Harbor Freight Mini lathe

[Dave Lehnert]

Any experience with this lathe? at $189 plus a 20% coupon would make this lathe affordable to someone an a budget.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=65345

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/65300-65399/65345.gif

[robert hainstock]

Hf seems to want to clone Jet lathes. It is a solidly built unit from the look, but HF usually downsizes some features on thier clones. for instance thier version of the Jet 1236 does not have Indexing or a handwheel. At $189.00 Vs $449.00 it certainly is worth considering. I have a Jet 1220VS, and a HF version of the 1236 Jet. Both five me good service. Good luck with your selection, and we want to see pictures. ;):)
Bob

[Gordon Seto]

Obviously this is the clone from 1014 (not 1220). But I don't understand why HF has to increase the minimum speed from 500 to one and half time at 750 rpm. Fast is not better in this case.

Edit: Overlooked that this is a #1 Morse Taper. Probably it won't be 1" X 8 tpi spindle either. This is not the clone from 1014. The current mini lathe standard is #2 MT. I would look into a used mini of known quality if budget is tight.

[Mike Ramsey]

I've seen this as low as $99 on sale at HF. Big issue for me is MT1, nothing I have would fit it, or I would have considered it for pens at
$99.

[Brian McDermaid]

It looks just like the PSI 'Turncrafter Pro' (http://www.pennstateind.com/store/TCLPRO.html)...
http://www.pennstateind.com/graphics/400px/TCLPRO.jpg

My guess is the HF model uses a different motor due to the speed differences (500-3200 vs 750-3200)... but who knows.

I actually own the Pennstate Turncafter Pro and IMHO its a great midi lathe for the price. I would recommend it over the HF model simply for support and piece of mind (All for the same price).

edit: looks like the HF has a MT1 vs the Pennstate having a #2MT... another plus for the PSI.

edit of my edit: Looks like Grizzly has one too...
http://www.grizzly.com//images/pics/jpeg500/h/h8259.jpg

My guess is they use the same frame but diffrent quality parts... probably out of the same factory in china.

I'd still go for the PSI version :)

~Brian

[Bill O'Conner]

Just checked the grizzly and bottom rpm 826 even faster than the HF lathe didn't give spindle size or mt taper. For the price I would check with woodturningz.com on the pennstate lathe might be able to get you a few bucks off

Bill

[robert hainstock]

Obviously this is the clone from 1014 (not 1220). But I don't understand why HF has to increase the minimum speed from 500 to one and half time at 750 rpm. Fast is not better in this case.

Edit: Overlooked that this is a #1 Morse Taper. Probably it won't be 1" X 8 tpi spindle either. This is not the clone from 1014. The current mini lathe standard is #2 MT. I would look into a used mini of known quality if budget is tight.

I would point out here that the HF 34706 "looks like", the jet 1236 has an entirely diferent spindle assembly. But those castings on the HF 65345 are most likely the same as the Jet 1014 castings. :)
Bob

[Bernie Weishapl]

The speed at 750 and the Mt #! would turn me off immediately.

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Having seen this one, it is nothing more that a wilton with a different paint job.


I have a Wilton boat Anchor. I bought it to do little things when going to shows. It only weighs about 48 lbs. Has just about enough torque to do a pen. For anything else it stops!

MY personal opinion--------------- save your money till you get 350.00 and buy the Rikon 70-100, or 400.00 for the Jet 1014. Both VERY GOOD priced mini lathes.

Bruce

[Scott Conners]

Rockler has a sale on the 1014i for $341.99 on Feb 21st & 22nd. It's a heck of a good little lathe, and with the bed extension I've turned 4"x4"x39" pieces for poster beds with no problems. Bolting it to a good heavy stand makes a world of difference!

[Greg Narozniak]

I actually own the Pennstate Turncafter Pro and IMHO its a great midi lathe for the price. I would recommend it over the HF model simply for support and piece of mind (All for the same price).

My guess is they use the same frame but diffrent quality parts... probably out of the same factory in china.

I'd still go for the PSI version :)

~Brian

Ditto, I have had my VS PSI model for some time and it has turned everything I have thrown at it. I did the research and found it was the best value out of all the other brands.

[Don Hoosier]

My wife gave me the Turncrafter Pro variable speed for Christmas 2008 and right away I had problems and found Penn State very difficult to work with. After a month of back and forth I finally got a handle on it. The problem lies in the reset switch on the back of the variable speed box. Once I got over that learning curve I turned 300+ pens, 30 bowls, some mallets, gavels and a plethora of other things. Frankly, if its stationary around here I may grab it and put it on the lathe. LOL BTW: If you purchase this lathe and have problems do not call the number in the manual. Instead call 1-877-774-5431 and speak to Mark ( www.psiwoodworking.com ). He's the guy in charge and knows how to get stuff done. Penn State has 2 different websites and the main site ( http://www.pennstateind.com ) is a real pain as far as support goes. One year later, and I'm getting ready to order the bed extension and move on up in size of the stuff I'm gonna turn. I wish Penn State offered a reasonably priced motor upgrade for this lathe, like maybe 1 or 1.5 horsepower. 1/2 hp is kinda lightweight as far as I'm concerned.

[Dave Mcintire]

I looked at this machine in the store. It says MT1 but its not - its a 2.

[Mauricio Ulloa]

Hi,

I have two of these lathes. I've been doing pens with them for a while. They are not for heavy duty use. I mean, they have a small motor (I believe it is 1/3 hp) driven by an electronic card. So the speed is controlled electronically instead of using pulleys. In my case, I burned out one of them trying to turn a mini bowl in pine wood.... So, they are not intended for heavy work.

They are MT#1, but you can find pieces for it easily. If you are looking for an inexpensive way to have fun doing small things they are OK.

When I decided to do pens and small bowls in a more professional way, I bought a mini Jet 1014.

[Bill Bulloch]

Anyone in the Atlanta area considering this lathe should PM me. I have a used Jet 1014 in pretty good condition that I'll sell for $125 or trade for a 12 inch disc sander like the Harbor Frieght 43468-0VGA.

I upgraded this mini to the Delta 46-460 three months ago, now I have three lathes and can afford to let this one go.

[Bryan Morgan]

I have one of those small variable speed Harbor Freight lathes and a variable speed Excelsior from Rockler... I've had the HF lathe forever and its always worked fine. The Excelsior lathe is an "upgrade" but get this.... The Excelsior speed control fried (its the same as the PSI speed control) and I tore the guts out of the old HF control box and wired it up to the Rockler lathe... Works great and seems that the rpm range is a lot wider. The RPM range sticker doesn't match anymore but who cares, it has an RPM readout on it anyway.

[Thom Sturgill]

There was a thread about a new lathe that PSI is introducing, $400 for a 1hp 12" midi. (http://www.pennstateind.com/store/TCLC12VS.html)I bought the Jet 1220VS about a year and a half ago because it was the biggest midi on the market. Now we have this and the new delta sporting 1hp motors and lower bottom speeds. I am thinking of buying this one as a small upgrade. (until I retire and build my shop or otherwise get 220v)

[David Hostetler]

The lowest speed of 750 rpm is a bit problematic, but other than that, I know a couple of guys that have these lathes. They seem okay, especially if you can grab one on sale. They sometimes go down to $99.00 on sale...