New Lathe (Gloat)

[Kurt Aebi]

Last Saturday, I went over to Albany, NY to the Harbor Freight Retail store. I wanted to look at their T34706 Variable speed lathe (it looked very similar to the Jet 1236 in their catalog and nearly 1/2 the price as well) to see if it was decent or just plain junk. Well, in my opinion it was decent and also was on sale for $188.95; so I bought it. Since I am an evening and weekend woodworker, it will fit my needs rather well. I bought the 2-year extended warranty as well, since the motors from China are always suspect.

Anyway, I assembled it on Sunday and with the day off Monday, I made 5 pens with it. I also tried out my new PSI scroll chuck and bottle stopper screw chuck and they run rather true on it, so I should have a good learning lathe to get started with. (A friend of mine has a vintage Delta lathe in storage that he said I can have for free [no motor] when we can get to the storage building later in hte spring)

Well, anyway, I know that HF gets a bad rap at times, but I think I did quite well to get a lathe that I can turn some bowls on for under $250.00 including the extended warranty and tax. I think I will enjoy this lathe (I know it isn't a Vega, Jet, Delta, Powermatic, Oneway or Stubby - but it didn't cost me an arm and a leg to figure out if I like to turn things other than pens or bottle stoppers either!) and if it turns out that I'd like to try bigger stuff it will give me an excuse to do more tool shopping! :D

Below are a couple of pictures of my new lathe!

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Kurt,

Congrats on the lathe! It looks like you got yourself a good deal. The pens are proof that it will do the job well!

Even if you upgrade, it would still be nice to have the HF lathe around for pens and such.

Jeff

[Jim Becker]

It's what I started on....

Do add as much weight to the base as you can if you plan on doing any non-spindle work...bowls and vessels can easily throw the machine around when you start out unbalanced. And one other thing, like all Reeves Drive (VS Pulley) systems, you cannot adjust the speed if the machine isn't running so be sure to remember to put it at the lowest speed at the end of the day so you don't have a "surprise" the next session.

[Karl Laustrup]

Congrats on the lathe, Kurt. Hope it serves you well. :)

Did you wave as you went through Center Brunswick, that's assuming you went via Route 7?

[Kurt Aebi]

Karl, I sure did wave - I hope those friends of your's saw me! :D

Traffic wasn't bad either. They have had Rt 7 tore up for about the last 4 years or so and it looks like they are pretty much finished. There is a new by-pass around Bennington. It takes off of US Rt 7 before bennington and cuts across to Hoosic. It makes it that you don't have to go through downtown Bennington anymore.

[Ted Shrader]

Kurt -

It makes the wood go 'round and you can piut a tool up to it. What else do you need.

Have you thought about adding a ballast box between the legs?

Ted

[Bill Esposito]

you cannot adjust the speed if the machine isn't running so be sure to remember to put it at the lowest speed at the end of the day so you don't have a "surprise" the next session.

Oh that's how come that happens :) :D

[Bill Esposito]

Kurt,

Good luck with it. I had the 1236 and it's a very good lathe for the $ IMO.

Put a plywood shelf on those strechers and load it up with sand bags. I used the "tube" sand that walmart sells. 70lbs for about a buck fifty.

[John Shuk]

Nice score on the lathe. My friens has one and he is very happy with it. he does nice work and has had it for a few years now. He doesn't feel he's outgrown it at all. I wasn't aware that there is a HF store in Albany. Is it new?? Where is it? I'll have to take a ride.

[Barry Horner]

Hi Kurt,

I am new to this forum as of today. I just ordered the same lathe from HF can't wait to get mine. Looks better than I thought it would. It looks like a dead ringer for the 1236 if you ask me. Hope you keep us updated as to how it does. More pic's would be nice. Have a good one. Barry

[Kurt Aebi]

John, The store is new, it is on Rt 5 just off I-87 in Colonie. It is on the main drag a couple of miles towards Schenectady. The store is well stocked and the staff is rather friendly - in fact, they helped me pretty much disassemble the floor model to look at the inner workings before I bought it. If you go to the HF website you can check locations of their retail stores and get better directions.

[Jim Becker]

There may be a few minor differences from the Jet 1236, but nothing major...after all this particular lathe design has been around for eons. Jet didn't invent it. The one I had was equipped with a slightly undersized tool rest base so the 6" rest I bought (a Jet coincidentally) wouldn't go in the hole. A few minutes with a file and sandpaper took care of that. I also had to replace a few fasteners and the bolt/handle you use to fix the toolrest height an orientation. Like any new tool, check things over carefully, including checking for the spindle to tailstock accuracy by putting your live center on the tailstock and a drive center in the spindle and bring them together. With the tailstock locked down, the points should meet "exactly". If not, you'll need to shim the headstock to fix it. (I don't recommend rotating the headstock ever on these machines, both for this alignment thing and because the machine is very lightweight)

[Barry Horner]

Well as far as turning goes I am as green as some of the wood used on bowl blanks. I have only been turning for about 8 months on a real cheap lathe. I ordered this lathe with the intention of turning some bowls. I also like to do rustic wood working so some of the raw wood can get a little heavy.

