Torque

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The most prevalent physics of lathes is torque. Torque is the force that causes a tendency for an object to rotate. It is how hinges and doors work and how we loosen and tighten bolts and screws. For a lathe, torque is used to turn the workpiece in the chuck. Torque is also created when the tool is run into the workpiece.
Torque is created by applying a force on an object from a distance, like a wrench or a door handle. When you push on the wrench to turn a bolt you hole the wrench at the end because it creates the most torque. Torque is calculated by doing the cross product of a position vector and a force vector and has units of N*m's or ft-lbs.

T = r x F