Size of lathe machine expressed in following ways that illustrated below :
- The height of the centres measured from the lathe bed.
- The swing diameter over the bed. It is the largest diameter of work that will revolve without touching the bed and is twice the height of the centre measured from the bed of the lathe.
- The length between centres. This is the maximum length of work that can be mounted between the lathe centres.
- The swing diameter over the carriage. This is the largest diameter of work that will revolve over the lathe saddle and is always less than the swing diameter over the bed.
- The maximum bar diameter. This is the maximum diameter of bar stock that will pass through hole of the head stock spindle.
- The length of the bed. This is the approximate floor shape occupied by the lathe.