Rikon mini

[Lizzy Thompson]

anybody have trouble with the Rikon? I have less than 2 hrs turning time on mine and the motor started grinding, and is slow to turn. Woodcraft is replacing it tomorrow, but I want to know if I am getting a lemon or are they usually pretty dependable?

Thanx,

Lizzy:confused:

[Ron Ainge]

Lizzy
I recently spent about 4 hours turning on a new lathe and I do not have a very high opinion of the lathe. I had to stop and fix the lathe 6 different times while I was workin on it. The problems were minor ones but I didn't think that I should have had all the problems on a new lathe. I have a Jet VS mini and to date (over a year) all I have had to do on it is tighten the drive wheel on the tail stock. I hope the next one they send you will be better. I think that Rikon has a few bugs to work out of there product and I hope they do it before they ruin there reputation.

[Bob Noles]

Lizzy,

Nothing I have read from other owners so far on the Rikon mini, has been favorable.

I think Rikon may have released it in a rush before it was ready for market.


Edited....
Please allow me to define my comments. I certainly don't mean to take away from the lathe or those who own a good one without problem. I only wanted to pass along that I have seen several negative posts on other forums about the early models of this machine. The problems may have since been fixed and I truly hope so as Rikon is a great brand name overall. It is not my wish to offend anyone or any brand as that is not me. Only want to pass along the experience of those who have commented.

[Chris Barton]

Bruce Shiverdecker has one and has gotten good service so far I believe. I have no first hand knowledge on the Rikon but, have noticed several posts regarding quality control issues. Woodcraft should make everything right for you.

[Keith Christopher]

I have the Rikon Mini and I love it. It is working well. The only issue I had was an issue with the tail stock locking, but I found it was me not the lathe.


Keith

[Bob Yarbrough]

I've had one for about 6 weeks, several hours of turning, had never turned before. I'm pleased with the purchase, only problems have tended to be operator error. Compard to the jet at Woodcraft, I bought a rikon lathe and 10 inch drill press for the price of the jet.

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

I'm Sorry you had problems, Liz. I'm glad both Rikon and Woodcraft are taking care of you. All manufacturers can get a boo boo now and again. It's how they take care of it that matters.

As to mine. Got it up and running last week (I think.. no memory any more) Been cranking it from slowest speed to full out and other than the fact that when I used the knockout tool on the tail stock, it knocked out the replaceable center pin instead of the whole live center, and my stupidity problem. It's worked fine. I haven't turned it on YET with the indexing pin locked down!

Bruce

[Lizzy Thompson]

Of course When my DH (the Engineer) got home I cried on his shoulder for a minute and he went out to look at the lathe...He came back in a few minutes later and told me it was all fixed. The allen screw holding the drive pully on the motor spindle had backed out and the spindle was spinning, but not the wheel. Took longer for him to find an allen wrench to fit the screw than it did for him to actually fix it. All is right with the world again:D

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is great news Lizzy. Glad to hear all is well. Now make some woodchips.

[John Hart]

I feel a need to chime in a little... I've been in the manufacturing world for about 15 years now and have seen a common theme. You can make a good product and put all the necessary engineering, materials, and precision into making it....but it is the individual inspection steps along that process that really add up the cost. Companies will do a risk assessment, saying that they can skip certain steps of inspection because things usually work out fine if the final assembly works. This saves them money...lots of it. Then they can sell the final product cheaper and appeal to a market that doesn't want to spend a boatload of cash on something. The successful companies back this philosophy up with the attitude that they will bust their butts to correct any malfunctions that may occur. This Customer Service is key to their success. From what Bruce says,Rikon and Woodcraft both subscribe to this philosophy.

Despite the loose screw Lizzy, it sounds like you invested well. It's great that hubby was able to get you back on line right away!:)

Ok...Chiming out now.:rolleyes: