Make that 2 in 1,000. Love mine. Someone had brought it back and I got it 2 years ago for 150 bucks. Sounds like this guy is trying to use it in a manner it wasn’t designed for. It’s a 7 x 10” for goodness sakes. You don’t have to have low expectations , just “realistic” expectations to throughly enjoy this dandy little machine.
It's always nice when the first thing out of someone is a demonstration that they have no idea what the dimensions of a lathe are. Also no idea of how one spec will affect a few others. Plastic gears aren't a big problem, and if you want, you can buy metal gears from several other sources. It's a little machine, with a little motor, take little cuts. I have a Microlux, I like it, but I don't try to use it for work that should have a larger machine. I have a larger one too, I know when to use which. I realize the HF is going to take a lot of setup before it's usable, but so are most of the others on the market.
My input on the Harbor Freight lathe I recently bought. FYI... Harbor Freight tools "are" for the most part crap. HOWEVER, something like this mini lathe requires a higher mechanical aptitude than buying something off the shelf and having it work first try. I bought my 7x10 a couple of months ago. I love it and will have made my money back on it within a couple months. Not everyone needs a lathe any bigger than the one I paid $700 for... on credit. I currently have six 3D printers (cheap ones). They require constant maintenance. I have upgraded all of them and have fewer problems now but but also a better understanding on how to fix them. Same thing with the HF lathe... right out of the box, I started upgrading. I can't cut big stuff, but it handles everything I need turned perfectly. People who have a low mechanical aptitude have no business buying cheap tools. I buy them, because it's a challenge to me to make them work, and... no machine cheap or otherwise is going to beat me. Bottom line... there is "NOTHING" wrong with the HF lathe.
I have a 7x12 mini lathe and have done some upgrades, but it's been a good purchase overall. I'm looking at yours and it's apparent that your not big into maintenance, could be part of your problem.
I bought a Harbor Freight Mini Lathe, and I'm perfectly happy with it, I cut threads, bore, all the processes a lathe will do, even knurling, but with a special tool. Remember it is not a production lathe, you cant make a quarter cut with it, even a South Bend won't do that, you must use sharp tooling, use common sense, and it will work great. A man is o0nly as good as the tool's he uses, but also tools are only as good as the man using them.
A most common error in buying a lathe, and not knowing anything about them, is how they're measured. The "7", as you said is the maximum over the bed. Over the slide, you might be down to half that. The length is the maximum between HARD CENTERS, not the chuck or a live center. Yes, the harbor freight is rated in length longer than it actually is. They're good small machines, if used within their limitations. That means small work.
I was looking at the diagram with the measurements and the 7 inch x 10 inch is not like a SouthBend lathe etc. I'm working to get another lathe in here and get that HF sold and out of my garage. Total wasted money years ago. It has become my biggest error in buying a tool.
Well dang…🤣🤣🤣🤣 Hey, congratulations Scott! Great win! Now…tools I regret…I think I felt that too many to count. Usually when I tried to go cheap or small and shoulda just spent the money on quality. I’ll take me one a them t-shirts!! Too cool!! Thanks for the bonus drawings Larry!! Pure class right there!! 👍🏻👊🏻
Shame I'm not in your region. I would love a little chinesium mini lathe. It is generally accepted that these are a "kit" that you need to completely rebuild when you get them. Without exception there will be something wrong with every piece and assembly process BUT it gives you the base to put in an infinite amount of elbow grease to get a small effective lathe. If you spend about 4x you can get a 9x20 that is a decent platform to work with.
@@SirTools The 9x20 chinesium is a little more practical and equally craptasic but a little more practical. Used real lathe is the way to go if you can budget for it. As a hobbyist with no budget the 7x14/16 would suit me fine for a couple of years but it is very limiting if you are trying to do work.
I bought a Porter Cable Profile Sander. It cost a couple hundred bucks. It has several profile shaped attachments that the sand paper attaches to. You can do coves, beads, Vee’s etc. I thought it would be the bees knees for sanding mounding and the like. However… the attachments are black rubber. The sanding strips that you attach to them are self adhesive. Have you ever tried to stick self adhesive sand paper to a tire? It doesn’t. There is no way to clip it on either… the tool is useless! But, I must admit… the rest of the tool is well made and heavy duty. Needless to say, I haven’t worn it out yet!
