Earlier last week there was a discussion on lathes here at rodbuilding.org. Those of you who live near the Piedmont Triad area of NC have an opportunity, today only, to get a nice mini wood lathe for very little money.

At the Winston-Salem fairgrounds, in the education building, a woodworking show is underway until later this afternoon. I attended yesterday and there were dozens of the Jet mini, the Delta Midi, and the Fisch (maybe the best of the lot due to its easier belt access) lathe. All can be had at special show prices for about $250 to $275 and nearly all the dealers who are selling them are willing to kick in free accessories like a mini turning tool set or a pen making kit. That's a heck of a great value if you have decided to go the route of a small wood lathe. I played with all three and they are good units. I can't imagine anyone would be disappointed in any of them.

I also got a lot of emails from people asking me what I thought was the best mini or midi type lathe around. In my opinion, the VicMark 100 is the cream of the crop. It is the lathe that this current crop of mini lathes is based on and is made by a company that makes nothing else but lathes. The casting is superb, the lathe high quality. It can be had with or without a motor for prices that are just slightly above those mentioned above. They are all good lathes and good values of course. But the Vicmark is my pick. Hard to find in the US however.

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