your opinion on this lathe?

[Benjimin Young]

I came acrross a local for sale ad for the following. I am looking for an inexpensive entry level lathe and thought this might fit the bill.

Your opinion would be greatly appreicated.

Ad.
INDUSTRIAL 4 SPEED PORTABLE 40' WOOD TURNING LATHE
Construction - Headstock, tailstock, foot, tool rest base and tool rest of heavy cast iron. Bed is of heavy steel tubing.
Headstock . The outboard end of the drive spindle can also be used for large turning and is threaded ¾.16 left hand. The pulley system and motor are mounted to the headstock.
Tailstock - Slides along the full length of bed and clamps positively at any distance from drive spindle. The ram has a hand wheel advance of 2 3/8 inches with positive lock and is fitted with a No. 1 Morse taper

Frequency - 60 Hz
Maximum Length Of Cutting Feed - 40 inch (1000 mm)
Max. Diameter- 14-1/4" (365 mm)
Height Of Cutting Tool- 7" (178 mm)
Motor Power- Single Phase 350 Watts
Spindle speed- 4 speeds
Turning Capacity - 356mm (14 inches) max diameter over bed. 1000mm (40 inches) max between centers
Pulley system - 4 speed V belt
Spindle speeds - 1100, 1600, 2300, 3400 rpm
Motor - 350W, 1400 rpm, AC 110V, 50/60 Hz

[Jim Becker]

RUN...don't walk away from this thing. Lowest speed is 1100 rpm...fine for pens but not safe for anything much larger. Underpowered. Light weight. Nothing "industrial" outside of the marketing name. Nope...save your pennies. That's my honest advise.

[Andy Hoyt]

Man! I hate it when Becker is right.

But this time he is.

[Steve Schlumpf]

I agree with Jim - don't even consider it! Keep looking - you'll find something.

[Bill Boehme]

If it costs more than $5, then it is overpriced. It is guaranteed to kill your interest in woodturning.

Bill

[Matt Wachter]

I have that lathe and I can tell you don't buy it.
Officially, I'm still shopping for my first lathe.

[Bernie Weishapl]

The scrap yard man gave my brother $9 for his for scrap metal. Don't even think about it. Not when you have Rikon, Jet mini or Delta midi's out there. Save your pennies and get one of these.

[Benjimin Young]

Thanks for the great candid advise. I will not waste any more thought on this one.

Ben

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Benjamin.....You got some pretty savvy advice about slow speeds. I have a Jet Mini VS. It's slowest speed is 450 or 550 rpm IIRC....When I put a 9" bowl blank on that's out of balance....it's WAY TOO Fast! Causes a lot of vibration and wobble. 1100 RPM.........That could kill somebody!

[Lee DeRaud]

Man! I hate it when Becker is right.

But this time he is.With 17500+ posts, it had to happen sooner or later.:D :cool:

(Tee it up a little higher: I didn't get a full swing at that one.)

[Randy Meijer]

.....Lowest speed is 1100 rpm...fine for pens but not safe for anything much larger.....

Not sure that is even true. Can't be sure; but the thing appears not to have a Morse taper in the spindle. That could make turning pens a real headache. My take is that it might be OK for turning spindles or you might set it up as a buffing station; but bowls and pens are probably out. Could be useful if the price is right and you have a specific need??

[Jim Becker]

Randy, there are a number of ways to put a mandrel on a lathe...the MT isn't required, although quite frankly, desirable from a convenience standpoint!

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Doggone..............................Jims right twice in the same thread. :p

The world must be comin' to an end!:eek:

And what's worse................................I have to agree TOTALLY with him!:o

WTG Jim.

Bruce;)

[Glenn Hodges]

You have gotten some very good advice. Listen very very carefully, never, never buy a lathe with a low speed like this for bowl turning. You are inviting death to your home. I wish the people selling these things would be held accountable for their actions if they claim they can be used for anything. You would be much better off building your own treddle lathe.

[Randy Meijer]

Randy, there are a number of ways to put a mandrel on a lathe...the MT isn't required, although quite frankly, desirable from a convenience standpoint!

Fully aware of that, Jim. That is why I said a "headache" rather than "impossible."

Scroll chuck
Beall or other collet chuck
Jacobs chuck
Screw-on type mandrel
Home made jury rig using a face plate
And probably one or two others that have slipped my mind??

[Paul Engle]

Everything everybody said, this " tool" will make you crazy.....:eek:

[Keith Burns]

I'm going to offer a different point of view on this lathe. This unit can be had for about $60 on ebay. Add another $30 for a cheap set of tools. Now for an inexpensive lathe to learn on and actually see if you want to turn, it's not bad. I started out on one like this and learned to turn, but more importantly, if I had determined that I didn't like turning, I was only out $100 less whatever I sold it for. You can turn spindles and pens on this lathe as well as faceplate mounted small bowls. If you are sure that turning is right for you then I would go ahead and get a good mini, but if you're not sure, this is a viable option in my opinion.

[Randy Meijer]

This might be a good choice for you.


48" Record lathe


Chuck and other accessories


Speeds: 515-755-1120-1645-2420


9.5 amps(1.25HP±)

eBay auction #140062628043


$100