Choosing Lathes

[jayingalls]

So here's the story, I'm looking for a lathe that will be affordable yet do the jobs I ask of it. I looked at all of the name brands from all venders available. I found a Lathe made by Harbor Frieght 12"x 33-3-8" . If you look closely it replicates the famouse Jet which cost over $1200.00, however the HF is $317.98 including the same warranty as there competitors. So the question remanes " Is a lathe a lathe that is a lathe as long as you buy the extra warranty"? Please any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

Jaybird

[Vic]

Just my opinion, but I never buy anything I expect to do heavy duty work from HF.

[Sac]

I am with Vic on this one. I think that if it is something that you are serious about that you should take the time and do the research on which one is right for you. Generally nothing good really comes out of HF. That is just my "Personal" opinion. I know that several other people like their stuff. I like to know that when I get a tool, it is a quality one and npot one that is crap and that I am going to have to replace sooner than later.

[billboard]

I'm not familiar with HF products. My first lathe was a very cheap no-name brand from ebay. Although it did get me bit by the turning bug, it did break in just over a year. I bought a better lathe. I am also slowly replacing all my cheap tools with better quality ones.

[woodcanuck]

I'd say it depends what you plan to do with it. I started with the cheapest lathe I could find and it worked pretty well for me (it's now up at the cottage and still working) but I found I needed something a little bit more solid. I went to a woodturners guild and asked them what I should look at as a hobbiest (I turn somewhat regularly, but nothing super complicated or intricate). They told me, of course, to get the most expensive lathe I can afford. Their #1 choice all around was Oneway....cha-ching $$$$$.

I ended up getting a Craftex (off shore, rebranded) which looks just like a number of name brand lathes but at about 1/2 the price. I'm not going to suggest that this lathe is 'as good' as those lathes, I'm sure they have better fit and finish and probably better components, but it works more than fine for what I do with it and it's a darn lot heavier and more accurate than what I had.

I looked at the HF one you mentioned and I think it's basically the same as the one I've got, just painted differently. I've had it for just over 2 years and I've turned a fair bit of stuff on it without any trouble. I haven't experienced any run-out either, so it's pretty accurate. The only upgrades I made right off was to replace the center in the tail stock and buy a Oneway chuck.

Good luck.

[jwatson]

i would keep an eye out for one of the lathes made in the 1950s they had heavy castings and were pretty solid plus you can save a few bucks. check out CL for deals on them.

locally here is an old delta

http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/tls/1874989836.html

not a bad price just have to get tools. lathes get expensive no matter what. once you get the lathe then if you didn't get basic tools then you have to get tools. what kind of lathe work do you plan on doing? that's a factor in your spending as well.

[Ben H]

We bought that little mini that rockler sells for my father in law for x-mas last year. If it's your first, thats a hard lathe to beat....$250.00??? As far as the HF lathe goes....you get what you pay for.

[Lawrence Brown]

Harbor Freight tools are always a gamble. Be aware that on things like the lathes you will probably have problems with the bearings. They have to take a huge amount of stress, and even a little wear in the bearings on a lathe is going to give you problems. On the other hand, I'm finding that a lot of things that are now carried by the more reputable wood stores are coming from the same exact assembly line in the same plant as what Harbor Freight gets.

I touched on this a bit in my other post here a minute ago, but I bought my first lathe from Harbor Freight, but with the caveat that I KNEW going in that it would probably end up being junk, but I was very specifically just looking for something cheap to play with. It was also one of the very few times that I purchased an extended warrantee. It was only a little bit more, and the one thing Harbor Freight has going for it is that they will pretty much take anything back for pretty much any reason. And yes, I really did work that warrantee, but knowing what to expect of it, it was a good investment.

The important thing here is defining very carefully what you expect of it. If you just want to learn and realize you will be upgrading later, then sure, go for it. If you expected it to be your main workhorse and depend on it for an income, I'd say keep looking. Even on the little one I got, I ended up doing some extensive modifications, like regrinding the bed and talstock keyways, upgrading the spindles, and so on, but again, I enjoyed it as another learning experience.

