A faceplate is the basic workholding accessory for a wood or metal turning lathe. It is a circular metal (usually cast iron) plate which fixes to the end of the lathe spindle. The workpiece is then clamped to the faceplate, typically using t-nuts in slots in the faceplate, or less commonly threaded holes in the faceplate itself.

The faceplate may be attached to the lathe in several ways: The two most common are a thread and a precision cone arrangement or threaded studs and a circular recess fitting a flange on the end of the spindle. Increasingly common is the camlock arrangement where shaped studs and cams replace threaded studs for rapid exchanging of the faceplate with other accessories, such as three or four jaw chucks.

The faceplate was the ancestor of lathe chucks, an arrangement of three or more adjustable 'dogs' bolted to the faceplate providing a primitive chuck arrangement.

It may seem that the faceplate is a primitive accessory superseded by precision chucks, but it's inherent flexibility (almost anything shape can be attached to a faceplate with care and the right fixings) and the possibility of achieving great accuracy by careful setting up make it an essential for the well equipped lathe.

For certain specialist jobs temporary or special faceplates can be made, perhaps in wood or light alloy, that can be machined or adapted for difficult workholding jobs. One example might be attaching thin sheet metal to a wooden faceplate using woodscrews, allowing the trepanning of holes, with the tool cutting into the sacrificial faceplate material.

Lathe