A professional who sets up and operates swing-type (rotary cutting) lathe to cut round and multishaped wood parts in manufacture of furniture. Responsibilities include:

• Examines blueprints, drawings, patterns, and specifications to ascertain size and shape of finished product.
• Selects and installs knives on cutterheads on machine spindle arbor, using template, rule, calipers, and wrenches; or loosens nuts securing end of lathe opposite drive end of arbor, swings support end to side, slides preassembled cutter heads on arbor according to arrangement of knives on cutterheads, and secures cutterheads on arbor and support end of lathe, using handtools.
• Selects and installs cam on arbor to control rotation and shape of stock to be cut, using wrench.
• Inserts woodstock between headstock and tailstock and turns crank to clamp stock in position.
• Starts machine and moves lever to swing rotating stock against rotating knives of cutterhead until shape is completed, or presses switch for automatic operation of machine equipped with hopper-feeding attachment.
• Verifies dimensions of shaped product, using template or calipers and rule.
• May sharpen cutting knives, using bench grinder.
• May be designated according to product as bat-lathe operator; handle-lathe operator.