Rikon Mini Lathe

[Bob Henry]

Has anyone have one of these? I would like to know any pro or con's with the lathe. Thanks for any help.

Bob

[Keith Spaniel]

Bob, I have one I bought from woodcraft, had problems with it. i took it back they gave me another one, it had problems, took it back they gave me a jet VS took it home and tried it out ..wasnt happy at all with it compared to the Rikon , took it back got another Rikon. I had some slop in the head stock took it apart and it needed a bearing clip. called rikon they sent me some new free parts fast.. I like this mini lathe so much, i would do what ever to keep it .. THANKS WOODCRAFT
Changing the speeds are real easy and fast, I even twist the belt if I want to go back wards. I had it for two years and use it 2-3 times aweek.. I noticed that the other mini;s had a small door to change belt to pulleys, it looked to small to do it fast and even with the VS the belt had to be changed for a different range...I have only used the indexing pin to remove my nova chuck.. I thought this to be the best mini other than a Nova which was about $800.00
This lathe does all I need it to now,some day when I retire I would like to buy a big lathe . Keith

[Dale Gregory]

Hi Bob, welcome to the "Creek". If you do a search in this forum you will find lots of info. on the Rikon Mini and everything else related to turning. I bought one as my first lathe and it is what pulled me into the vortex. Now I have a full size Jet 1642. I think it's a great little lathe, great for pens and I've turned a 10.5" bowl on it. It will do a 12" in rough form. My issue on mine, although I heard early models had a few problems that Rikon must have worked through if you are looking at a used one. For the price new, you can't beat them. You will probably get a lot more opinions, that is what is so neat about this forum, great bunch of guys. Since this is your first post, how about filling in your profile so we can see what part of the country your in .

Dale

[Bernie Weishapl]

Bob I have one along with my Nova DVR. I haven't had a dimes worth of problems with mine. For $250 I think it is the best bang for the buck. I just put a bed extension on mine. I really like it and the 12" swing.

[Tim A. Mitchell]

Bob, have had mine for a while and love it. 12 in capacity, easy, open area to change speeds, and runs smooth and true.

[John Cooper2]

Got one on sale @ woodcraft awhile back for $199.00,,,,

Buy it you will not regret it.

[Keel McDonald]

I've had mine for a year now, and no complaints. I would highly recommend it!

[Benjamin Dahl]

I have one as well and really like it. no problems to date and I would recommend it 100%.

[David Peno]

My Rikon mini lathe is 14 months old and has had no problems to date. Never had anyother lathe so I have nothing to compare it to, but I love mine.

[Gary Kvasnicka]

I got mine for Christmas, so far great.

[Don Wood]

I have had a Rikon for about 18-20 months now and just love it. The off/on switch went out on it about 6-8 months ago, I called Rikon and they sent me one free of charge very quickly.

I went throught a period where I had to replace the belts very quickly, they kept breaking. Went through about 3-4 belts in 3-4 weeks. Evidently there was a bad batch, because once I got my next batch of belts all has been fine and I have been on the same belt for about the last 12 months.

The speed is easy to change since the belt is very accessible.

It has been a great lathe. I use it probably about 20 hours per week making pens.

[John Landis]

I've had my Rikon for about two years now, and am quite pleased with it. Only complaint is that the belt cover rattles, which is a bit annoying

[Mick Zelaska]

I've had my Rikon for about a year. Turned several bowls and a few baseball bats and lots of pens. Thinking about a larger lathe but will undoubtably keep the Rikon for the smaller turnings.