Lathe Question

[Nick Fournier]

Hello all, I'm currently turning on a Shopsmith and have the opportunity to pick up a Craftsman Professional Variable Speed lathe (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921715000P?prdNo=4&blockNo=4&blockType=G4) for a few hundred dollars. I can't find much information on this lathe, so do you guys think it would be worth it?

I'm struggling to find information on spindle size, morse taper, etc.

Thanks.

[Brodie Brickey]

Nick,

You're lathe is listed in the link below along with most other lathes currently available in the USA.

http://www.woodturner.org/resources/LatheSpecs.pdf

My father has this lathe and its not a bad lathe. There is a lot of swing to work with, but it isn't really sturdy/heavy. As a result you'll need to anchor it to a sturdy workbench.

One of the largest issues with lathes over 10" swing is whether the motor has a slow enough rotation to safely turn a larger bowl. This lathe does slow down to ~250 RPM which makes it one of the few under $900 that do.

In my experience this lathe only has a couple issues:


A lot of the housing is plastic.
If the lathe hasn't been run for a while, the belt can form itself into an oval and then you need a new belt to have it run smoothly.
You'll have to deal with Sears for part replacements.

In conclusion, its worth a couple hundred but not more than that.

Here's a link for maintenance of the lathe: http://aroundthewoods.com/lathemaintenance.html

Good luck.

[Roger Chandler]

This lathe is mostly cheap junk, and because Sears is no longer carrying their own brand of lathe [Craftsman] increasingly you will find it hard to get replacement parts. This lathe is manufactured by Palmgren,Inc.

I owned a Craftsman 15" variable speed lathe, and when the parts broke on my model a 351.217170, I could not get parts from sears, any other place on planet earth, so I ended up making scrap metal at the recycle yard with it.

While the model you have shown has a reeves drive, it has been known to give constant problems, and maintainence of this drive mechanism is really important, and I have heard others mention it eats belts.

I would go with something else altogether, if it was my decision.....just my humble opinion based upon what I know, and what I have heard about this craftsman model.

[Duff Bement]

There is an old saying that goes around every time someone asks a question like this. Find the best lathe you can afford and buy the next one better.:eek:

[Bernie Weishapl]

I had one of those lathes when I first started. I wouldn't give 10 cents for one. I had mine for about 1 yr or so bought brand new. It was being fixed more than I turned on it. There always was a 4 to 8 week delay in getting parts. Belts cannot be purchased from anywhere but Sears or Palmgren and they are darned expensive. I sold it to the scrap metal place because I just couldn't sell it to anybody else. Just my $1.298.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I had a Sears lathe, although not that model. The parts/quality concerns are what I did not like either. IMO I would look to buy a used Jet, Rikon or Delta mini/midi. The Jet mini was a huge step up from the Sears, even though the Sears was bigger, longer and more powerful. I would pass.

I feel your pain with the SS, I have one too.

[Jim Podsedly]

The Palmgren was my first lathe. I had issues with the headstock so they sent me another one. Well, it was frustrating using the lathe so i upgraded. See the picture of what my two headstocks serve as now. :D

[Nick Fournier]

Okay, based on this feedback it looks like I'll keep looking. Thanks everyone.