My recommendation would be to start watching craigslist. That's where I got a couple of mine, and with the amount you are looking at spending on a new Harbor Freight lathe, I think you can get a much better used one off craigslist.

Oh, and on a final note, when I picked up that lathe from Harbor Freight, I also bought their set of turning tools just as a starter set. Got them home and discovered that I could bend their "high speed steel" in my hands! Ya gets what ya pays for...

[Ben H]

Oh, and on a final note, when I picked up that lathe from Harbor Freight, I also bought their set of turning tools just as a starter set. Got them home and discovered that I could bend their "high speed steel" in my hands! Ya gets what ya pays for...

That brings up a good point. Many folks forget the knives are just as important as the lathe. Also, many folks also don't know that when it comes to turning, the lathe is the cheapest part of the tool list. You can easily surpass the cost of a good quality lathe with all the accessories one needs to turn....just about anything.

They don't call it the vortex for nuthin'. If I had to give advise for buying knives, I'd say buy only a few select ones. You can produce great work with a few knives. Things such as a skew, gouge (rough&bowl), parting knives will get you going great.

[minorhero]

Ok, here's a tip about harbor freight, they sell a lot of crap (as others have said), but they also sell a lot of good stuff as well. Case in point, this lathe. Harbor Freight does not own too many factories overseas. What they do is go to places already making tools and ask them to make the same or slightly different tool for them and put their paint job and stickers on it. The companies agree and harbor freight has a new tool to sell.

What a lot of folks don't know is that companies like grizzly and jet do the exact same thing with many of their tools. In this case the harbor freight lathe IS the Jet lathe. I have seen this before so it is not terribly surprising.

How can you be sure? Well go to their respective websites and download the product manual for each tool. Scroll down in the product manuals till get to the exploded drawing. Notice how the exploded drawing is identical for each tool minus the "JET" sticker on the harbor freight version? Then go to the parts list. Notice how the parts are listed in the same order? The only differences in the tools appear to be that the harbor freight version uses metric screws while the jet one does not. I'm willing to bet that the harbor freight is an older version of the same tool.

I'd say your better off paying less then half price for the harbor freight version. If you really like that white paint job, just pick up a can or two of spray paint. I've repainted a quite a few tools when rebuilding them, it is not so hard.

Happy turning.

[PeteJr]

I recommend you look for a good used lathe not from HF.

[Wayne_K]

If I may.... If you want to turn bowls from green wood, seriously consider an electronic variable speed lathe. Yes you will spend over $1500 but it is well worth it. Go with a known brand, if you decide to resell it, you should have no problem. Customer service is also much better to deal with.

Turning with a reeves drive or stepped pulleys will limit you to small items and spindles.

Green wood is typically always off balance and very difficult over 500 rpms.

On a budget check out Grizzly lathes.

Just my thoughts

Wayne

Columbia, MD

[dvoigt]

The Grizzly G0698 lathe is the next on my list. 18" swing X 47" length, with a $1300 price tag sounds just about perfect to me. I was starting to save for a PM3520, but I can pick up 2 of the grizzly's for the cost of that, and I doubt I'll miss the extra 2" of swing at that diameter. But if I did I could always slide the head stock to the end and pick up a outboard tool rest...

[Wayne_K]

Check out the jet 1642, which is the model grizzly is copying. It has a wider stance and uses 110 v vs 220 v. I own this lathe and am extremely happy with it. Don't get hung up on hp ratings, they are not true ratings. 16" bowl on the jet is no problem. Quality through & through. More $$ but well worth it.

Wayne Kuhn

Columbia, MD

[dryhter]

So here's the story, I'm looking for a lathe that will be affordable yet do the jobs I ask of it. I looked at all of the name brands from all vendors available. I found a Lathe made by Harbor Freight 12"x 33-3-8" . If you look closely it replicates the famous Jet which cost over $1200.00, however the HF is $317.98 including the same warranty as there competitors. So the question remains " Is a lathe a lathe that is a lathe as long as you buy the extra warranty"? Please any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

Jaybird

---

I am 56 and working wood for over 30 yrs, and if I had to do it over again I would always buy used.

