5.0 out of 5 stars Quality and great useful product

M.c. · 3 September 2023

I apologise for my last msg I did not see the metal plate at the other side -under a lot of stress with my wife's illness regardless of that it is a lovely piece of kit and I can use all my saw and polishing bits with it 10/10 thankyou Mike

4.0 out of 5 stars Has Proved Itself Surprisingly Useful

M.Q. · 6 October 2022

I bought this not as a lathe as such, but as an inexpensive means of tapering dowel masts for use on scale R/C model boats. I thought this might be safer than attempting to use an electric drill and more accurate than some of the other methods commonly used (which I’m rubbish and impatient at if I’m honest). My expectations weren’t high though, and I knew I’d have to extend it to provide sufficient length.I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I was able to lengthen the base by purchasing a longer piece of the type of extrusion used and re-mounting the motor/chuck assembly on one end of this (the motor secures with 4 allen screws, so a bit of drilling and tapping to be done) and re-mounting the rest on the other end.I was then able to produce a very respectable set of masts and booms for an old Graupner ‘Elke’ kit. If you attempt this, be aware that for longer pieces of dowel you’ll need to steady the work to stop vibrations building up and keep the speed on the lowest setting. The relatively low powered motor ensures that if anything does come adrift or break (yes I did this until I got the hang of it) you’re unlikely to injure yourself, but of course don’t be complacent. Shorter pieces of around 15 - 18cm are no problem at all.Crude shaping can be done with the supplied tools but these aren’t very good. For serious work you’ll need better ones, but for my purposes the main shaping was done with sandpaper.An unexpected use has been for drilling. I’ve found it invaluable for producing accurate holes in the centres of dowels and even turning tiny wooden locating/reinforcing pins from cocktail sticks.It’s perhaps best to appreciate this for what it is rather than complaining about what it isn’t. It’s a tool which is inexpensive enough to experiment with and modify, and low powered enough not to present a serious danger to anyone using it. Unlike a ‘proper’ lathe it’s also small, even in its extended state, and easy to store.To summarise, it’s done everything I bought it for and more. I now might actually explore using it for its intended purpose - turning things!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great bit of kit

J.H. · 21 April 2024

Use it every day

1.0 out of 5 stars wrong type of the power cable

A. · 2 February 2024

I wish to express my disappointment upon discovering that the instrument I received is equipped with an American-type power cable, a discrepancy that stands out as incongruent with my order specifications, considering the purchase was made from and intended for the United Kingdom.Unfortunately, this unexpected deviation has left me with no chance to use the instrument as intended.

3.0 out of 5 stars Simple things wrong

N. · 29 April 2024

Like the idea butNeedd holes in base to fix it downVibration is badTool rest is rubbish needs thicker materialI no it says in instructions to limit usePower supply wont last a yearAs it can't dump the heatJust sent back as not going to mod something under warrantyIf you need a hand with redesign drop me a line5/10

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for ring making but good for polishing

M. · 16 August 2025

Good but doesn’t go slow enough only super fast I needed slow as well for ring turning

5.0 out of 5 stars well made for price, highly recommend.

K.W. · 25 December 2023

for the price this is a well made unit working on small things and small cuts in wood turning, if you want to do a lot of wood turning you will need a larger machine,

4.0 out of 5 stars Great little larhe

I.G. · 28 November 2023

This is a MINI lathe. Do not expect to turn table legs or spindles, because it’s not going to happen with this machine. It’s a fun little lathe and treat it as such and you won’t be disappointed. Great for modelling but not really any more than that

Entrega rápida

J.C.M. · 24 August 2021

Producto excelente.

