught in the chuck, the chuck rips your arm off, and beats you with the wet end of your own arm. Best to do over concrete for easy cleanup.
I am a CNC machinist(I began on a manual) and in an effort to expand my machining knowledge I acquired Peter Smid's "Practical CNC programs" and "Custom Macros for Fanuc controls".While they covered the theory of what I wanted to learn,what worked the best was jumping on a machine and experimenting(within safe parameters).I am a firm believer in hands-on learning and on-the-job-training.Find a machine shop and inquire about shadowing one of their senior machinists;find the pragmatist. To touch on the safety concerns of the two previous posts;avoid the meathead(there's always at least one)who is bragging about the "whole insert" cut he is making as there will most likely soon be a projectile flying through the air in the shape of the work-piece that is suddenly liberated from the chuck when the insert explodes while it's buried in material and feeding at .050" inches per revolution at 150 rpm. Machining is an interesting and rewarding career,if you're interested in that field you should pursue a position at a machine shop.
Well, shoot. I didn't see this copy of this double post and I answered in the other one. And FT and SkinnyG beat me to my answer.
As has been said, Get the South Bend book and a manual lathe and then practice. Knowing how to use one can be very rewarding.
My father taught me how to run a lathe when I was 14. I was able to use those skills to work as a machinist and pay for my college education to be a shop teacher.
Get a good book, then ready the safety chapter twice, don't skim.
Then look down at your hands, got all your fingers, now keep it that way.
Common sense and a bit of technique is all you really need. Plus a good pair of safety goggles.
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