Especially a lathe.

[jayingalls]

Thanks to all who posted on this subject, your opinions and thoughts are well apreciated. I decided to purchase the HF lathe due to the fact that I am just starting out and would like to get my feet wet first before jumping in and possibly getting in over my head. Since I'm going to be turning pens, bowls, and vases, I'll be trying a number of ways to find what fits me. I figured that if this gets me interested that will be all I need to get me started, then I can save up or use the moneys aquired to purchase a much more expensive piece of machinery. Thanks again for every comment and opinion posted, I'm sure I will have turning questions for all to comment on as I learn, since there are no stupid questions in woodworking I will need the input.

Jaybird

[jwatson]

what turning tools do you have? I would definitely say stay away from the HF turning tools. several companies make affordable sets with a variety of the common tools. I have heard of a few people that have bought the HF tools only to have them not stay sharp. the steel they use for some reason doesnt hold an edge very well. most of your money will be spent on tools and not so much the lathe.

a basic set will be;

roughing gouge

parting tool

spindle or bowl gouges

skew chisel

maybe a scraper.

[Jherndo]

I just bought a referbed off-brand lathe for $100 this week. Like you, I'm just starting out in turning and since I have no experience with it I didn't want to blow $1000+ on a machine and then another $300-500 on tools and accessories. My personal plan, and what I'd recommend after my research into it, is to take some of the money you saved on the actual machine and spend it on good quality tools/accessories that you'll be able to use even if you eventually replace the cheap lathe.

What I'm told is that your more likely to have problems trying to use cheap tools on an expensive lathe than good tools a cheap lathe. So, the machine likely won't last you till your 90, but at least by time it goes out you'll already have the bells and whistles for the good one you buy next!

[Geffre]

I agree in buying used. You can get a great lathe (like a delta, a jet, or even something better if your lucky) by checking out the used pages. Many turners like to upgrade and they sell the old lathe to come up with the cash. You can also pick up a great deal if you can find a package deal that comes with tooling. Chucks and good chisels can get expensive. If you can get a lathe and the tools for $300 or less, that is a great deal.

If you want new, look at the Jet mini. It may say mini, but it can still turn a whole heck of a lot of wood. I turn have turned for 7 years and I prefer my mini for many projects (especially for beginners). I know if I get a catch, I am not going to get impailed by flying shrapnel. The Jet was considered the best of the best for a while and you can pick one up for under $350 with a bed extention.

You can also look at Rikon. They have a great mini for right around $300.

Happy hunting.

Geffre

[cowchaser]

Whatever you do, do yourself a favor and make sure it has a #2 MT on both ends and not #1.

[Lawrence Brown]

Yeah, it's a bit hard to find all but the simplest of accessories in mt#1. Trouble is most of the really inexpensive lathes tend to use that taper.

[dhall]

Whatever you do, do yourself a favor and make sure it has a #2 MT on both ends and not #1.

What does the MT# mean?

[minorhero]

What does the MT# mean?

Morse Taper.

This refers to the shape of the tool that fits into the lathe. Most lathes use Morse Taper 2 but some come in other varieties. You can't use a Morse Taper 1 chuck in a Morse Taper 2 lathe, etc.

[dvoigt]

Whatever you do, do yourself a favor and make sure it has a #2 MT on both ends and not #1.

Excellent point. I have seen a few people fall into that unknowingly and be limited in their upgrades.

My little Midi lathe work great for 95% of what I do... I just want to turn bigger bowls, and it would be nice to have a larger HP motor.

[Lawrence Brown]

Yeah, my little Harbor Freight special that I bought to play around with had MT#1, and now that I have a decent Delta I have to replace some of the pieces. Luckily the chuck I bought had inserts for the different tapers.

Oddly enough, my largest lathe, which is a nice '50's Delta, has #1 tapers, so the headstock is a bit wimpy. But like you said, they used to be designed for spindle turning and weren't expecting you to want to put a 12" diameter hunk of wood on it.