Hi guys,

Looking into getting a lathe for turning grips. Tired of using the drill/hand method. haha.

Anyone know anything about this one?

[www.harborfreight.com]

Looks like the M Power lathe I picked up at a local wood working store 4+ years ago. If it is, it has served me very well without a hint of trouble. I would recommend it for rod building.

I have the smaller model. I think it is 14 inches. First one I got burned out in less than a month. HF replaced it a year and a half ago and it is still running. Will upgrade when this one goes. Good luck.

I looked at this one and settled on the #34706.
It was on sale for around $180 and a steal at that.
I preferred the extra power from a 3/4 hp motor and wider range of speeds.
. I added about 100 lbs to its overall mass with a concrete slab.
It has basically zero vibration.
It runs true.
I use two 1/2 inch MT2 chucks on it ($16 from HF) or a mandrel plus live center type rig and its fine for what i turn on rods.
I may get a Barracuda chuck too later this year but the need is not there now, mandrels alone do what i need at this stage.
If i have a criticism it would be slowest speed is not always slow enough so i have a gap between 200 and the true around 600 rpm that my one has.
The model you are looking at starts at 750 rpm, that may be too high for some tasks on a rod handle.
But variable speed while running is nice.

Thanks for the feedback guys! Really appreciate it!

I bought one a couple of weeks ago. Don't forget the 20% coupon- good for another $38 off. I got mine for $152 + shipping of 7bucks. Got a 4 jaw and a MT drill chuck. It's solid and quiet. Speed change is very easy, some guys complain but I can't see why. Takes a timed minute to change speeds. Centers line up perfectly by eye. No complaints yet.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2012 05:27PM by Tom Kirkman.

Jeff,
I picked up basically the same lathe in different paint with a different manufacturer on it a while back and it is working well.

I also have the lathe bed extension and it is a very nice feature to have on the lathe. Lots and lots of time, I have used the lathe bed extension to make my jobs easier.

I have a machinist friend who turned back plates for two older metal turning chucks. In order to get a perfect job for the chuck back plates, I removed the headstock shaft and screwed the new back plates to the headstock shaft.

Then my friend used his very large expensive metal working lathe to put a perfect turn on the back plates to bolt to the heavy chucks that I owned from previous lathes.

By using the current lathe head stock while turning the new back plates, the back plates had essentially 0 run out. i.e. I can put a 3 foot rod in the large 6 inch chuck and turn it at 3000 rpm with no run out, and no vibration.

I picked up keyless 1/2 inch chucks for both tail stock as well as head stock.
I also picked up a 3/4 - 16 to 1X8 thread adapter so my smaller chucks from my previous lathes would fit on the new lathe. Then, I used the new lathe to drill a large hole through the back of the thread adapter, so that I can run a mandrel or blank through the chuck and head stock if needed.

Another nice accessory that I picked up was a 5/8th headstock grooved pin with a retractable center pin. This allows me to turn handles of smaller diameter without having the lathe tools hit the head stock attachment pin.

As one of the other posters suggested, speed changing is very quick. I leave the belt doors off of the lathe for instant access to the belt. It only takes a minute or so to change speed. A variable speed would be nice, but when I had a variable speed dc lathe, there was always a start up lag on the motor. It is nice to have the motor instant off and instant on, when frequently stopping the work to check for work piece dimensions.

Be safe
Roger

Roger, sounds like you're set up pretty well. As a hobbiest I can live with what I have now, but I can see myself buying a smaller 3 jaw chuck in the future. I didn't get the bed extension thinking that if I needed the extra length I can make a stand with rollers (steady rest) to clamp on my bench. My brother is a very skilled machinest and if I need something really cool I can call on him, otherwise we're talking wood with rollers or if I have to, spring for the extension for 75 bucks although I have seen them cheaper when I wasn't in the market for one. Great idea using the headstock shaft as a mandrel to true up the backing plates.

Looks like a great fall day to go fishing, bye
Jeff