# Shop Fox midi lathe, Seems to be a winner



## dbhost

Nice write up! Glad you are happy with your new lathe… Now for the expensive part…

Turning tools, chuck, sharpening rig, mandrels etc…


----------



## peruturner

Check the new PSI 12" vs is a horse and pretty good lathe,friend just got one (in peru and it run almost 1000 us with duty)but it beats delta not by much but runs really good,Im thinking of getting one myself,my2cents


----------



## RUINTUIT

jred. I've had this lathe for about a year and a half. I've turned up to a 9" bowl from it, made lots and lots of pens, spindles, and other LWTs (Little Wooden Things). This lathe is an absolute great lathe to learn on and keep. I have upgraded it with one extension so I could make canes and glad I did. Was tough to get the two pieces aligned and bolted up initially, but I'm a little stubborn and refused to turn it over.

I use a PSI Utility chuck on this lathe, along with their larger cole chuck. When I got my Nova 1624, my wife asked when I was going to sell the Shop Fox (too much stuff in "her" garage. That question was promptly ignored, as I'm hanging on to it for these reasons.
1. LOW cost
2. HEAVY
3. RELIABLE, haven't broken a belt yet 
4. Quiet
5. Accurate enough for some intricate work including lidded boxes and items I needed to get "just right" 
6. More than enough power for it's size
7. Very EZ belt changes and one of the lower speeds in it's classs for non-round blanks

CONS
1. The plastic adjustment screw handles tend to slip eventually, but easily replaced

That's IT….I'm hanging on to it!!

Enjoy, and what you heard is right about the cost of the tools. Save yourself some time and get the EWT tools, they make cutting bowls and pens nearly a 1 tool adventure. I'm sure you can try one at the local woodcraft store.


----------



## JRed

Update: I received the missing parts and agree with Ruintuit that the plastic adjustment screw handles that hold the tool rest are pretty flimsy. Before they arrived I had been using bolts and an allen wrench and will probably keep using them rather than the plastic handles. Maybe i'll weld the wrench to the bolt…. anyway, I also got the live center in and was suprised to see that it had no point in the center of it, just a hollow hole that ran the entire length of the piece. I've never seen one like that before. not a huge deal since I already bought the other one but I wonder if this is a type of live center i'm not familliar with or if it is defective.


----------



## RUINTUIT

jred. There is a silver piece (the point) that should be in the tip. Your's is obviously missing. I lost mine sometime ago, and just went to my local store and bought a PSI live center. The diameter of the hole is pretty small, so not sure why they made it a separate piece at all. Also, I've seen higher quality replacements for the plastic handled tightening screws, can't remember where though. Again, enjoy.


----------

