Mini-lathes and micro-lathes are miniature versions of a general-purpose center lathe (engine lathe). They typically only handle work of 3 to 7 inch (76 to 178 mm) diameter (in other words, 1.5 to 3.5 inch (38 to 89 mm) radius). They are small and affordable lathes for the home workshop or MRO shop. 

As found elsewhere in English-language orthography, there is variation in the styling of the prefixes in these machines' names. They are alternately styled as mini lathe, minilathe, and mini-lathe and as micro lathe, microlathe, and micro-lathe.