Patent ID: 7437816

Claim:
A lathe comprising: a bed having a forward container; a base mounted on the bed; a cutting tool mounted on a front surface of the base; an L-shaped arm affixed to an upper portion of the base; a saddle mounted on an underside of the horizontal part of the arm; a first motor mounted at an open end of the arm for moving the saddle; a container disposed at a forward end of the bed; a slide mounted on an underside of the saddle; a second motor mounted on a front surface of the cutting tool for moving the slide; and a chuck assembly mounted on an underside of the slide and including a housing, a release mounted at a forward end of the housing, a third motor mounted at a forward end of the release, the third motor having a driving shaft projecting out of a rearward end of the housing, a chuck mounted at an end of the driving shaft, and a positioning member for positioning the driving shaft when the third motor is in an inoperative position, wherein a workpiece held by the chuck therein is disposed above the container during a machining operation such that formed chips are adapted to drop into the container without blocking moving paths of the saddle, the workpiece, and the cutting tool.