Wood Lathe Buyer's Guide

There are a lot of different wood lathes for sale these days, and it can be hard to decide which one is right for you. There are a lot of different factors to consider, such as size, brand, model, price point and what specific features you are looking for. A good wood lathe will last you many years and you shouldn't buy one without doing some research first, or you could regret your decision.

If you're buying your first wood lathe, you have to seriously look at how much money you're willing to invest. Ask yourself whether wood turning is a new hobby, or something you have been doing for many years. You don't want to drop a couple thousand dollars on a wood lathe, only to decide in a few weeks that you're bored of wood turning and want to take up a new hobby.

If you've never used a wood lathe before you might want to consider a hobby lathe. These are little more than a mount for an electric drill that will allow you to turn a small piece of wood. The performance is not nearly as good as a regular lathe, but it will let you get into wood turning at a fraction of the cost.

One of the biggest considerations when buying a lathe is the size. Are you looking to make pens or table legs? If you want to turn a few pens or other small projects, a pen lathe will allow you to do everything you want and are generally much cheaper than full sized lathes. Slightly bigger you have your mini lathes, that can turn small bowls and other small to mid sized pieces. A full sized lathe will be able to handle whatever you throw at it, but in general are more expensive than smaller tools.

When it comes to brands you'll notice there's a wide range of prices. The cheaper lathes are usually made in China and are not as well built as their American counterparts. This is not to say they are bad lathes, but the quality control and materials will not be quite the same standard. With that said Chinese made lathes have been improving in quality and growing in popularity in recent years, and if you are looking for a reasonably priced lathe there are many very good models to choose from.

If you're looking for an American lathe, you can expect a very high quality tool that will last a long time, but you will pay a premium.

It's a good idea to try out a range of lathes before you make any purchase, ask people you know if you can try out their lathe to get a feel for it, and ask what their experiences have been, there's really no substitute for first hand experience. You should also check out the reviews online to get a feel for whether people are satisfied with particular models of wood lathe.

There are a lot of wood lathes for sale online these days, and the prices are quite good, often with free shipping. If your local selection isn't that good, or if you're looking to save a few bucks, I definitely recommend looking at online retailers for your wood lathe. They can often beat brick and mortar stores thanks to lower overhead.

You can find a good list of wood lathes for sale as well as product reviews, articles and videos on my blog Wood Lathes Online.

Happy Turning

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