RIKON Power Tools 70-105 10" x 18" 1/2 hp Mini Lathe

i got his lathe just before Christmas 2015, I was impressed with the machining and the smoothness of the travel on the tail stock. Stock. I was looking at buying the one from Harbor Freight and the Excelsior from Rockler as I think they are about the same lathe. This one was on sale at Woodcraft for $50.00 more but it has a 5 year warranty instead of a 90 day at Harbor and 1 year at Rockler. The motor seems to be an up grade as it has some cooling fins on it. Other have had concerns about how hot the one from Harbor gets, this one so far has run just warm. It is very well balanced with no vibration. I got it to play with turning some pens and toys, so far it has been great as i;m just learning. I've had an old Craftsman lathe for years and never did much with it because I was always fighting ( i didn't know that until now) so it wasn't much fun now with this one it has become a joyful thing to go to the shop and play. It is heavy enough an smooth enough that I haven't bolted it down and it hasn't move even with some big peaces of wood that were not squared and were out of balance at the beginning and it still handled it just fine. Great little lathe for turning pens and toys or small projects

Received lathe pretty quickly. It is heavy. Set up was quick also, but it suffered some minor damage. The cover to the motor was caved in and made loud noise when turned on. Had to remove cover and take the dent out with a hammer. It now runs smooth and quiet. I love everything about it. I will add another review after I use it for a few hours. Used the lathe to cut a gear shift knob, worked like a dream, cuts smooth, speed change is quick. Nice bang for the buck. Customer service is not responsive on my motor cover defect. But the lathe is awesome to use.

I was looking forward to using it, but... Just like another reviewer stated, the lathe arrived with a dented motor housing, which kept the motor from turning. When you removed the housing, it worked fine. However, I saw no way that I could remove the dent. As there was no other option that I could see to get it fixed, I returned it. One other thing to note: the motor sits lower than the feet or screws that you use to mount it. This means that you need to get a heavy duty stand that supports the feet but does not go flat across; there needs to be a hole for the motor. (This figured into my reason for returning it since it wouldn't fit my current stand and one for this lathe was $189.00.)

Great little machine that not only turns pens. I make bowls on this lathe. The only drawback is that I am limited to around 9 inches diameter before I start cutting the bowl. This is plenty powerful for almost any job within the size limit of the lathe. It is an excellent tool for making pens. You have five positions on the pulley system, giving you a good range of speeds for just about any project. My next lathe will be a larger Rikon lathe.

Outstanding build for this money. Runs super quiet and is heavy enough to run right on a table top. Very pleased with the power of the motor and the each at which you can switch speed on the belts. Takes about 10 seconds to switch speeds so its not that big a deal, Son says he doesn't mind it. Don't spend the extra money for one that has speed control :)

I use this for small projects from tops to pens to wand to icicles and it works great for what i need it to. there is slight hassle with having to move the belt and it not being variable speed. also when i recieved the product the tailstock wheel was slightly bent but does not affect the functionality of the product. would i buy it again? possibly but my next lathe will definitely be variable speed.

Great little lathe. I bought the extension bed as well but have not used yet. Made some ornaments with poplar and walnut. Also turned a spindle towel rack for a cabinet I made. Snowmen, birdhouse ornaments, tool handles, and furniture spindles are next on the list. After getting beyond the basics I am sure I will upgrade to a lathe with a little more power and electronic speed control. The pulley belt speed change is a bit slow but not a big deal in a home shop I guess. I added nova chuck (Nova 48111) with pen chuck attachment and drill chuck (PSI TM32). Overall very happy with lathe!

Absolutely Garbage. Got the 1st one in. Motor was locked up. Sent it back. Got the new in. It is Absolutely deafening loud. And had bent pieces on it.