Lathe question.

[nerdy 0]

does anyone have this lathe or any experiences with it?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=3173

it looks nice, and a cheap way to get into turning my own topwaters and such. what is the biggest lure i can expect to make on this? also, will a bullet weight fit in there? thanks for your help guys.

[czar 0]

Nerdy

The distance between centers gives the longest bait you could turn with this machine (4inches), this would not be big enough for most users, I use a Canadian tire mini lathe ($150CDN) and it turns to 14inches long and 5 diameter whilst I never reach the max in either dimension I often turn 12 inch muskie blanks

[Lincoya 37]

Nerdy,

My 2 cents worth: Save your money and buy a lathe with a little larger bed. You will also want to consider a more common brand especially when you need or want accessories to go with it. A little more money spent now will save you a lot of frustration later.

Gene

[apb 0]

Check out Grizzly.com. I have one of their 8690 mini lathes (around $150). Has worked well for several years and hundreds of plugs. Pick up a couple of good turning tools (gouge and skew), a respirator for filtering out fine dust, and a full face shield and you will be ready to go. You are probably looking at $250-300 to get started, plus wood and plug supplies.

Andrew

[nerdy 0]

four inches is a little too small for my plans. this one looks better.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=36066

the only reason im using this site is because its a local chain around here and it would save me shipping costs. do the centers touch?

also, found this one too, which looks to be a better fit than the previous one.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=92519

[Volp1 0]

I bought a Jet Mini Lathe. You can sometimes find on ebay in your price range. As some have already said, buy the best you can afford. Here is an example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=42282&item=4380584739&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

I think there were four to pick from. Its a very nice tool and if your so inclined you can buy an extention to get a 36" work space. (Now thats a big lure! lol) Good luck!

Volp1

[Mallard 1]

The HF lathes are garbage. I examined the the smaller model in the store, it has nylon gears an very shotty construction. I also strongly considered a floor standing model from them but a friend when over the lathe with me and showed me the poor welds and weak metal they used. We found several of their floor models with defects or damage. I buy a lot from HF but I would stay away from any of their lathes.

I bought my lathe used from a friend who was upgrading. Woodworking guys are always upgrading and you can find quality used lathes in the $100 to $200 range. See if there is a wood turning group in your area and contact them about purchasing used equipment.

[nerdy 0]

thanks for the help guys. ill hopefully get one sometime soon. ill post some pics of my first baits.

[boatnik13 0]

I'd go with quality if $$$ wasen't the matter. Harbour freight is ok with some things but not others. I just got a mini air compressor for air brushing from H.F. for $69 or something like that and its the greatest.Now buy lathe tools from them and you'll be sharpening them all the time (cheap) like I do. I bought my lathe second hand (no knowledge of lathes) and it was a grizzly G9247 ( reg $129) for $50. It need a few parts I found out (tapper/stock)) and cost me $30 extra and grizzly got it from a supplier on the west coast. The original buyer Modified the lathe by removing the metal looking plastic casement and made them out of wood.Now it can't bind and brake like plastic will. So grizzly uses plasic parts! Just when I thought it was quality. It is now! I also got my calipers from H.F. and they work good for lathing. So its what you want > Quality will cost you. I see someone mentioned "JET' lathes > I couldn't afford them as a trial and era buy. Go to your header and put up Lathes and you'll get plenty of companies to check out. Its worth shopping for> locally or on line.

[Coley 8]

I have been using a Grizzly mini lathe for 3 years now.

It is variable speed with the twist of a knob.

I have not spent one dime on it for repairs or has anything

broke. I would buy another one. And the bed is cast iron.

Coley

[Terrydabassman 1]

I also have a JET 14" Mini Lathe and love it. All Cast Iron and varible speed.

[boatnik13 0]

Guess what I'm trying to say is just when I think I have a American made product >Its not or the parts are from other countrys like Harbour Frieght. It wasen't a knock on name brands in general.