The RIKON Mini Lathe is also known for how you can customize or tailor the unit to suit your specific lathing requirements. You can adjust the height to go with the size of the work piece or vary the tool rests, face plates, and extensions to accomplish different tasks or vary the results. Pros. The RIKON Mini Lathe includes a ½-HP motor that can spin and grind even the toughest and smallest of work pieces. You can add various extensions to this device in order to extend its possible applications. The laser-engraved ram includes a 2½-inch travel. The Excelsior 5-Speed Mini Lathe can turn bowls of almost 10" in diameter and spindles up to /4" in length, making it perfect for chair legs, small table legs and an endless array of decorative turnings.  Excelsior Mini Lathe. With solid cast-iron construction, a robust 1/2 hp motor and a precision-machined live center, this little workhorse rivals features found in much larger lathes. Review: 4 stars out of 5. Model RIKON has taken the standard mini lathe to the next level with increased capacity - this mini lathe does more in less space. Featuring a 12" swing and 16" between centers with the ability to add one or more bed extensions. Shipping weight 89 lbs.  Defective/Damaged goods that are returned to RIKON Power Tools and show misuse, abuse, negligence, accidents, repairs, alterations, lack of maintenance or normal wear and tear are subject to a restocking charge equal to 15% of the credit given for the returned goods or $, whichever is greater. Instructions / MSDS. RIKON Mini Lathe Model Articles & Blogs. Rikon Mini Lathes Review. Rikon has taken the standard mini lathe to the next level with increased capacity with this Model Built from cast iron, the JET mini lathe is sturdy and durable and the wider bed Rockler Mini Lathe View provides extra stability. Grizzly Industrial G Rockler mini lathe 100 is "Used". An old trick is 10 get the bolts just shy of tight and align things as best as possible, then slide the tailstock until its hold-down under the ways equally straddles the junction between the beds. This adds a huge amount of strength and rockler mini lathe 100 to this most important lathe component.

I took each one for a drive with identically sized spindles from the same plank of wood. This enabled me to experience how each machine feels and behaves, which I believe is more important than raw specifications.

That said, there are some important factors in the capacity of a lathe: the center height, the height of the banjo and the distance between centers. Manufacturers will list swing as twice the center height: what the machine will swing over the bed. The true swing of a lathe, however, is center height over the banjo, because this base for the tool-rest has to be under all spindles and most faceplate work.

Two lathes with the same swing could have different banjo heights. Likewise, between-center distance is often listed as the spindle nose to tailstock nose distance.

The necessary drive and live centers to hold a spindle would lessen this amount. For this tool review, I have provided the distance with the back of the tailstock even with the end of the bed and the same set of low profile centers for all the lathes. You can usually gain a bit more distance by hanging the tailstock an inch or so off the bed. Variable speed has become a standard feature in all but budget priced machines, which retain belt and pulley speed adjustment.

If you are on a budget, there is nothing wrong with changing pulley groves to change speeds; it was done that way for centuries. Poly-V belts are far superior for steady speed and power delivery, eliminating the surging and slippage common to the V-belt.

All variable speed machines in this review retain step poly-V pulleys as part of the control package. Liken the steps to the gearshift in a car and the speed controller to the accelerator. Putting the lathe belt on the smallest diameter motor pulley is equivalent to first gear in your car.

This gives you more torque at the spindle and more control over that speed range, ameliorating the danger of going too fast in faceplate work. All but one of the lathes had DC motors with DC controllers. Turning a knob clockwise increases speed; counterclockwise slows things down. It was also the only lathe with a frequency drive, used in tandem with an induction motor.

Since cycle rate controls the speed of a three-phase induction motor, this allows a 1, rpm motor to run anywhere between 57 and 2, rpm with practically no drop in torque at slow speeds. The DC motors with a DC controller used in the other lathes have a significant fall-off of the torque curve at lower speeds.

This was also the only user manual that cautioned on the noise level of the lathe — 79 decibels. All lathes are this noisy; the danger comes not from the lathe itself, but from the work hitting a spindle roughing-out gouge or a bowl gouge during the interrupted cuts involved. The COLT stand had a leg that attached to the end of the extension but was not tied to the rest of the stand with a cross-member, which makes removing the extension and leg easy for those wanting to save floor space except when turning long spindles.

A lifting handle can be moved to the extension. If you are not going to buy the stand, this makes lifting the lathe on and off the bench much easier. The stand could, however, use some slight improvements, such as putting plastic plugs in the ends of the support tressels. It has all the basics: good fit and finish, decent controls and an induction motor with five-step pulley speed control, for a very affordable price point.

The banjo, tool-rest and tailstock levers worked easily. Its small size and modest weight give it great portability and the ability to store easily when not in use. I know an avid woodturner who keeps an Excelsior in his motor home to turn at campgrounds. Like the Penn State Turncrafter Commander and the Steelex, it does not have reverse — which, again, in my opinion, is not very important.

With five speeds, anything within its capacity can be safely and efficiently turned. If your turning will be confined to miniatures or pens, you will be doing most of your work in the 1,, 2, and 3, rpm belt steps.

The Excelsior is a great lathe for a young aspiring turner or anyone wanting to turn miniatures or pens. The manual, with lots of photos and good information, was the best of the bunch. To bring safety to reverse direction, most of the lathes have setscrews in the faceplate, which tighten into a groove just ahead of the spindle shoulder to lock the faceplate on the spindle during reverse operations. This lathe also has a first-rate fit and finish.

The stand was well thought-out, with a built-in tool rack that can hold up to six tools. Area for improvement? I wish it had digital readout. This Jet VS lathe has a super-heavy construction and a high level of fit and finish. Its very solid stand is absolutely first-rate. I was very impressed with the stand, which has been redesigned.

We received one of the first for this article. All of the bolt holes aligned perfectly with top quality fasteners threading into tapped holes. All of the fasteners on the stand itself are chrome-plated socket head cap screws, while the lathe is affixed to the stand with contrasting black oxide cap screws.

Stands, shop-built or purchased, make the lathe more accessible while preserving precious bench space. All parts move smoothly and locking handles are stylized and pleasant to use.

Many niceties are included, such as metal racks that screw to each end of the bed for Morse taper accessories and the knockout bar. A wire rack holds chucks and faceplates but allows chips to filter through.

If it had a frequency drive and induction motor, at least as an option, it would be my absolute first pick. There is a reason why so many of my students, as well as turning clubs, rely on this machine. They back up the machine with a five-year warranty and long-term replacement part supply. NOVA was the first company to bring a reliable and innovative four-jaw chuck to woodturning, and they now make a wide range of chucks and jaws.

They supplied a G3 chuck with the lathe for review. I do feel the stand is incomplete, as there is no leg available for the single extension we requested for this review. Offer based on availability and subject to change at any time.

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