Pennstate Midi Lathe

Thanks for the review. Do you have it bolted to your bench? With the extension do you plan to keep it on your bench?

-- Just 'cause a cat has kittens in the oven, it don't make 'em biscuits.

I have the variable speed version and am pleased as well.
Try not to over tighten the Mandrel as I did, It tends to
bend it out of true and makes for a wobbley turned pen.

I will try a bowl I think, any Idea what the limit would be on this thing?
For a bowl in inches, width wise I mean.

As for the capacity, the manual says 10” diameter. I haven’t turned a bowl yet, but a small one would work i’m sure.

-- San Diego, CA US Navy

I have this lathe and will say for a starter lathe it works great. I paid $188 for mine with free shipping from amazon. I have done small turnings- spindles, bowls and made a bunch of saw dust and chips. the only real problems I have had are when setting it up I bolted the extension bed on and it did not line up the best. A little filling and sanding is all it took. Also this weekend I noticed my dead center was slipping in the head stock some. I have spent alot more on accessories for it than I spent on the lathe itself. mine is bolted to the stand I made for it.

-- Jim in Cushing Oklahoma

One thing to keep in mind with lathe bowl capacities, is that it is a measurement from the center of the spindle to the top of the bed…not to the top of the tool rest banjo. Sometimes you can position the banjo at an angle and get more space, but sometimes you can’t get it out of the way totally. Another thing to keep in mind is that the closer to the max capacity you get, the lighter the cuts you have to take. More aggressive cuts will cause a 1/2 hp motor to bog down.

-- Billy, Jacksonville

Thanks for the review

I bought the same lathe, but I got the variable speed and I also got the entension table. Great lathe for what I’ve used it for. A little unhappy with the joint/fit of the entension bed. You can read my review here

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I’ve been looking at this lathe and it’s variable speed brother. I’ve used several different mini/midi lathes (the Jet Mini and the General 25-100) Didn’t have to much trouble with a small bowl, just had it stal the motor out so I had to go slow. Also, and this seems like a no brainer but, keeping your tools sharp will help keep from bogging the motor down. Good luck, have fun and play safe.

Here’s my review of the General 25-100 (http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/491)

-- "At its best, life is completely unpredictable." - Christopher Walken

I got this lathe in the pen turning starter set as well. After using it for a while I’d say it is a decent, inexpensive lathe.

PSI also offers the VS motor by itself, if you want to add it later, took me less than an hour to upgrade mine and well worth it!

-- Tim D. - Woodstock, GA

It looks almost identical to the Steel City one that I have with one exception the location of the
power switch. Under $200 I have not used mine yet except for a few test scraps.

-- Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati