Lathe reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 172 Reddit reviews across 14 subreddits and 57 posts to rank the best Lathe brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/turning, r/Machinists, r/machining, r/PenTurning, r/CNC. Top-rated brands include Jet (4.5/5), Sherline (4.1/5), Rikon (4.3/5).
Stats
Reviews172
Subreddits14
Posts57
Brands56
Products59
172 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Jet
4.5
(26)
"I would recommend a jet or delta."
"It was very reliable."
"I'm a fan of the Jet lathes. I have a 1224 and it's been great."
"I loved using a 1221vs (variable speed) set on top of a burly workbench for a lot of work."
"I make bats on a jet 1221 with the extension."
"Wife and I have matching 1221’s and love them."
"Jet 12 21 is a beast and is like 1000 bucks."
"Perfect for small items, pens, bowls etc."
"I love my Jet 1221VS."
"I like my jet 1221. Having used it for over a decade I'd say it is more than solid."
#2
Sherline
4.1
(13)
"If a Sherline is big enough for you that would be my choice. It will give you accuracy out of the box."
"Sherline and Taig are the two best bench top lathes."
"I can vouch for Sherline."
"I have a Sherline, a Chinese 7 x 14 lathe, and a South Bend 10 K."
"Love my sherline. get the extended axes for tooling clearance."
"I’ve bought two Sherline lathes and a mill."
"Taig looks nicer than the Sherline."
"I like my Sherline a lot"
"Closest I can think of is something like a sherline."
"High quality, made in the USA."
#3
Rikon
4.3
(12)
"The only lathe I can speak to the quality of is a Rikon 1420vsr, I don’t remember the exact price I got mine for but it was around $1200."
"I got a rikon and love it."
"Love my 150vsr so much, and maxed it out, so bought their big boy with the sliding bed."
"I ended up with two Rikon, love them both, and service is phenomenal."
"Rikon makes good lathes in that size range."
"I’ve had both a Rikon and now a Jet lathe that come in in that range and have been very happy with them."
"My rikons have treated me well."
"I turn the majority of my pieces on a pretty simple Rikon midi-lathe."
"There is a new, more capable model with 1-1/2 HP motor."
"I bought that exact Rikon on fb marketplace for half price."
#4
Nova
4.8
(8)
"I found a used nova dvr xp for 600 that I am very happy with."
"For the chuck, skip the generic one and get a Nova."
"I recently got a Nova Neptune. It's my first full size lathe and am loving it so far."
"This has been a great machine."
"Recently I upgraded to a Nova Comet II with an extension bed."
"I use a nova lathe now and got to where i use replaceable tip gouges now. I love it!"
"It's a fantastic lathe but it is definitely overkill for pens and small projects."
"Nova Nebula."
#5
Laguna
3.3
(10)
"Laguna 18/36 in 220v is likely the only lathe you’ll ever need."
"I love, love, love the Laguna. The build quality is better."
"I know I will get voted down for this, but my vote is Laguna 12/16."
"The Laguna 1524 looks like a nice setup."
"I have a Laguna 18/36 and its really good."
"Biggest pro of the Laguna is that they are one of the few that actually give you a tailstock riser block."
"I would only buy the Laguna if somebody could reliably ensure me that they have fixed their toolpost clamp design."
"However be aware that Laguna's customer service isn't just bad it is no-existent."
"Laguna is known for bad customer service, FWIW."
"I have a Laguna and forget about any customer service if you have a problem."
#6
Powermatic
4.5
(6)
"I have Powermatic and love it."
"I love it."
"Powermatic is the only way to go, no other is even close Imo."
"Rugged, dependable, and plenty of kit made specifically for this lathe."
"The stands of the Vicmarc (most models anyway) and the Robust fully adjust and would accommodate that height."
"Do not buy a Laguna. Used powermatics come up all the time."
#7
Rockler
4.5
(6)
"Pen and ring kits from Rockler are a great place to start with a mini lathe."
"I'd definitely look for a relatively simple kit, like a pie spatula or meat fork kit from rockler."
"The rockler excelsior is great for starters."
"If you’re in the center of Wisconsin you could buy my old Rockler Excelsior lathe for $150."
