Manual lathe is a machining tool where the operator controls the cutting tool’s movement by hand. It spins a workpiece to cut, sand, or drill metal. It is essential for quick repairs, training, and making simple, one-off parts without the time-consuming process of computer programming.

A manual lathe works by rotating the workpiece locally while you move a sharp cutter against it using handwheels. You control the speed, the depth of the cut, and the feed rate manually, relying on tactile feedback rather than computer code to shape the metal.