Harbor frieght tools

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Richard Smith

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I was in a HF store todayand I was looking at the 12x36 wood lathe. I think it was copied from the Delta lathe with the rotating headstock. Has anyone had any exper. with this? How are the bearings?
 
A year or so ago I asked about the same lathe on another forum. Generally people thought it was decent, but didn't have a low enough low speed. Most felt that it was an OK starter lathe, but if you think you are really going to get into turning things like bowls you will outgrow it quickly. They felt that a midi lathe would be a better buy for that type of turning.
 
Richard, if you are talking about this one, it's probably not a bad lathe, but as was already mentioned, the lowest speed is 600 RPM. That is just too fast to start some bowls or hollow forms. It's not a bad speed once they are round and more balanced, but it can be very scary up to that point. It also appears to use a Reeves drive, and those can have their maintenance issues. My first lathe was a cheaper 14" HF model and it was crap. FWIW, HF has the Delta midi on sale for $199. Yes, it's only a 10" lathe, but I have one and love it. I gave that for mine used and still think I got a deal. You can get a bed extension for it if you want to turn spindles. JMO
 
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