What a hand-guided copying lathe does
This is a wood lathe with a second carriage on the bed. The carriage carries a clamp bar at the top for a master pattern and a tool block below it, and the two are linked. You turn the carriage handwheel with one hand to feed along the bed, and steer the tracer along the pattern with the other. The cutter follows the tracer, and the profile is copied.
There is no hydraulic servo, no ballscrew and no electronic control. The photographs show a rack along the bed, a pinion on the carriage, and a long black lever standing up from the tool block, which is the tracer handle. The title's phrase hand movement is literal: both motions are yours.
That is a legitimate and well established way to duplicate a profile, and it puts the whole question of copy quality on the rigidity of the linkage and on your hands rather than on a motor.
The specification is consistent this time
Worth saying plainly, because it has not always been true on this site: the seven rows in the parameter block and the seven rows on the specification panel in the images agree field for field, and the dimensioned photograph repeats 2700 by 750 by 1400 mm. There is nothing here to reconcile.
So the useful work is not finding contradictions. It is in what those seven numbers imply when you put them together, and in what they leave out.
Three speeds, three diameter bands
The spindle runs at 750, 1200 or 2860 revolutions per minute, and nothing in between. That looks like a limitation until you work out what each step is actually for.
Woodturning practice uses a simple check: multiply the blank diameter in inches by the spindle speed. The product should sit between about 6,000 for starting an unbalanced blank and about 9,000 for work that is already running true. Above 9,000 the workpiece is telling you it wants to leave.
| Step | Largest blank at the 9,000 running limit | Largest blank to start at 6,000 | Product for a 260 mm blank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 750 r/min | 305 mm | 203 mm | 7,677, inside by 15% |
| 1200 r/min | 190 mm | 127 mm | 12,283, over by 36% |
| 2860 r/min | 80 mm | 53 mm | 29,276, over by 225% |
Read down the second column and the three speeds stop looking arbitrary. They are three diameter bands: 305 mm, 190 mm and 80 mm. The machine is not offering you a choice of speeds for one job. It is offering you three different sizes of job.
At 260 mm only 750 rpm is inside the band
Now apply the rule to the capacity the specification claims. A 260 mm blank is 10.24 inches.
At that diameter the safe starting speed is 586 revolutions and the safe running ceiling is 879. The lowest step, 750, sits inside that band. The middle step, 1200, is 36% above the ceiling. The top step, 2860, is 225% above it.
So the stated turning diameter of 260 mm and the stated top speed of 2860 revolutions do not describe the same operation. At full capacity you have one usable speed, not three. The other two steps exist for work under 190 mm and under 80 mm.
None of that makes the machine wrong. It makes the specification incomplete, because a buyer reading 260 mm and 2860 on the same page will reasonably assume they go together.
What changes across the three steps: torque falls 3.8 times
Power is constant at 2.2 kW, so torque is not. Dividing power by angular velocity gives 28.0 newton metres at 750, 17.5 at 1200 and 7.35 at 2860.
| Step | Torque at 2.2 kW | Ratio to the step below | Largest blank that step suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 750 r/min | 28.0 N.m | lowest step | 305 mm |
| 1200 r/min | 17.5 N.m | 1.60 times faster | 190 mm |
| 2860 r/min | 7.35 N.m | 2.38 times faster | 80 mm |
For a copying lathe the torque is what keeps the cutter engaged while the profile changes. At the top step you have a quarter of the torque you have at the bottom, which is another way of saying the top step is for small diameters and light cuts. Both columns of that table are telling you the same thing about which step to use.
The energy in the blank rises 14.5 times
Stored energy goes with the square of speed, so the gap between the steps is much wider than the numbers suggest. Take a full size blank, 260 mm across and 1450 mm long, at about 700 kilograms per cubic metre: 54 kilograms of wood.
| Step | Stored energy, 260 by 1450 mm blank | Rim acceleration | Against the lowest step |
|---|---|---|---|
| 750 r/min | 1,404 J | 82 g | 1.0 times |
| 1200 r/min | 3,595 J | 209 g | 2.6 times |
| 2860 r/min | 20,423 J | 1,189 g | 14.5 times |
The top step carries 14.5 times the energy of the bottom step with the same piece of wood on the spindle. Twenty thousand joules is roughly the kinetic energy of a one tonne car rolling at 23 kilometres an hour, and at 1,189 times gravity the rim is holding on by the tensile strength of the timber alone.
That is the physical reason the diameter rule exists, and the reason the lowest step is the one that matters on a machine of this size.
The three steps are not evenly spaced
The ratios are 1.60 from 750 to 1200 and 2.38 from 1200 to 2860. A geometric spread across the same overall range would use 1.95 per step and put the middle speed at about 1,465 revolutions.
The published middle is 1200, which is 18% below that, and it leaves a 2.38 times jump to the top. In practice there is no speed at all between 1200 and 2860, which is the range where a 100 mm spindle would normally be finished.
