Harbor Freight Lathe

[lowell holmes]

Is it an good? I am just curious.

[David Eisenhauer]

Hang on Lowell - You went from making round legs for a bar stool with planes and stuff ("don't want a lathe anyway") to this. Are you sliding further down the slippery slope? say it ain't so.

[Brian Henderson]

Some people like it, it's a beginner lathe at best and won't do what the better and more expensive lathes will do. Can't really say more because I have no personal experience.

[lowell holmes]

No David, I was just curious why it exists.

[Bill Bukovec]

They are good if you use it a few times and realize the woodturning is not for you. If you get hooked, then start looking for a better lathe, you may have wasted your money.

[Jim Becker]

Owned one...it was my first lathe. It didn't last long for me functionally because of it's limitations in weight, power and swing. Fine for general, occasional spindle work, but it's not a good machine for bowls and other larger objects. It exists because HF makes good money on it, particularly from beginners and others who don't have the support of a great forum community like this. :)

[Art Moore]

Which HF lathe are we talking about? I have the 10x18, and it works fine for what I need it to do, which is miniature spindles and parts (with the occasional pen thrown in for good measure).

[Marvin Hasenak]

The Harbor Freight lathe 34706 is a clone of the Jet 1236 and has good reviews on the penturner forum. The Jet 1236 parts fit the HF lathe. It is not a bowl lathe, but a good spindle lathe.

[Chris A Lawrence]

The Harbor Freight lathe 34706 is a clone of the Jet 1236 and has good reviews on the penturner forum. The Jet 1236 parts fit the HF lathe. It is not a bowl lathe, but a good spindle lathe.

I currently have this lathe and have no problems turning 12 inch bowls on it. I have even turned some 14 inch platters without issues. Yes it only slows down to 600 and something rpms but i wouldn't consider putting an out of balance log on it. I have 3 years on this one with countless non spindle turnings and no major issues. If i knew then what i know now i may have put the $400 towards a higher priced lathe but i dont look at this purchase as waste of money. Currently i am saving up for a bigger lathe the power head of this one will be turned into a variable speed disk sander.

[Frederick Skelly]

I have one Lowell. It works fine for the occasional thing I want to do. I paid around $150 for it in great condition, used. Well worth it for when I want one.

Fred

[Bruce Jones]

I turn w this lathe and I have no troubles I make all types of projects here's a few to show what it can do.

[tom martin]

Nice work Bruce!

[Glenn C Roberts]

I kinda think the skill of the turner has a lot to do with it. I started on a Shopsmith and blamed it for all the catches, vibration, etc. Bought a Nova and quickly learned the problems weren't with the machinery.

[Bruce Jones]

I kinda think the skill of the turner has a lot to do with it. I started on a Shopsmith and blamed it for all the catches, vibration, etc. Bought a Nova and quickly learned the problems weren't with the machinery.I agree Glenn that's what I was trying to show Lowell I bought a few chucks from PSI drive & live centers and a set of tools and you can make most anything you can think up.

[Jim Becker]

I kinda think the skill of the turner has a lot to do with it. I started on a Shopsmith and blamed it for all the catches, vibration, etc. Bought a Nova and quickly learned the problems weren't with the machinery.
Yes, it's absolutely true that skill will enter into the equation and a skilled craftsman will generally be able to get great results, even with tools that are not top of the line. The HF lathe works well for within it's capabilities and cost point. What it lacks is size, mass, power and speed adjustability at the low end, and no matter what the skill someone has, those things will at some point catch up. It's likely sweet spot is spindle work for furniture and other smaller turned projects. I'm speaking as a former owner of this particular tool. Similar machines from other names, such as the Jet already mentioned, have similar limitations. It's not so much about the vendor...

[Bruce Jones]

Lowell for the money starting out this is a good lathe; the other thing I forgot to mention was I built a ply box into the bottom of the frame of my lathe filled it w/ 500 lbs of sand bags or you can bolt it to the floor or both; I was then able to turn large logs after balancing them between centers. You'll want to keep the belt clean and check it on a regular basis, I still have the original belt on mine coming up on 4 years old. I thought I had a better photo of the base but you can see some of it here in this photo.

[John K Jordan]

No David, I was just curious why it exists.

I think the reason it exists is the reason almost every thing for sale exists - so someone will make money.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

there is nothing wrong with the HF 12 x 34 lathe within it's limitations. The cost at $319 minus the 20% off coupon is about 1/3 the cost of the identical lathe with the decal Delta or Jet on it. For those working on little Pen lathes, the HF offers so much more elbow room. It is too light for some off center turning. It is not indexed and has no speed below 600rpm. A member of my club managed to turn an 16 inch platter on his. (However, he used a router mounted on the lathe and hand turned the blank until it was fairly balanced before using the 600 rpms.

I have two HF 12 x 34 lathes. They are great for spindle work. For bowl work, they have limits. I had two minor issues,( both my fault) that necessitated replacement parts. Other than taking 15 minutes on hold to reach a live person, the customer service was great and I had my parts in less than 6 days. The prices of the spare parts were quite reasonable compared to other companies I dealt with. ( A part for my ford farm tractor costs more than it's weight in silver)

[Mel Fulks]

No David, I was just curious why it exists.
Is the cucumber bitter? Cast it aside! Are there thorns in the path? Go another way! Do not ask why such things exist.
Marcus Aurelius wrote that as "note to self". I find it to be good advice

[Carl Civitella]

Depends on what you want it for. Heck, they have lathes in the $800 range, with a few gadgets on it, so this plain Jane will do the same thing if variable speed does not bother you and such. Carl.

[Bill Splaine]

How times have changed. Someone gave me a stack of woodworking books from 1999 and 2000. The 12" lathe was $129 and the 14" was $139