1/2hp 40 Inch 4 Speed Power Wood Turning Lathe 14x40 In

[ My original post from February 2011, is now followed by Update September 2015. ]I'm getting ready to set this up for for the sole purpose of making cylinders with a router running across rails above the lathe. (I make children's blocks for a living.)Just a word of caution:1. The instruction manual does not include any mention of connecting the two parts of the lathe (but otherwise the manual is pretty useful).By looking at the motor mount, I guessed that the proper order is Bolt > Black Spring Washer > Steel Washer > Lathe Parts > Steel Washer > Nut.2. Because of the plates attaching the two halves of the lathe, there is a zone where you cannot anchor the sliding live stop. This means that you cannot work on anything that measures 17 inches to 19.5 inches (unless you mount or glue it to an extra block of wood).3. The unit arrives with the belt on the slowest speed (which is where most people would start to rough out a piece), but the motor is mounted loose, so you'll need to loosen the two bolts to let the motor slide down a little to increase the tension. Remember, you need to make sure that the belt defects to hand pressure about 1/2 of an inch, per the manual. Then, in order to change the speed, you have to open the box and unbolt the motor to lift it up to move the belt. For most woodworkers, this would be a nuisance, but it's not too much more work than other manual speed changing lathes I've used.I only need my lathe on the slowest speed, or I use it completely turned off, so going into the box to change the speed is a non-issue for me.[ Update from September 2015 ]Over the past 4 and a half years, I've used this lathe to turn and sand several hundred unit block cylinders from Hard Maple blanks, keeping the lathe speed fixed in the slowest position. This puts a lot of strain on the top pulley (see photo #2) which finally failed yesterday. I am starting my hunt for a replacement pulley...Also, note that it is vital to mount the beast to something solid (like the two sheets of 3/4" plywood I used) and add a brace (mine is steel; see photo #4) to keep the middle from bending *if* your work piece is longer than about 18" or less.

This is definitely a budget lathe, but it is built sturdily enough that I'm not expecting to find frame fatigue for many years. The access to change the turning speed is a little awkward (bolted side panel), but it's as easy as shifting a belt on pulleys. The design overall is very simple. This means that the user must be very careful about aligning centers and positioning, or it will be easy to throw off balance. I'd like to see better teeth on it, but for a budget lathe, I really can't complain.Pros: With patience and extra care to keep the centers aligned, it turns wood very well. The design is very simple, so maintenance and adjustment will also be easy. The frame is quite sturdy, and it has bolt holes to support mounting to a stand or bench. The main frame is two pieces, allowing it to be run either in its full length or in half length.Cons: The tool rest design is poorly implemented. The screw keeping it from rotating is constantly coming loose, so I regularly have to adjust it to keep the tool rest in the desired orientation. Although the frame can be shortened to fit in smaller spaces, the end caps prevent the tool rest and end stop from being easily moved from one side to the other. This means that for switching large to small lengths or vice versa, you have to almost completely disassemble the lathe in order to use it.Overall: It seems to be a good tool for the price. It's good for beginners or someone needing a lathe on the cheap, but lacks many of the features and smooth flow of operation you see on the more professional lathes.

I really like this. I am a beginner with the lathe and it is helping give me practice at a price I could afford.The only reason I bump it down to 4 stars is because for the life of me I cannot figure out how to adjust the speed. The instructions try to tell you to do this or that, but the pictures in the instruction manual do not match up with what I see in the machine. It hasn't mattered to this point because I have only been practice rough cuts, but I hope maybe someone responds to this to help so that I can get that figured out (I have done extensive web searches to no avail).

Cheap Cheap Cheap, made in China .... But I love it as it is just what I wanted. WHY? Well I have a special need, I want to turn 53 inch long spindles for the making of Paraguayan Harps. It is hard to find a wood lathe with this much between centers and I do not favor splicing the Pillar because it affects the sound.On the lathe, NO Morse Taper and No standard threads, the Live center and Face Plate can not be replaced. Some reviews have stated that they have stalling problems, it is not the 1/2 HP electric motor that is the problem, it is the undersize (and unique) V-belt. I estimate that this V-belt can only couple 1/8 HP and is going to be a real maintenance/replacement problem. Reworking the 40 inches to 55 inches was not a problem. I would like for the manufacturer to provide accessories like a "steady rest" and replacement parts like V-belts and Live Centers.Yes I would recommend this lathe. If you can get it for $95 it is a bargin.

I haven't used a lathe in 40 years, so this is a good starter lathe. It has many limits though, you can't adjust your tool rest into a lot of positions, it's a pain to manually change the belt speed, but it has let me get much more comfortable with using a lathe. I'm glad I bought it.

I have to agree with the previous reviewer. this lathe is very cheaply made, and has several design/function issues to work around. However, if you don't have 300+ bucks to put in to it, this is the least expensive one I have found, and I did a lot of looking. If you are looking to use it for light duty hobby type stuff, it works OK. I don't like the fact that to change speeds the belt has to be switched manually, and the tool rest only has a very limited range of adjustment. But as I said, you get what you pay for, and my budget couldn't handle a higher quality model.