At 100 mm the three steps give 236, 377 and 898 metres per minute. Practice for most wood is roughly 300 to 900, so the middle step is the useful one there and the top step is at the ceiling.
| Workpiece diameter | 750 r/min | 1200 r/min | 2860 r/min |
|---|---|---|---|
| 260 mm | 613 m/min | 980 m/min | 2,336 m/min |
| 200 mm | 471 m/min | 754 m/min | 1,797 m/min |
| 150 mm | 353 m/min | 565 m/min | 1,348 m/min |
| 100 mm | 236 m/min | 377 m/min | 898 m/min |
| 80 mm | 188 m/min | 302 m/min | 719 m/min |
| 60 mm | 141 m/min | 226 m/min | 539 m/min |
| 40 mm | 94 m/min | 151 m/min | 359 m/min |
The 2,336 metres per minute at 260 mm on the top step is 2.6 times the top of that band, which is the same conclusion as the diameter rule reached from a different direction.
Speed changes need the guard open
The headstock photograph carries its own caption: multi-step pulley, adjust speed by changing belt. That is the whole speed control system. There is no lever, no variable frequency drive and no gearbox.
So every change is stop the spindle, open the guard, move the belt to another groove, retension, close the guard. Getting from the bottom step to the top means doing that twice.
On a copying lathe that matters more than on a plain lathe, because the natural workflow is to rough a profile at a low step and finish it at a high one. Every workpiece then carries two belt changes. If a change costs three minutes, a batch of twenty costs two hours of standing still.
Ask how many grooves the pulley actually has. The close-up shows a multi-groove drum and the specification quotes three speeds, and those two facts are not the same number.
The copying head: two tools, eight screws
The detail photograph is captioned double tool holder, and it shows two independent tool blocks, each clamping the cutter with four cap screws. Eight screws to change a pair of tools.
The arrangement is sensible for copying: a roughing gouge set slightly proud and a finishing scraper set slightly back, so you can rough and finish without resetting the cutter height. What it is not is quick change. If your work needs frequent tool swaps, budget for the time.
One thing to raise with the supplier: that close-up shows the tool head as a green casting, while the photographs of the complete machine show a pale one. It may be a pre-paint sub-assembly, a different batch or a colour option, but you should know which finish ships.
The template length is not the turning length
The clamp bar on the copying head, the one with the row of studs, spans a fraction of the bed. The turning length is 1450 mm. Nothing on the page states how long a master pattern the head will carry.
That is the single most important missing number, because it decides whether the machine does the job you are buying it for. If the template capacity is a few hundred millimetres, you can copy short repeats such as handles, legs and knobs, and you cannot copy a 1450 mm profile in one pass.
The cross slide travel at the head is the other half of the same question, and it is also unpublished. Between them they set the deepest and longest profile the tracer can follow.
Manual traverse on a rack, one hand on each
The bed carries a rack and the carriage a pinion, driven by the handwheel at mid bed. So the longitudinal feed is manual as well.
That produces the working method the machine is designed around: one hand turning the handwheel at a steady rate, the other holding the tracer against the pattern. The copy is correct only while those two motions stay in proportion. Speed the handwheel up through a curve and the profile stretches lengthwise; slow it down and it compresses.
It also means a 1450 mm pass moves you a metre and a half along the machine while holding a tracer. Long profiles are harder to hold than short ones, and that is a property of the design rather than a defect.
2700 mm of machine for 1450 mm of work
The overall length is 2700 mm and the turning length is 1450. The machine is 1.86 times the work, and 1,250 mm of that length is headstock, tailstock and the overhang at each end.
Plan the floor for 2.7 metres by 0.75, plus room to walk the length of it while tracing, plus room to open the headstock guard. In a small shop that is the constraint, not the weight.
At 350 kg over 2.70 metres it is 130 kilograms per metre, which is a cast iron bed and two pedestal bases doing the work. That is a reasonable figure for a lathe of this size and it is the reason the copying head can be pushed sideways without the bed flexing.
350 kg and 2.2 kW
Installed power is 2.2 kW, which is 0.85 kW per 100 mm of swing. For comparison the MC1218VD mini lathe guide covers a 900 W machine on a much smaller swing; this one has 2.4 times the power on roughly twice the capacity.
The photographs show the motor inside the left pedestal with the belt running up into the headstock, and no second motor anywhere. So the 2.2 kW figure is the spindle motor alone, which is what you would expect from a hand-guided tracer that has nothing to drive but the cutter.
What is not published is the voltage, the phase or the frequency. On a 350 kg export machine that is the first thing the electrician will ask.