The upside of having a shop with only used tools is that I don't have any regrets and haven't spent more than $100 on any one piece of equipment. I have a wood lathe but I would love to get a metal lathe for the 2 or 3 times a year I could use one.
Life must be rough you letting a 400$ lathe you bought 20yrs ago make you upset. I got a alot of regrets in life and a crap tool purchase 20yrs ago don't make the list. Toss it in trash and forget about it. Wife must be tell ya "see I told ya you wouldn't ever use that thing"
Well you can trash it all you want, but the simple fact is you can not find a "yard sale Marketplace etc" lathe this cheap. If you need a bigger lathe then you need one. Personally I have had one of these for over 20 years and have made/fixed enough things that it more than paid for itself. The only mod I ever did was Reaming out the bore with a reamer that used to be shared among members of YAHOO Mini Lathe group JMHOYMV
That reamer on the bore would help 100%. The lathe has been a let down since buying it. I've met a few that love it and get great jobs off it. Personally I need a nice big South Bend lathe LOLOL....just no funds or room for it. I have looked around and I just might grab something soon.
I purchased a 4” electric hand planer years ago from Harbor Freight. It actually worked decent. Problem was the belt. It disintegrated. Oh well. Guess I’ll have to buy another one. When I need it 😂
@@SirTools Yep. Me as well. Not throwing shade on them. Just my experience with that one tool. I have other tools from them that have lasted. 1 inch belt sander. I’ve run it for hours. Still rolling.
Just a comment about your HF metal lathe. Granted, it is not the best lathe in its class, but your measurements are way off. HF advertises that lathe as a 7X10. You showed that you can get a 7” piece (3.5” radius). That is true, however that is how lathes are sized for the swing. I’ll admit you cannot cut a 7” diameter piece, but you can swing a 7” round. As for the length dimension of 10”. You measured with a 3 jaw chuck and a big live center in the tail stock. The 10” is derived from the spindle (no chuck) to the tailstock. You will get 10” I’ll bet. Many years ago, many people used a faceplate, a dead center, and a lathe dog to turn the stock. The tailstock usually had a dead center also and had to constantly oil the bearing surface of the piece and the dead stock. There are even dead centers that are ground flat on the center to allow for lubricant. Having a chuck and a live center is a convenience with a price of less capability. I’m not trying to be critical, I just wanted to set the record straight. I’ll be awaiting to see the people’s HF products to wish they hadn’t bought. Keep up the good work.
I'm very selective with what I buy at Harbor Freight. I have bought from other venders and been sorry for the buying it. The traveling truck types from years ago), they are not around anymore. Some of their stuff is okay some is garbage at HF.
Had one of those emergency car battery chargers with a compressor to air up tires but it was stolen. I replaced it with an expensive and WORTHLESS Harbor Freight version so I was robbed TWICE
I regret the earthquake impact. I bought it thinking they had more tools that could use the same batteries. Nope only the impact. I even bought a extra battery. The tool itself is not to bad. Does a good job just not a single extra tool available.
Ive had mine for 4 years now... use it every day making rings.. works just perfect. I THINK there is a 1 in 1000 chance I got the good one! hahaha
REALLY ? I bought the lemon LOLOL
Make that 2 in 1,000. Love mine. Someone had brought it back and I got it 2 years ago for 150 bucks. Sounds like this guy is trying to use it in a manner it wasn’t designed for. It’s a 7 x 10” for goodness sakes. You don’t have to have low expectations , just “realistic” expectations to throughly enjoy this dandy little machine.
It's always nice when the first thing out of someone is a demonstration that they have no idea what the dimensions of a lathe are. Also no idea of how one spec will affect a few others. Plastic gears aren't a big problem, and if you want, you can buy metal gears from several other sources. It's a little machine, with a little motor, take little cuts. I have a Microlux, I like it, but I don't try to use it for work that should have a larger machine. I have a larger one too, I know when to use which. I realize the HF is going to take a lot of setup before it's usable, but so are most of the others on the market.
The old south bend I used years ago spoiled me LOLOL
So far, no issues with my Harbor Freight purchases
We do love to pick on Harbor Freight
About the chuck restricting the spindle bore, I bored my chuck years ago and it’s been working great
I thought about that. What size did you bore to ?
My input on the Harbor Freight lathe I recently bought. FYI... Harbor Freight tools "are" for the most part crap. HOWEVER, something like this mini lathe requires a higher mechanical aptitude than buying something off the shelf and having it work first try.