Better Item Description & Measurements

F.A.S. · 28 March 2020

Okay, the product description is terrible, but the pictures are fairly correct. Contrary to the description, there are no acrylic or plexiglass parts. The mini t-track base and seats are aluminum. The covers (beige, no company logo) are painted sheet metal. The only plastic is the switch, plug, and power supply.The overall product length is 12", height just over 2.5" (roughly 2 5/8"), and width just over 2.25" (roughly 2 5/16"). It uses a sub-mini t-slot track/base, so normal t-slot tracks and/or bolts will not fit (size or spacing).The maximum wood/material turning diameter is about 2 1/4" to 2 1/2" (70mm). Smaller diameter pieces are easier to work with. The maximum wood/material clamping length is roughly 5," but the lathe can handle a roughly 7" length of material if you turn the tailstock around and let it hang off the end of the base (note the screws may or may not reduce the maximum turning diameter in this configuration).The only effective way I saw to expand this lathe (optional) was to purchase a second lathe and cut off some of the track from that one. I left about 4.25" of track under the second motor, which is now used as a mini grinder with a sanding disc wheel attached. The lathe, with new track, was bolted to a piece of wood, making sure all was aligned as straight as possible. It can now handle material up to about 12-13" long, which is about the max a mini lathe like this could realistically handle.The three-jaw drill chuck capacity is roughly 1/4" (6mm). The included screw drive (mandrel) for this chuck (spins the wood/material) is similar to the mandrels used with Dremel's polishing wheels. That little screw drive (mandrel) works okay, but I purchased two Plum Blossom thimble drill bit lathe drives (6mm drill shafts with 8mm & 14mm lathe heads) from China (eBay) which work even better.The speed of the motor is controlled by a small switch on the 110/240v power supply. The speed range is 4000-8000 RPM in seven power steps (12/15/16/18/19/20/24v). Since this lathe works similar to a Dremel tool (little nibbles at high speed, not sheer motor horsepower), I don't recommend even slower speeds using a dimmer switch or similar.The wood/material to be turned should be as round as possible before starting. If you're using square material, cutting off the corners (after you've marked the center at each end) will reduce time and lessen the chance of tool kickback. Of course, make sure the wood/material is centered at each end before starting.Position the tool support (angle aluminum) as close to the turning material as possible to reduce tool kickback and increase the smoothness of the cuts. If necessary/possible, turn the tool support around. I cut the screw slot in that tool support a little deeper to allow for slightly greater adjustment. I'm not very impressed with that tool support, so I may eventually fabricate a wider, more adjustable, tool support.When carving, take small slices/nibbles instead of jamming the tool/chisel blade into the wood/material. Again, this lathe works similar to a Dremel tool (little nibbles at high speed, not sheer motor horsepower). Slower speeds will work just fine for most wood or plastic materials, while harder wood or soft metals will usually require faster speeds.The included starter set of chisels isn't very good. The chisels do work, but not great. I recommend the Harbor Freight "Wood Carving Set" (item #98195), but there's many options available in a small size suitable for this lathe. Make sure your blades are sharp and remain sharp as you work. Hold the chisels firmly. Curved shaft chisels will bite into material quicker, so watch out for kickback. And, of course, if you want to work with metals, you'll need chisels for metal.By the way, the second cover, not over the motor, is for small circular saw-style blades, effectively turning the lathe into a mini table saw. The blade with proper mandrel (neither included) fits into the drill chuck and the slot in that cover straddles the blade. The material you're cutting rides on top of the cover, cut by the exposed blade. Be careful. There's absolutely nothing protecting your hands & fingers from that very sharp, very fast spinning, blade.That should be enough to get started. Practice on scrap pieces before trying anything important. This is a fairly versatile little lathe. Watch some YouTube videos for ideas. I use mine primarily to make small wood or plastic fishing lures, plugs, and floats, none easily done on a larger lathe.

Good little device IF you know what you're doing! Read my Top 10 Tips!

