HF becnh top lathe./

[Dennis McGarry]

I have read a few reviews on the bench top lathe that goes for 199.99 as it is close to the excislor from rockler, but what about the 129.99 one..
8" x 12" Bench Top Wood Lathe http://images.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/95600-95699/95607.gif

Top quality benchtop lathe is ideal for crafts, hobbies and professional detail work.


750-3200 RPM variable speed for precise control
1/3 HP motor
Comes with #1 Morse taper head and tail stock
2" and 6" face plates, 4" and 7" tool rests


110V, 60 Hz, 250 watts; 3/4" drive spindle, 16RH thread
Weight: 44 lbs.

Anyone have any input on it? Cant afford the 199.99 one even with the 20% off, but can pull of this one, by selling my lcd monitor.

I really need to get back to turning as just sitting here doing nothing is driving me nuts!

dennis

[Craig McCormick]

I read a short review on rec.crafts.woodworking. The guy said it was very under powered, but would be fine for pens and other real small projects. Other than the lack of power he was happy with it.

AZCRAIG

[Dennis McGarry]

Went and looked at it today, not worth 50 bucks in my opinion.

The taper isnt a mt1, as it claims, lot smaller.

Looked at the 179.99 one and am going to try to find a way to get that or keep looking at Cl for one..

[William Powell]

The HF 34706 will be available in early May for 199. It's the Jet 1236 clone. Considered by some to be a HF gem. I plan on getting one as well as their HSS ash handled lathe tools. That is if my local store has one. You can get the coupon at harborfreightusa.com.

Not sure what you want to turn but it may be worth saving a little extra money and waiting.

[Bryan Morgan]

I have the old version (I got 3-4 years ago, the black one) of that lathe and it was awesome. It much smaller than the Excelsior (which I also have). Mine is definitely MT1. I don't use it anymore because the Excelsior speed control died and I replaced it with the control from this little guy.

I picked up the variable speed Excelsior (same as the PSI, very similar to the Jet though worse fit and finish) at Rockler for $150 (when the normal 5 speeds were on "sale" for $250). I thought it was mislabeled but I asked and it wasn't. I snatched it up before anyone else could.

[Dennis McGarry]

Thanks, I am thinking of scrapping the funds together for it.

Next question will a 5" grinder work to sharpen the cheap 10 dollar tools from hf?

Cant afford the HSS ones yet, and they have a 5" grinder for 25 bucks.

I am figuring get a basic setup and make a couple of the Irish bog oak pens with the navigator kit and sell em fast, then upgrade with the profits. I get around 175 to 250 a pen with that combo and there is a Irish boutique near here that loved em..

[cody michael]

the 10 dollar tools aren't worth one dollar. i'm poor and cheap and wasted my money on them :( the full sized one they recommended is what i have got a one or two full replacement warranty and out the door 200$ and its a very decent lathe. i would not buy the little just because of how much it would limit you

[Bryan Morgan]

the 10 dollar tools aren't worth one dollar. i'm poor and cheap and wasted my money on them :( the full sized one they recommended is what i have got a one or two full replacement warranty and out the door 200$ and its a very decent lathe. i would not buy the little just because of how much it would limit you

I agree with you on the cheap tools... I got them too... I guess they are ok to learn to grind but the steel is so poor they dull very quickly. Their HSS tools are pretty nice. I use them as much or more than my Sorby tools.

The grinder should work but get a nicer (white) wheel for it. The grey ones are a little rough and will grind away those cheap steel tools pretty quickly. I sharpen mine on a Worksharp but thats not a cheap device.

Good point on the smaller lathe too. I got it and it worked great for making pens but inevitably you'll want to turn bigger things and this little guy just won't do it. The bigger lathes are nicer and you can get bed extensions if you want to turn longer things like baseball bats or whatever.

Heres the small one next to the bigger one...

148306

[Dennis McGarry]

I agree with you on the cheap tools... I got them too... I guess they are ok to learn to grind but the steel is so poor they dull very quickly. Their HSS tools are pretty nice. I use them as much or more than my Sorby tools.

The grinder should work but get a nicer (white) wheel for it. The grey ones are a little rough and will grind away those cheap steel tools pretty quickly. I sharpen mine on a Worksharp but thats not a cheap device.

Good point on the smaller lathe too. I got it and it worked great for making pens but inevitably you'll want to turn bigger things and this little guy just won't do it. The bigger lathes are nicer and you can get bed extensions if you want to turn longer things like baseball bats or whatever.

Heres the small one next to the bigger one...


Thank for the input. I know the tools are crap, used them on my first lathe, a few years back. My plans for this one is to just use it for pens to get some made to sell then upgrade all the tools again. I am not new to turning pens. But had to sell the complete workshop about 6 months ago. Jet lathe, dp, ts, etc...

So I am just looking for something very basic and cheap for a setup. But it will be waiting somemore. i figure with what i am able to scrap together i am still about 200 short for what I need.

But thanks for the response anyway, didnt think of how fast the cheap ones dull, forgot that part, so will be including the hss set again from hf when i get it. Those were nice..

[cody michael]

if you just making pens you might be better off buying just a spindle gouge i think you can get a benjamin best for like 20$ and used the money you saved to buy nicer lathe, then sell some pens to buy set.

[Dennis McGarry]

Might be true, but I use a gouge to rough out the blank to round then use the skew for the rest..