I bought my 7x10 a couple of months ago. I love it and will have made my money back on it within a couple months.
Not everyone needs a lathe any bigger than the one I paid $700 for... on credit.
I currently have six 3D printers (cheap ones). They require constant maintenance. I have upgraded all of them and have fewer problems now but but also a better understanding on how to fix them. Same thing with the HF lathe... right out of the box, I started upgrading. I can't cut big stuff, but it handles everything I need turned perfectly.
People who have a low mechanical aptitude have no business buying cheap tools. I buy them, because it's a challenge to me to make them work, and... no machine cheap or otherwise is going to beat me.
Bottom line... there is "NOTHING" wrong with the HF lathe.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
I have a 7x12 mini lathe and have done some upgrades, but it's been a good purchase overall. I'm looking at yours and it's apparent that your not big into maintenance, could be part of your problem.
ha ha ha....this thing has been to Central America and back in my ship. Maintenance LOLOL....if you only knew ....
I bought a Harbor Freight Mini Lathe, and I'm perfectly happy with it, I cut threads, bore, all the processes a lathe will do, even knurling, but with a special tool. Remember it is not a production lathe, you cant make a quarter cut with it, even a South Bend won't do that, you must use sharp tooling, use common sense, and it will work great. A man is o0nly as good as the tool's he uses, but also tools are only as good as the man using them.
Race car parts just don't fit in this thing
A most common error in buying a lathe, and not knowing anything about them, is how they're measured. The "7", as you said is the maximum over the bed. Over the slide, you might be down to half that. The length is the maximum between HARD CENTERS, not the chuck or a live center. Yes, the harbor freight is rated in length longer than it actually is. They're good small machines, if used within their limitations. That means small work.
I was looking at the diagram with the measurements and the 7 inch x 10 inch is not like a SouthBend lathe etc. I'm working to get another lathe in here and get that HF sold and out of my garage. Total wasted money years ago. It has become my biggest error in buying a tool.
Well dang…🤣🤣🤣🤣
Hey, congratulations Scott! Great win!
Now…tools I regret…I think I felt that too many to count. Usually when I tried to go cheap or small and shoulda just spent the money on quality.
I’ll take me one a them t-shirts!! Too cool!! Thanks for the bonus drawings Larry!! Pure class right there!! 👍🏻👊🏻
Shame I'm not in your region. I would love a little chinesium mini lathe. It is generally accepted that these are a "kit" that you need to completely rebuild when you get them. Without exception there will be something wrong with every piece and assembly process BUT it gives you the base to put in an infinite amount of elbow grease to get a small effective lathe. If you spend about 4x you can get a 9x20 that is a decent platform to work with.
This one has been to Central America and back, but spending more money would have been a good idea. I might get a bigger one in later this year.
@@SirTools The 9x20 chinesium is a little more practical and equally craptasic but a little more practical. Used real lathe is the way to go if you can budget for it. As a hobbyist with no budget the 7x14/16 would suit me fine for a couple of years but it is very limiting if you are trying to do work.
I was spoiled on a South Bend and so that ruins me LOLOL....
Thank you, Sir!!!
always fun
I bought a Porter Cable Profile Sander. It cost a couple hundred bucks.
It has several profile shaped attachments that the sand paper attaches to. You can do coves, beads, Vee’s etc. I thought it would be the bees knees for sanding mounding and the like.
However… the attachments are black rubber. The sanding strips that you attach to them are self adhesive.
Have you ever tried to stick self adhesive sand paper to a tire? It doesn’t. There is no way to clip it on either… the tool is useless!
But, I must admit… the rest of the tool is well made and heavy duty. Needless to say, I haven’t worn it out yet!
The upside of having a shop with only used tools is that I don't have any regrets and haven't spent more than $100 on any one piece of equipment. I have a wood lathe but I would love to get a metal lathe for the 2 or 3 times a year I could use one.
It is possible to use it for wood, but again just too small.
Bought it 20 years ago sucks so bad you kept it this whole time.
It went to Central America with me and back. I've been kicking myself for ever buying it.
Life must be rough you letting a 400$ lathe you bought 20yrs ago make you upset.
I got a alot of regrets in life and a crap tool purchase 20yrs ago don't make the list. Toss it in trash and forget about it.