"Rockler's running a sale right now on their VS 12-24 midi lathe for $520."
"Rockler's 1018 Mini lathe is $300 and does not suck."
#8
Grizzly
4.0
(6)
"Their business is tools & they claim to have parts."
"Perfect for small items, pens, bowls etc."
"I went with the 22” grizzly- at first because I wanted the power and capacity."
"I have their big 3hp and it has been great."
"Take a look at the Grizzly T25920."
"I started with a grizzly 1022 lathe 10 years ago."
#9
Harbor Freight
3.8
(6)
"A brand new lathe with no tools beats no lathe any day! That’s an awesome gift to receive."
"I have been happy with an older, used harbor freight 10x18."
"The harbor freight lathes are pretty good machines."
"I have been very happy with the typical harbor freight benchtop unit for several years."
"Hop on harbor freight’s website and go from there."
"The bigger of the two Harbor Freight lathes would probably be just fine too."
#10
Craftsman
4.0
(5)
"Up to 20” bowl turning and 38” between centers."
"Based on what you want to turn, I would have to recommend an older, used Craftsman."
"I got an old Craftsman off of Craigslist for $75 that I've used to turn chair leg spindles and bowls."
"Go and find an old one. There are lots of decent old lathes out there."
"I bought an old Craftsman lathe at an estate sale for $70."
#11
Vicmarc
4.8
(4)
"You can even get a Vicmarc VL300 EVS in the USA, which would be my preferred choice."
"If I was in Australia, I would do anything to get my hand on a Vicmarc."
"Vicmarc. They are the Rolls Royce of Lathes."
"Vicmarc VL 300 EVS adjusts up to almost 54 inches of center height over ground."
#12
Jet 1221 lathe
4.5
(4)
"The 1221 is my dream lathe. I think it's a lathe that even if you get a bigger lathe, you would still never regret the 1221."
"I have the 1221 and turned a shallow bowl that's almost 12" across. While I wouldnt mind having a larger lathe, this one does an awful lot."
"The Jet 1221 is 1000x better lathe than the bauer and not too much more but easily worth it"
"From what I was told at Rockler yesterday the Jet 1221 is about to have another price drop in the next 30 days."
#13
Record Power
4.5
(4)
"Record power. Huge fan here."
"For that price I got a record power coronet herald that has a 14" swing."
"The RP Coronet Herald is the next best thing."
"Record Power has a ton of options and they are decent lathes."
#14
Axminster
3.8
(4)
"Axminster lathes are great. I have had the Axminster Craft AC355WL for over five years now and I love it."
"I have an Axminster AW305 and it’s decent."
"I have an Axminster AW305 and it’s decent."
"Stay away from the cheapest Axminster. Had it for a year."
#15
Hardinge
4.7
(3)
"Hardinge lathes are pretty awesome but probably carry a premium."
"You would ned a Hardinge or Monarch EE toolroom lathe for stuff like that."
"Get an old Hardinge."
#16
Haas
3.5
(4)
"We have a tl3 and love it for random weird setups."
"Haas, they’re very easy to learn and good enough for most things."
"If your budget is 15k, then a used Haas or Mori is for you."
"I have some experience with a haas TL and it’s actually not a bad machine."
#17
Precision Matthews
4.3
(3)
"My vote would be Precision Matthews. Their machines are very good with excellent support."
"Precision Matthews makes good quality bench lathes."
"I’ve heard good things about Precision Matthews but I have no experience."
#18
Wen
3.7
(3)
"I have the bigger WEN that is 12x18 and it has been great."
"I was given a small Wen lathe (that retails for around $200)."
"The Wen/Bauer is a good starter lathe, and might do you well if you aren't going to do turning exclusively."
#19
Doosan
5.0
(2)
"The doosan is definetly the best choice imo."
"From the options in your post i would definitely go with the Doosan."
#20
Amazon
5.0
(2)
"Amazon sells beginner pen kits that come with multiple pens and all the supplies needed to make them."
"I got a nice variable speed 12x18 lathe with a 3/4 HP motor from Amazon... for small items, it is super stable."
#21
Cuesmith
5.0
(2)
"If your ready to spend 3/4k get the cuesmith deluxe with taper bars and 3/4 hp motor."
