Wood Lathe Reviews

Welcome to Wood Lathe Reviews. I created this site to make it easier to find and purchase the lathe that’s right for you.

There several things that determine which wood lathe you should buy.

For instance, do you need a mini or full sized lathe, what accessories do you need, your experience level, frequency of use, durability, simplicity of use and of course, what does it cost and where is the best place to purchase.

If you already know which lathe you would like, the best prices always seem to be at Amazon and in almost all cases, include free shipping and no sales tax.

==>Click here to see the best deals on Wood Lathes<==

Wood Lathe Reviews

I have written lathe reviews on each of these brands below.  To go to a specific wood lathe review, click the link.

Jet Wood Lathe…….Delta Wood Lathe…….Powermatic Wood Lathe

I have been a woodworker for over twenty years now.  I am an experienced, serious woodworker and furniture maker.

My wood lathe reviews are based on my personal experiences.

I would urge you consider the following things before you decide to move forward.

What size lathe do you need?

As you probably know, you have two choices, a mini lathe or a full size lathe.

OK, what’s the difference?  The answer to that question besides several hundred clams is really what you intend to turn the most.  We are all pretty ambitious when we want to justify buying a new or better tool.

We say:  I need the bigger tool to cut all those table legs and super sized bowls I’m going to create!  When in reality, pens, small round boxes, small bowls and knick knacks are 99% of what we end up turning.

OK, I’m not trying to suck the life out of your dream of having a really nice lathe, just trying to help you really pick the best lathe for you…

Seriously, think through what you’ll really be turning and get the lathe for that purpose.

Mini lathes are great to learn and can still be used a lifetime.  Their only limitation is size of cut.

Full size lathes can cut anything but are bigger and sometime harder to use.

OK, now that I’ve made it even harder for you…

What features are most important?

I want a lathe that is smooth and has hardly any vibration.  Vibration or lack of is one of the main differences between cheap and well built lathes.  If I could impress anything upon you in this lathe review is that you get what you pay for here.

If the lathe is not smooth, the tools will dig into the wood, you’ll get chip out. Even your  good cuts will be jagged, you’ll sand a lot more and after a short while, you’ll probably get frustrated and the tool will gather dust.

Then you’ll have to explain to your wife why you stopped using that new tool you just bought and paid for that you just had to have…

How the lathe is attached (it’s really important to attach it to something sturdy) makes a huge difference in the amount of vibration.  If you can, use the manufactures stand because it was created to be used with that tool.  The design of the stand also helps absorbing vibration, as well.

If you have a sturdy workbench that is really, I mean really sturdy and doesn’t rock back and forth at all, that could work, too.

But a stand can always be added later.  All you need to know for now are the differences.

Variable speed is also extremely important.  The easier it is to change or adjust something the more you will use it and the safer it will be.  Think about your table saw.  If the blades were easier to change you would change them more often and actually put the dado blade in when you needed, instead of making multiple passes with the regular blade.  Same thing here.

My first lathe had only one speed.  I hated it.  It’s dangerous, too.  Make sure you can easily adjust the speed and the controls are in easy reach.  I’m convinced most mistakes on lathe projects are because the controls were difficult to adjust and the turner ignored the need to change speeds and mis-cut the wood.

A rotating tailstock is also really nice feature to have.  Unless you’re turning bowls 100% of the time and you won’t, you’ll be glad you have this feature.  If you find a lathe you like and this is not included, make it your first accessory.

==>Click here to see the best deals on Wood Lathes<==

What accessories are really necessary? 

For me, I think a good bright light is the imperative.  I prefer to buy an inexpensive flexible arm light from Office Depot or Walmart that clamps on to the lathe where I need it.  Its maybe twenty five dollars or so.  With a portable light I can also use with other tools, if I want.

There seem to be as many chucks and accessories for holding the wood as there are ways to cut.  This is a rather large topic and I will probably add pages discussing this in the near future.  But for now use, the lathe, get a feel for what you like to turn and then buy chucks for that purpose.

Turning Tools

 The tools are as important as the lathe, maybe more so.  Often, I have seen people get an expensive lathe and then get really cheap turning chisels.  Just don’t buy one of those 28 pack cheap chisels.

Remember that 28 pack of cheap router bits you bought and quickly realized you wasted your money??

Cheap tools don’t cut well, are dangerous and will make you experience of wood turning miserable.

Start out with a good roughing gouge, a good skew chisel and a good parting tool and then go from there.  Buy the best tool you can afford.  Then add chisels as you need them.

 

Here’s a video by Jet that shows a lot of various turning techniques.

Which model is best for you?

I hope these wood lathe reviews have helped you decide which lathe is best for you.  I’ve only discussed the basics here.   However, to see more model and brand specific information, click the links to the right of the page.

Best Deals

I personally buy a lot of things at Amazon.  I always get quick deliverly, good service and best of all, free shipping and no sales tax. Click the link below to see more reviews and more models than I have covered here.

==>Click here to see the more reviews on Wood Lathes<==

 

Good Luck with your new lathe!