D.C.F. · 17 April 2022

READ THIS BEFORE BUYING OR IF YOU BOUGHT ONE AND QUIT USING IT.Here are the main problems I see with a lot of people who write bad reviews about these types of what I call "micro lathes":#1. Not centering wood between the head and tail stock properly. This will cause the wood to shake and potentially fly out, which brings me to #2 and #3.#2. Not firmly securing the wood to the head and tail stock. I didn't use the little screw bit that came with it and instead took the advice of another reviewer and filed the tip of a #1 Phillips head bit down a little and pounded it into my wood. I also gave the tail stock a couple taps with the hammer to make sure it bit into the other side of my wood.#3. Running the lathe too fast. Cranking up the RPM's isn't necessary for turning wood and won't compensate for dull tools. You're also more likely to stall the motor and risk your wood piece flying out (see #1). I turned some oak dowels at the first and second speed settings with no trouble and minimal vibration, and the higher the RPM's the more it shakes. At the second speed setting I was able to hold the micro lathe still with my left hand and turn the wood with my right hand.#4. Trying to turn soft wood. You'll have more success if you turn harder woods like maple or oak. If you cut down a pine 2x4 for your first couple of tries you're going to be disappointed because it won't cut so much as it will spread/smear for lack of a better word.#5. Not using the right tools in the right manner. I had never turned wood before but watched a lot of lathe videos before deciding to purchase this micro lathe (I do other woodworking though). It doesn't matter if you're using a $5k lathe or this $41 lathe, wood is going to respond the same. You will experience "catches" if you aren't holding your tool in the correct position, poor results if you are turning too fast, poor results if you're using low quality/difficult wood, etc. If you're trying to remove a lot of wood use one of the roughing tools, there's a curved one and one with a 90 degree angle. If you're seeing sawdust and not little slivers of wood you're not doing something right. The other tools are for finishing and finer detail.#6. Being shocked by how small this thing is. Again, I think we should call these "micro lathes" because mini lathes are an actual category and these are not one of those. If you need to turn really small things I think something like this would be preferable because of the level of detail you can get with the appropriate tools.#7. The tools that come with this can be used. The jury is still out but I experimented with heat treating and tempering some of the tools to make them more useful and extend their life. I heated 4 of the included tools until they were glowing orange and quenched them in vegetable oil (not water) and then heated them back up to a glowing orange and let them air cool to room temperature to temper the steel. In theory this might allow the steel to hold an edge longer. Heat treating and quenching should make the steel harder but more brittle and heat treating again and allowing to cool slowly will improve the metal's toughness (tempering). I then honed the edges with a whetstone which I would recommend regardless of whether you choose to try to heat treat and temper. Any tools you buy will need the edges touched up from time to time, they're no different than your kitchen knives.#8. Adjust the guard as close as you can to your wood. The farther your tool is from the wood the harder it will be to control.#9. If you want to make a dowel out of square stock remove as much wood from the edges as you can before putting it on the lathe. If you choose to not do this use one of the roughing tools and go slowly.#10. Invest in some better (but not great) quality tools. The included tools will work but will require frequent resharpening and probably won't last too long for you if you're turning a lot of wood. A $100 set of tools will also work but so will a $25 set from Harbor Freight, it's all in how you take care of your tools. And if you invested in a $41 micro lathe chances are you're probably not really serious about wood turning or just want to turn really small things.I hope this helps you. This is a purely unsolicited review and I did not receive anything from anyone for my opinions and advice.My first attempt with the lathe was to make a Raketti Block, and science trick toy that demonstrates Bernoulli's principle. The only places I could find to buy one of these was Grand Illusions in the UK and a specialty puzzle dealer in Finland. I was pleasantly surprised to find mine worked as well as my Finnish version.

Works great! (encountered issues but was my fault)

J.A. · 12 March 2021

I admit, I was pretty frustrated with this tool until I figured out what i was doing wrong. If you have had issues, please read this first before you trash the seller with a poor review. I promise that I am completely unbiased. I am just a buyer like you.I bought this set because I want to build a chess set (see photo). This was the cheapest lathe I could find so I jumped on it. It wasn't doing the job, at first, either the wood would eventually be stripped or it would split. Either way, it removed any and all chance of being able to accomplish what I was hoping to.Watching the video again, they used some weird needle things to cut a hole in the wood. I've never seen those before but pulled out my power drill and a small drill bit. This is when it started splitting, but there was definitely good progress from when I hand-screwed it directly into the wood (it would start to strip just as a screw might). So looking again, I used a larger drill bit (should've known from the beginning), and it did the trick! No longer did I have to worry about the pieces breaking! I didn't expect that to be enough of a fix but it was!FYI, I've only completed two pieces now but will be making more to come. All that to say, if I run into more problems, it likely won't be mechanical (unless the tools they gave break or dull quickly, which I am a little worried about but it's too early to say).Now it's worth noting that this does not come with reasonable instructions and so you might need to learn by trial and error first. Google might be a help but I was stubborn.A couple tips:- I didn't know how to use the cutting tools they gave. I thought using it higher on the block would work best bc the wood would be turning into it but I actually found it to be more effective when I used the tool lower on the block than higher. It doesn't make logical sense to me but I'm not complaining bc it works.- if you can stabilize it, that would probably be best. Mine is on carpet and kinda moves away a bit and vibrates a decent amount. Does the job though- I've been using it on the second lowest speed and it's been fine. But I'm curious what happens if I speed it up. I'm thinking that might be good to get a cleaner finish once it's mostly done being carved, but what do I know?- it doesn't make much of a difference whether the shiny part of the tool is up or the black side. This is good for me bc I like the triangle piece for cuts in either direction- the triangle piece is going to be your hero. The others haven't worked as well for me and I find the triangle tool can do just about anything I'd want it to do anyways.I hope all of this helps!!! Be safe and make cool stuff!Tldr;If it strips or splits, try using the proper sized drill bit to cut the hole before screwing your piece on. And watch the video a couple times too if you're confused about anything else. (you could probably skip to the second half)

Small Lathe

A. · 8 July 2025

The durability, speed, size and ease of assembly is good for the design of the Lathe. The extra tools it came with, was very easy to use and reliable.