"This would be your best bet."
#22
Shop Fox
4.5
(2)
"It's been a great little pen lathe for years."
"You can get one new for around $250-$300 online."
#23
Robust
4.5
(2)
"Robust Sweet 16. Every thing you want it to do and none of the things you don’t."
"I ended up going with the robust american beauty. It adjusts from I think a 42" spindle height up to just shy of 50"."
#24
Jet 1221VS lathe
4.0
(2)
"I quite liked the Jet 1221vs that I bought as my first."
"I had a Harbor Freight one and I upgraded to a Jet 1221 VS and the Jet is a lot nicer to run."
#25
Bauer
4.0
(2)
"The newish Bauer lathe looks like a pretty solid deal for something new."
"Check out the Bauer 14x20 lathe from harbor freight."
#26
Schaublin
5.0
(1)
"Schaublin 102."
#27
Penn State Industries
5.0
(1)
"Great lathe, absolutely no reason to spend 1k plus for pens."
#28
Laguna 1216
5.0
(1)
"I absolutely love my Laguna 1216"
#29
Powermatic 2014
5.0
(1)
"I found a used powermatic 2014 for $1700 and haven’t looked back."
#30
Rikon 1420
5.0
(1)
"I really like my rikon 1420."
#31
Holzstar 450
5.0
(1)
"I have Holzstar 450, best small lathe here in CZ."
#32
Nova Comet 2
5.0
(1)
"Nova Comet 2 is a great lathe to start with."
#33
Woodturning Steady Rest
4.0
(1)
"Here's one that looks OK, but lots more came up in a search."
#34
Myford
4.0
(1)
"I use a Myford ML7."
#35
Neptune
4.0
(1)
"Paying $200 more for a new Neptune is a no-brainer."
#36
Unimat
4.0
(1)
"Also check out used Unimat and see if there are any in your area."
#37
HS
4.0
(1)
"I'd recommend a set of HS preformed cutter bits."
#38
Borite
4.0
(1)
"Borite precision tools makes some nice starter sets in 3/8ths and 1/2" shank size."
#39
McMaster-Carr
4.0
(1)
"I would definitely start with a carbide insert cutter."
#40
Southbend Lathe 9 or 10 inch
4.0
(1)
"If I were you, I would get a small mill like Jet brand And an old Southbend 9 or 10" Lathe."
#41
Accusize
4.0
(1)
"I got a cheapish set of carbide insert tools off Amazon for like $45."
#42
LittleMachineShop
4.0
(1)
"Check out littlemachineshop.com. They have a beginner set of tools jacobs chuck, center drills, etc..."
#43
Tormach 8L
4.0
(1)
"Something like a Tormach 8L."
#44
Takisawa Nakamura
4.0
(1)
"Old takisawa or Old Nakamura should be a good deal."
#45
FTL320T
4.0
(1)
"Something like this would be a good fit."
#46
OmniTurn AW-100
4.0
(1)
"Maybe look for a Used OmniTurn, or since you're west coast, an old American Way AW-100."
#47
Emco Compact 5/8
4.0
(1)
"Maybe an Emco Compact 5 or Compact 8? They're older machines but solid."
#48
Metal Lathe
4.0
(1)
"I'd certainly be looking at a metal lathe if at all possible."
#49
Logan
4.0
(1)
"You might be better off with an old US made lathe such as a Logan or South Bend."
#50
Taig
4.0
(1)
"They make a small lathe that’s generally regarded as a little bit bigger and heavier duty than sherline."
#51
Emco
3.0
(1)
"Emco made good machines."
#52
Harvey
3.0
(1)
"I just purchased the Harvey T-40 and I’m excited to get it up and running."
#53
Chinese
3.0
(1)
"I recently got a bench top Chinese mini lathe for ~500 bucks Canadian."
#54
Vevor
3.0
(1)
"A cheap new mini lathe for metal like a 7x10/12/14" is under $450."
#55
Storebro
3.0
(1)
"Storebro (a Swedish machine company) has small, and cheap, machines."
#56
Seig
2.0
(1)
"I bought a seig c3 from little machine shop (7x16). The lathe could physically do the work."
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