"Matthew" matthewjameslee*yahoo.com wrote in message
. 3.44...
I have seen the harding tool room lathe and understand that is also
called
a "secind operation lathe" But why is this?

Back in my apprentice days of a gearing company I used to work for I
started in the lathe department. A part was made on a bar lathe. This
is a lathe with an attachment that held a length of bar stock to make
the part. Lets say there are a couple of different diameters to turn
on both ends of the part. The part would first have the dia. turned in
the first operation. It would then be parted off with a cut off tool
to the length needed to make the part the right length plus some
material. The "sceond" operation would then be proformed on the other
end of the part, say like turning it to a specific dia. and maybe a
thread turned on it or a hex put in the end. It would also be trimmed
to the final length the print called for. Thus "second operation"
lathe. any lathe can be set up for second operation. I believe it was
a sales pitch to have a product called "second operation" lathe. They
could sell two lathes instead of one. Just my 2 cents worth.

Regards,
Bernd