Craftsman or Rikon Midi Lathe ?

[Clarence Martin]

Is one brand of Midi Lathe better than the other ?

[Bob Bergstrom]

Never seen a Craftsman lathe that was worth owning. Rikon has to be better. The mini is good for the price of it.

[Roger Chandler]

I used to own a Craftsman lathe........it broke a gear shaft and I could not find a replacement part anywhere on planet earth! I looked for months, even tried to have a machine shop fabricate one..........all to no avail. Sears seems to have numerous things made under their craftsman label and then support at times is a crap shoot.

You will be far happier getting a lathe from one of the known vendors of woodworking tools and can have service, parts and support over the years............I know from experience! The old saying is true........you get what you pay for! Go cheap and you will regret it every time almost!

I would recommend that you try to find a woodturning club and send out a message that you are interested in a good mini lathe and see if one of the turners has one they might be trying to sell and upgrade to a bigger lathe.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Ditto what Roger said. I had a c-man lathe and it was junk. Had it maybe a year and was broke more than it worked. It went to the metal pile after no parts available for it. I also owned a Rikon and it was a good little lathe. My nephew still uses it today and really likes it.

[Jim Burr]

If those are your only choices...Rikon

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I also started on a c-man lathe. I turned on it for years. I never finished any bowls, since the lathe had so much flex in it. I just thought it was me. Very frustrating. It's kinda like driving a Yugo, and not driving another car. You just don't know what a piece of junk the car is until you drive a Cadillac. The Rikon midi is a good lathe. I would not tell anyone to use a c-man lathe, even if it's free. Hope there's not any Yugo owners here, I apologize.