Abstract: A hydrostatic spindle device has a housing, a hydrostatic radial bearing at each end of the housing, a spindle rotatably and translatably supported by the hydrostatic radial bearings, and extending through the bearings. A hydraulic motor is attached to one end of the spindle and a cutting tool or workpiece is attached to the other end. The interior of the housing comprises a cylinder in which a piston, fashioned integral with the spindle travels. Pressurized hydraulic fluid suitably introduced by an electrohydraulic servo control system precisely controls the translational position, velocity, and acceleration of the spindle. Hydrostatic thrust bearings at each end of the cylinder prevent the piston, when rotating, from wearing either end surface of the cylinder.