Wife must be tell ya "see I told ya you wouldn't ever use that thing"
Wife monitors all crap leaving the shop
Congrats Scott from UTAH
Could you replace a pool cue tip
mmm maybe mm...LOLOL
Well you can trash it all you want, but the simple fact is you can not find a "yard sale Marketplace etc" lathe this cheap. If you need a bigger lathe then you need one. Personally I have had one of these for over 20 years and have made/fixed enough things that it more than paid for itself. The only mod I ever did was Reaming out the bore with a reamer that used to be shared among members of YAHOO Mini Lathe group JMHOYMV
That reamer on the bore would help 100%. The lathe has been a let down since buying it. I've met a few that love it and get great jobs off it. Personally I need a nice big South Bend lathe LOLOL....just no funds or room for it. I have looked around and I just might grab something soon.
If you don't want that lathe anymore, I'll take it. I'm a disabled veteran and I'm on a set budget.
IF the wife finds out I gave it away mm...let me work on it LOLOL
@@SirTools it's just wishful thinking. Thanks for responding.
I purchased a 4” electric hand planer years ago from Harbor Freight.
It actually worked decent.
Problem was the belt. It disintegrated.
Oh well. Guess I’ll have to buy another one. When I need it 😂
I'm trying not to pick on Harbor Freight tools, but YES...that is what happens
@@SirTools Yep. Me as well. Not throwing shade on them. Just my experience with that one tool.
I have other tools from them that have lasted.
1 inch belt sander. I’ve run it for hours. Still rolling.
you should of taken better care of that lathe , what a rust bucket. Ever heard of WD-40
This lathe has been to places untold. 5 countries and salt water dip. WD-40 LOLOL...omg...too funny
Tell Keith he can borrow the level if he comes to Utah 😉
I like Scott already ! LOLOL..
Funny you bring up Harbor Freight. Did you see Izzy Swann's Harbor Freight is the new Hercules in the tool world (pardon the pun)
Just a comment about your HF metal lathe. Granted, it is not the best lathe in its class, but your measurements are way off. HF advertises that lathe as a 7X10. You showed that you can get a 7” piece (3.5” radius). That is true, however that is how lathes are sized for the swing. I’ll admit you cannot cut a 7” diameter piece, but you can swing a 7” round. As for the length dimension of 10”. You measured with a 3 jaw chuck and a big live center in the tail stock. The 10” is derived from the spindle (no chuck) to the tailstock. You will get 10” I’ll bet. Many years ago, many people used a faceplate, a dead center, and a lathe dog to turn the stock. The tailstock usually had a dead center also and had to constantly oil the bearing surface of the piece and the dead stock. There are even dead centers that are ground flat on the center to allow for lubricant. Having a chuck and a live center is a convenience with a price of less capability. I’m not trying to be critical, I just wanted to set the record straight. I’ll be awaiting to see the people’s HF products to wish they hadn’t bought. Keep up the good work.
I worked about 7years in a machine shop and yeah that is 7 x10
I'm very selective with what I buy at Harbor Freight. I have bought from other venders and been sorry for the buying it. The traveling truck types from years ago), they are not around anymore. Some of their stuff is okay some is garbage at HF.
I was on the Snap On, trucks too many times, and MAC was another money grab LOL. But those tools are still with me and working 100%. HF...nope
boat anchor for your ship
Really good boat anchor 🤣🤣🤣
Had one of those emergency car battery chargers with a compressor to air up tires but it was stolen. I replaced it with an expensive and WORTHLESS Harbor Freight version so I was robbed TWICE
Haven't tried any of the Harbor ones.
Be happy you didn't buy it today. They're $779.00 now!
Yeah, I was looking and OMG...prices are UP
I regret the earthquake impact. I bought it thinking they had more tools that could use the same batteries. Nope only the impact. I even bought a extra battery. The tool itself is not to bad. Does a good job just not a single extra tool available.
I thought the "earthquake" branding name was a good idea, but like you said...nothing more happened. Thanks for posting.
@@SirTools yep. Now they come along with Hercules and Bauer. Still not a single addition to the earthquake line.
It was just wrong! 🤣🤣
Nope, neva said that!! 🤣🤣🙄🫣
Scott said you can borrow it , but you have to come to Utah to pick it up LOLOL
@@SirTools 🤣🤣🤣 well now THAT’S an offer that’s on the level!!🤣🤣🤣