Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

If you are an experienced machinist this lathe is not for you. If you are comfortable with the various tools you use to turn a wooden or acrylic blank this lathe is not for you. BUT if you are a just beginning and are a novice at turning wooden or acrylic blanks this lathe is exactly what you need. An experienced wood turner pays more for his tools than this lathe costs. You wouldn’t ever catch him/her touching this machine. Yes, like so many reviewers have stated, the machine will stop spinning if you try to take off too much material. This lathe is designed for people like me that need to develop the skills needed. It keeps people like me from making costly mistakes. Some have written that the spindle doesn’t turn fast enough. That it bogs down. That’s because they don’t know what they are doing. I initially had the same complaint until my neighbor pointed out that I didn’t have the material seated tight enough on the head stock. Once I took a wooden mallet and tapped the blank until the wood was correctly seated the machine worked like a champ. I’ve turned several wooden bowls (none that I would display here). They look like cr_p. I proudly showed one to my wife and she asked, “What is it?” Let me give you some advice (my mom often said, “advise is worth what you pay for it.”). Get yourself a set of carbide tools. They’re great.