Blanchard Lathe

Wood-working tool for producing irregular forms in wood, such as ax-handles, gun-stocks, oars, etc. A blank or piece of work to be operated on is held between centers and slowly revolves. A rapidly revolving cutter is driven by a belt, the cutter being borne upon a frame or carriage. The frame is held by a weight against the surface of a former or pattern, and the revolving cutter removes material from the blank just as the profile of the pattern allows it to approach or compels it to recede from the axis of the blank. The pattern and the blank revolve together, so that an irregular transverse section is reproduced, as well as a longitudinal profile. See LATHE.