I am not sure what Kurt is going to do with his, but I plan on installing some 2x4 or 4x4 runners (depending on the height) then silicone them to the garage floor. I want to build a shelf in the middle and add some weight as in sand bags.

My concerns, as mine is still on order, is the structural integrity motor and quality of the bearings. I am sure they must have cut costs somewhere in building this lathe.

When I know this is something I will stick with over time. I will get into the 2,000 dollar + range….. Anyway thanks for the input it is very helpful. Is there anything else you notice that concerns you about this model? All info is appreciated. Thanks.

[John Shuk]

I know right where it is. Hmmm....Honey we gotta take the kids to the see my brother in Albany!

[Mike Ramsey]

Hi yall, new here. I have the same HF lathe, I bought it to turn ( try to turn) mostly
bowls. I seem to have a problem with the motor coming to an almost stop with only light
pressure trying to turn a 6" bowl. It took several hours to get it done. Anyone else with
this lathe have this problem.

[Ernie Nyvall]

Congratulations on the new lathe Kurt. Like Jim wrote, add some weight. Mine weighs about 300 lbs and with the first bowl, I had to follow it around the shop while turning. I added about 450 lbs to it and and can now stand in one place.

Ernie

[Ernie Nyvall]

Mike, it doesn't seem like it should do that on a 6" bowl, so I am wondering if it is possible if it is just the spindle coming to a stop because the belt is too loose. I have a lathe with the same system of pulleys and the belt doesn't squeel when it slips. I had the same problem as you and my first thought was "wow, I bogged the motor down" until I realized the motor was still running. I tightened the belt and everything clesred up.

Ernie

[Mike Ramsey]

Hi Ernie, yeah i did think of that and checked it but the motor is slowing. It's funny seeing your post about the walking lathe as mine did the same thing. :-) I have a friend that owns a motor rewind shop, i'm gonna send it down and let him see if he can Tim Taylor it!
I bought this wanting to get back in to turning, I haven't tried since the early seventies but everytime i look at my wifes buffet and see the bowl i turned in 1973 it has made me want to get back into it. You know, I don't think there is anything finer to look at than a beautiful turned piece of wood.
Mike

[Jim Becker]

Mike, I "started" this addiction with the 34706 lathe--which was fine for the money. I also experienced slow-down and stalling when I began to turn bowls. It was overcome somewhat, but not completely, by learning proper techniques and having sharp tools. But the reality is that the motor is not a strong performer in the torque department when things get large, even at the slowest speed which is where you should be for bowls, especially when your roughing them out. For that reason, many of my early turnings are 3" and less, including both bowls and hollow vessels. There was a lot of value in turning them, however, as I learned a lot in the process and confirmed my love of the spinny-thing!

[Mike Ramsey]

Hi Jim, I did think that the size of the lathe would be no problem for a 6x6 piece of
wood but I guess it might. After it was roughed it still was slowing even with sharp
tools that I did splurge for at woodcraft and with what I thought was a light touch.
But believe me i'm not giving up on it. I know that it has the potential to be a decent lathe. I do need to stabilize the base somewhat.


Mike

[Harry Thornton]

I am looking for a good entry unit. How much do you have invested at this point? PM me if you prefer.

[Mike Ramsey]

Harry, I have $179.00 invested in the lathe and $200.00 invested in a decent tool set from Woodcraft.

[Mike Ramsey]

Also i did buy a set of turning tools from HF but when i took a close look at them i decided to verify how much Life Insurance i had! Decided that i would be more comfortable with better set.

[Kurt Aebi]

Mike,

Make sure the pulleys line up with the Reeve's drive, mine were about 1/4" off when I got my lathe and I aligned them before I turned anything on it. Maybe that is why I haven't expreienced the motor shut down thing - except when I had a real bad catch.
It doesn't take much tangential force to create tremendous drag on the motor, especially with a Reeve's drive. I have had experience with metal lathes and drill presses with this drive before and 90% of the issues were with alignment, the other 10% with keeping the mechanism clean!

I have been using the real el-cheapo Harbor Freight turning tools that I got about 15 years ago along with the square tube - off ball headstock threaded spindle lathe that I used to have and as long as they are sharp, they work as well as the Sorby chisels that I presently also have. They require more frequent sharpening, but they are safe to use (unless you have a real nasty catch, then I don't think any brand is any safe!)

I hope this helps you. This lathe isn't a super heavy-duty machine, but should be able to handle a 6" bowl, since it is a 12" lathe. I had No Problems with the 8" poplar bowl I did on it, so keep checking it out, it may just be the setup.

[Kent Cori]

Kurt,

I have one too and have been pretty happy with it. I did add a 2x4 reinforced piece of MDF cut to fit below the horizontal struts and bolted it to the leges. I then put some sand bags on it for more weight. I also had to replace the cheap belt fairly quickly. You can get a replacement at about any auto parts place.

You'll like it as long as you don't want to do something huge. Mine has been well worth the $200 I paid for it. Just watch out for all those accessories. :eek:

[Mike Ramsey]

I have replaced the belt that was factory installed with a better belt and it's doing much
better, hasn't stalled once (today anyway) Went to woodcraft yesterday and bought a new grinder, it was 20% off. Anyone have any shop built shapening jigs for gouges
to share?