Talk:lathe

"Machine" versus "machine tool"

According to Cocker a lathe is not a machine tool, but a machine, that shapes a piece of material (metal or wood) by rotating that piece against a cutting-tool. - Helmarsan

A lathe is definitely a machine tool. Yes, M-W, AHD4, et al also say "machine" and do not explicitly say "machine tool", but that is down to the way that those (nonmachinist) lexicographers wrote their definitions, for a lay audience, and not down to the nature of lathes. Any machinist's understanding of the term "machine tool" includes the lathe in fact as the archetypal machine tool, the mother of all the others (milling machines, boring mills, shapers, planers, et al). See for example (1)  ; and (2) . To say that lathes are machines but not machine tools is like saying that Ford Mustangs are machines but not automobiles. They are in fact both at the same time. In the Ford Mustang's case, "machine" is the more general term, and "automobile" is the specific type of machine. Similarly, in the case of the lathe, "machine" is the more general term, and "machine tool" is the specific type of machine. — Lumbercutter 01:58, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Copy from Transwiki:Lathe (division) history page

Wikipedia Edit History

This page was m:Transwikied from Wikipedia. Below is the edit history for the Wikipedia article.

• Time: 2004-04-19T18:16:45Z - By: w:User:Warofdreams - Comment: division of Kent
• Time: 2004-04-19T18:28:13Z - By: w:User:Warofdreams - Comment: changes in the thirteenth century
• Time: 2004-04-19T18:30:16Z - By: w:User:Warofdreams - Comment: changing list to prose
• Time: 2004-07-01T22:08:21Z - By: w:User:Morwen
• Time: 2004-09-26T16:28:12Z - By: w:User:Brendansa - Comment: typo, parenthesis
• Time: 2005-06-08T21:25:00Z - By: w:User:Dmcdevit - Comment: Wikt
• Time: 2005-06-09T09:13:07Z - By: w:User:Warofdreams - Comment: This article is nothing like a dictionary entry
• Time: 2005-06-09T19:46:50Z - By: w:User:Dmcdevit - Comment: Just because it's got some encyclopedic content doesn't mean it shouldn't be in the Wiktionary, so stop making more work for me.

Is verb form correct?

Can anyone show that lathe used as a verb (to shape with a lathe) is correct? I'm fairly certain this meaning is not listed in the OED and I've never seen or heard it used by anyone who knows how to use a lathe. If the term is a recent invention used only by those not familiar with the tool, and machinists agree that this usage is not correct, then shouldn't this at least be somehow noted?Gregorywitt (talk) 04:17, 7 July 2012 (UTC)

Ok, a bit of poking around seems to show this meaning appearing consistently in newer dictionaries, one claiming a first use of the term in 1903. It still smells wrong though. If anyone knows of an example showing some acceptance of the term in industry I'd be interested. Internet searches have so far only turned up a few uses of the term, but never from within industry. I was able to find a typical discussion of the term here.