wrote in message
s.com...
Greetings!
Another newbie question....My lathe has a switch for forward and
reverse direction (yep...It changes the direction of rotation of the
stock...)

FWIW, there is no shaft on the "other" end of the headstock....

Could anyone enlighten me as to when I might actually use this feature?
Thanks!

You would LOCK whatever you were using that was threaded onto the spindle
with a secondary lock if you wanted to turn left-handed.

Some people think that sanding in reverse helps. No need when power
sanding, only pushes down what was up and picks up what was down on a bowl.
What people want, manufacturers provide, especially since its cheap and
easy.

Sure would have been nice for them to include something on the other end to
rotate by hand. Good for checking toolrest clearance and such.