Questions for the quotation
| Question | Why it decides the order |
|---|---|
| How many steps does the headstock pulley actually have | Three speeds are published, the headstock photograph shows a multi-groove pulley |
| What is the longest template the copying head will carry | The clamp bar is visibly far shorter than the 1450 mm between centres |
| What is the cross slide travel at the copying head | It sets the deepest profile the tracer can follow, and it is not published |
| What is the stylus to tool ratio, and is it 1 to 1 | A ratio other than 1 to 1 needs a scaled template |
| What is the repeatability of the copy, and how is it measured | No accuracy figure of any kind appears on the page |
| Is the spindle bore through, and what is its diameter | Decides whether you can turn between centres longer than 1450 mm |
| What is the spindle nose thread and taper | Every chuck, faceplate and drive centre depends on it |
| What is the tailstock quill travel and taper | Not published, and it sets how much you can drill from the tailstock |
| Is the motor single or three phase, and what voltage | No voltage, phase or frequency is published anywhere |
| Is there a brake, and does the guard interlock | The control station shows one switch and nothing is stated |
| What paint finish ships, and is the green head an option | The close-up of the double tool holder shows a green casting, the machine shots show a pale one |
| What are the crate dimensions and gross weight | 350 kg net on a 2700 mm footprint, and the crate is what ships |
How to decide
If your work is short repeating profiles in the 60 to 190 mm range, the three steps cover you well: the middle step suits up to 190 mm and the top step up to 80 mm, and the gap between them is where you will spend most of your time.
If your work is large diameter, plan on the bottom step and on torque of 28 newton metres, and treat 1200 and 2860 as speeds this machine has but your work does not.
And if the reason you are buying it is the copying function, get the template length and the cross slide travel in writing before you order. Everything else on the page is clear; those two numbers are the ones that decide whether it does your job.
Frequently asked questions
What does a copying lathe do?
It duplicates a turned profile from a master pattern. The pattern is clamped on the copying carriage, a tracer follows it, and the cutter mirrors the movement. On this machine both the traverse along the bed and the tracing are done by hand, with no hydraulic or electronic servo, so the accuracy of the copy depends on the linkage and on the operator.
Why is only one speed usable at 260 mm?
Woodturning practice keeps the blank diameter in inches multiplied by the spindle speed between about 6,000 and 9,000. A 260 mm blank is 10.24 inches, so the ceiling is about 879 revolutions. The lowest step of 750 is inside that; 1200 is 36% above it and 2860 is 225% above it.
Is 2860 rpm dangerous on a large blank?
At 260 mm and 2860 revolutions the rim runs at 38.9 metres per second with an acceleration of about 1,189 times gravity, and a full size blank stores around 20 kilojoules. That is the same energy as a one tonne car at 23 kilometres an hour. The top step is for work under about 80 mm.
How is the speed changed?
By moving the belt between grooves on a multi-step pulley in the headstock. The machine's own photograph says so. There is no lever and no variable frequency drive, so a change means stopping, opening the guard, moving the belt, retensioning and closing up.
How long a template can it copy?
Not published, and the clamp bar on the copying head is visibly much shorter than the 1450 mm turning length. Ask for the maximum template length and the cross slide travel before ordering, because together they decide the longest and deepest profile the machine can follow.
What are the two tool holders for?
The detail photograph shows two independent blocks, each with four cap screws. The usual setup is a roughing tool set slightly proud and a finishing tool set slightly back, so both passes run without resetting height. It is flexible rather than quick, since each tool is held by four screws.
Is the motor single or three phase?
Not stated. The page gives installed power as 2.2 kW and nothing else, with no voltage, phase or frequency, and the photographs show a single motor inside the left pedestal. Confirm the supply before the machine is crated.
Key specifications
Frequently asked questions
- What does a copying lathe do?
- It duplicates a turned profile from a master pattern. The pattern is clamped on the copying carriage, a tracer follows it, and the cutter mirrors the movement. On this machine both the traverse along the bed and the tracing are done by hand, with no hydraulic or electronic servo, so the accuracy of the copy depends on the linkage and on the operator.
- Why is only one speed usable at 260 mm?
- Woodturning practice keeps the blank diameter in inches multiplied by the spindle speed between about 6,000 and 9,000. A 260 mm blank is 10.24 inches, so the ceiling is about 879 revolutions. The lowest step of 750 is inside that; 1200 is 36% above it and 2860 is 225% above it.
- Is 2860 rpm dangerous on a large blank?
- At 260 mm and 2860 revolutions the rim runs at 38.9 metres per second with an acceleration of about 1,189 times gravity, and a full size blank stores around 20 kilojoules. That is the same energy as a one tonne car at 23 kilometres an hour. The top step is for work under about 80 mm.
- How is the speed changed?
- By moving the belt between grooves on a multi-step pulley in the headstock. The machine's own photograph says so. There is no lever and no variable frequency drive, so a change means stopping, opening the guard, moving the belt, retensioning and closing up.
- How long a template can it copy?
- Not published, and the clamp bar on the copying head is visibly much shorter than the 1450 mm turning length. Ask for the maximum template length and the cross slide travel before ordering, because together they decide the longest and deepest profile the machine can follow.
- What are the two tool holders for?
- The detail photograph shows two independent blocks, each with four cap screws. The usual setup is a roughing tool set slightly proud and a finishing tool set slightly back, so both passes run without resetting height. It is flexible rather than quick, since each tool is held by four screws.
- Is the motor single or three phase?
- Not stated. The page gives installed power as 2.2 kW and nothing else, with no voltage, phase or frequency, and the photographs show a single motor inside the left pedestal. Confirm the supply before the machine is crated.