Harbor Freight Tool Lathe

[Steve Jensen]

I discovered Harbor Freight Tool today. Wow, that place is basically a grown man's candy store. I picked up a few small sale items for my new shop and noticed they had a cast iron lathe (12"x36") with 10 speeds and a rotating head for $279. That included a stand, it wasn't cast iron but it was sturdy. The lathe, including the color, looked almost identical to the Grizzly I've been eyeing without the cast iron legs only cheaper.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34706

I turned a few bowls in high school woodshop and loved it. At that price, I can see myself having a blast. My question is, are the power tools at Harbor Freight complete junk? Or, is this a wise choice for a guy who is trying to put a shop together starting with nothing (okay, it does have a drill press :-) ? I like saving money but I don't want to be disappointed.

[CPeter James]

I would look at Craig's List for your area and I'll bet you can do better than that. I had a Delta lathe like that - for two weeks - before I sold it and bought something else. The variable speed drives on these have some problems. I bought mine for $150 used and fixed the broken drive before I sold it for $250 and thought I was lucky to escape.

In my area, New Hampshire, there are at any give time, a half dozen or more lathes listed on Craig's List or other classified ads and I am sure your area would be the same.

CPeter

[Steve Jensen]

Yeah, I did that and there are only three in the OKC area. One is $700 and the other two kind of junky.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Steve...Check to see what morse tapers are used on it. If it's odd sized you'll have trouble getting tools that fit it. Also if you buy one make sure the points on the drive center and the live center line up exactly.

If you do an advanced search here with HF lathe as the subject you can probably find some articles with reviews of the same lathe.

Good luck!

[Brian Kent]

Harbor freight tools are generally crudely made. I have bought many items there, but not when I need great precision. With that in mind, I like the place a lot (in a selective sort of way). I'll watch and see opinions by anyone who has tried their lathes.

[Jim Becker]

The 34706 is one of the (few) HFT tools that folks generally like. It's pretty much a copy of the Jet 1236. (which in itself is a copy of "something" from way back when) This lathe is a "standard" 1" x 8 tpi spindle thread and MT #2. Speed is controlled by a Reeves Drive. (must be running to change speeds) While it's supposed to be 3/4hp, it's not a powerhouse and the stand is pretty light-weight. It's fine as a beginner lathe, but IMHO, one of the brand-name mini/midi lathes are better buys in the long run. Oh, it also routinely sells for $149 or $179 on sale...do NOT pay the full $279 price if you decide to buy it.

Yes, I owned one of these lathes and it was serviceable. But I outgrew it pretty fast, especially in the power department...it had trouble swinging 10" + material when the cutting got ornery.

[CPeter James]

How about this one?

http://dallas.craigslist.org/tls/315759596.html

Add a VFD to convert the 3 phase to single and have a real variable sppe machine or change the morot to a single phase. Looks like a school machine.

CPeter

[Bernie Weishapl]

Steve if I were you I would go with the Jet Mini or the Rikon Mini. The Jet mini is on sale now on for $184.99 on Amazon. The Rikon sells most times for $250 or less if on sale. The Rikon will turn bigger bowls up to 12". Actually I have turned on 11 3/4" on mine. Then when you want to upgrade to a big lathe do like I did and most others do keep the mini. I definately don't think you can go wrong with either of these. Just my $1.298.

[Steve Jensen]

How about this one?

http://dallas.craigslist.org/tls/315759596.html

Add a VFD to convert the 3 phase to single and have a real variable sppe machine or change the morot to a single phase. Looks like a school machine.

CPeter


Thanks Peter, I'm only a beginner and the less than $300 tag was appealing. Also, I'd prefer to not drive to Dallas. Thanks for looking.

[Stephen Hibbs]

I have the lathe in question, and it's pretty good for the sale price (like 170). I bought it because it was the same price as the minis, but with a stand. The stand's not amazing, but it hasn't buckled on me, and you could easily make a new one or use sandbags to weigh it down. It's fairly underpowered, but I've turned a wet 10"D blank on it without much problem, you just need light touches. The tail stock doesn't line up perfectly either, but for bowl turning it's not the end of the world. I recommend it on sale if you really want to keep the price tag low, but I suspect the grizzly is quite a bit better from it's stats and what I hear, but that comes with a price. I've had it over a year, and I stall it plenty and treat it pretty poorly and it still runs well. That being said, the minis are pretty nicely made, and probably last longer. Just don't buy it full price.

[Steve Jensen]

Jim, I think I'll go down there tomorrow and ask when the lathe goes on sale again. I've read here that some folks have gotten a deal even when an item wasn't on sale.

I looked at the Jet mini lathe but it ends up actually costing more when you add on the legs and shipping.

I'm excited. I hope I can get a good deal on it. If not, it should be on sale soon from what I understand after reading other posts about HF.

Thanks for all the help. This place is simply awesome!!!

[Steve Jensen]

I decided against the Harbor Freight model, spent a little more and ordered a Grizzly G0462. I searched the forums here and realize it has a high minimum speed of 600, but so does the Harbor Freight lathe. Doug Whitson who owns the Grizzly presented the pros and the cons of the machine and I decided I would be happier spending a little more for my beginning lathe and get this model. Thanks Doug.

[Corey Hallagan]

Congrats Steve on the new lathe. Bet yah cant wait! Post pics when you get her all set up!

Corey

[Bobby Perry]

If you could wait for a month Palmgren is going to be putting there 15" lathe back on sale at Amazon. I got mine for $298 delivered to my house. I have had a few problems but after talking to them this morning they are going to send me a complete new lathe. Also you didn't hear about the sale from me :D

[Joe Melton]

I would put an ad in the local Craigslist that I want to buy a lathe and see what pops up. There are many lathes gathering dust in basements and garages.
Ask and ye shall receive!
Joe

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

You can currently get a Jet Mini or Rikon Mini for $199.99

While a little smaller, much better lathes, for the money.

Just MY personal opinion.

Bruce

[Bobby Perry]

If you could wait for a month Palmgren is going to be putting there 15" lathe back on sale at Amazon. I got mine for $298 delivered to my house. I have had a few problems but after talking to them this morning they are going to send me a complete new lathe. Also you didn't hear about the sale from me :D
Just got a call from Palmgren They are not sending me a new lathe. They are going to send me a headstock from a Craftsman lathe because they are out of the headstocks for Palmgren lathes. They also told me they didn't have any 15" lathes at this time but will have some in a month.

[Steve Jensen]

Congrats Steve on the new lathe. Bet yah cant wait! Post pics when you get her all set up!


Yes Corey, I will post some pics. It arrives tomorrow at 5:30pm and you're right, I can't wait :-)