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Harbor Freight 5 Speed Bend Top Wood Lathe

8K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  jobott 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
After having taken a pen turning class at the local woodworking shop, I am in the market for a small lathe to turn pens, short spindles, and smaller bowls. I work full-time (as a teacher, not a woodworker) and have three small girls, so I don't have the time or the shape to warrant the purchase of something large. At the woodworking shop, we used Jet mini lathes and they were great, but they have a price tag. I know that HF is not the best, but I am a light duty home-shop owner. I have the HF 3hp dust collector and have it centrally installed. Since I run it less than 6 hours a week, it handles my needs very well. I expect that the lathe will also get the same kind of light duty. The Jet lathe is a little over $400, while HF has a very similar model in their store for $199 and I have a 20% off coupon, making it around $160.

Does anyone have any experience with this machine? or advice?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
I looked up this lathe on the HF website, and it appears to be the exact same lathe Rockler sells under the name "Excelsior". I bought one a while back, and I've been very satisfied with it. To tell you the truth, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the Jet mini lathe is basically the same lathe, made by the same company in China.

I say "go for it"! But be prepared for two things:

1. Turning is addictive.
2. The lathe itself is the smallest part of the investment. You will soon be spending a lot of money on turning tools, chucks, etc.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the help. My wife reminded me that my August birthday is around the corner and this might be something for her to get me. I think I will go with the HF. Clones are OK in my book as I am not planning to turn this into my career and everything is a budget job.
 
#8 ·
Mike,

Got caught up in a couple of other projects. When I checked at the local HF in June the lathe was on sale for $180 and the 20% off coupon could be added to it. Of course, I wasn't ready at that time. I checked the price two days ago and the sale price is off. It is back to $219. I have plenty of things to keep me busy, so for now I am going to watch the lathe and wait for it to go on sale again. If you see it drop in price, shoot me a post.

Justin in Loveland
 
#10 ·
Well,

It took a long time, but Santa shoved one of these in my stocking at Christmas. About two weeks ago, I finally had time to set it up and get the supplies to turn some pens. Charlie, you were right the lathe was a great price on sale and using 20% off coupon. Then I turned around and bought a face shield, pen turning starter set, finish, sand paper, micro grit, pen parts, a few blanks, more pen parts, more pen parts….. you get the idea. I am having a blast!

My next question for anyone with this lathe or the excelsior or Jet that it seems to be cloned from, what chuck would you recommend. i need one that is easy to use and safe.

Thanks
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
I also have one of those lathes. It's also the same as one of the Penn State Ind. lathes. I got my extension bed from Penn State.

I was planning to get a Penn State chuck, but I just noticed Woodcraft has a very similar one on sale for $75.00. The Penn State comes with free extra jaws, but also shipping costs; I have a local Woodcraft store.

I got a drill chuck that fits the lathe's tailstock from Harbor Freight for $8.00. This is useful for drilling the center of parts held in the headstock.

Enjoy your new addiction.
 
#12 ·
HI Justin,
While I don't have this particular lathe, The type of chuck you use is dependent only on the thread of your motor spindle. If you have a 1 inch thread for example, then you need a chuck that comes with a 1 inch insert and so on. Some chucks are sold without the insert and you buy the insert you need for your particular lathe separately. Woodcraft has a basic chuck on sale right now for $75 and you can choose the size for your lathe. I use a Nova chuck for my full size and mini lathe and bought the inserts needed for each one. Check out the different type of chucks as well. A scroll chuck uses a key of some type to open and close the jaws, whereas the basic chuck uses 2 bars moved in opposite directions for that. Both work well, its just a matter of ease of operation. One other thing to keep in mind is the weight of the chuck. On a mini lathe you should use a lighter weight chuck as the power of the mini lathe will not support a more massive chuck for larger turnings. Good luck and have fun.
 
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