Central Machinery Wood Lathe

More images

Average reader rating

4.3

out of 5

Brand:

Central Machinery

Model:

34706

Price:

$200

Description

This high quality wood lathe is ideal for crafts, hobbies and professional woodworking! The 3/4 HP motor on this CSA listed lathe reaches speeds of up to 2,400 RPM for quick and precise turning and facing on your wood projects. Features include a pivoting headstock to allow extra-large bowl turning capacity.

• Pivoting headstock for extra-large bowl turning capacity
• Headstock rotates and locks in position at 45, 90, 135 and 180 degrees
• Swing over bed: 12"
• CSA Listed
• Includes stand, tool rest, drive center, 6'' disc and Allen wrenches

Purchase Here

Reader Reviews

Great starter lathe

Reviewed by: kcfalk

Review Summary

I think this is the cheapest way to get into turning to see if you like it. i used one for years to suppliment my flat work. I has standard dimensions to support after market accesoories like MT2 tapers and a 1" x 8tpi spindle. The lowest speed is not the greatest but noting close in price is either. There are acutally instructions on how to modify the lathe to get an extra lower speed out of it. I eventually upgraded to a large Jet but this lathe served me well for years.

This review helped me

Detailed Ratings

4.8

out of 5

Performance

Features

Ease of Use

Value

Very nice lathe for the price

Reviewed by: 13471824DW

Review Summary

I bought this lathe from Harbor Freight about 2 years ago. It needs additional weight so I put a shelf with 3 70lb bags of sand on it. It is too light to turn raw logs or burls but I use it to turn rounded blanks into bowls. The lathe turns too fast to power sand on it (minimum speed is 600 rpm). For the price it can't be beat. I have used if for many long (2-4 hour) sessions of turning and it is a workhorse. If you are just starting out in turning try it.

…

For spindle or small object turners it should be everything you need. For bowl turners, you will eventually want to power sand you bowls so you will need a slower machine. The cheapest slow machine on the market now is the Turncrafter 12" from Penn State Industries at $500. This lathe is about $240 from Harbor Freight.

Show full review

This review helped me

Detailed Ratings

5.0

out of 5

Performance

Features

Ease of Use

Value

Good Starter Lathe

Reviewed by: bpbarwick

Review Summary

While I completely agree that this lathe is a good way to start out in woodturning (that is exactly the route I took), I have to disagree with the high reviews. After six months if use, I have found numerous problems: none of which have made it unusable, but do make its use more of a hassle and less enjoyable. Fist the major issues. If you are interested in bowl turning, this lathe will limit the size you are able to work on. The motor is under-powered.

…

If you turn anything approaching 10 inches in diameter or beyond, the lathe bogs down and you need to take very light cuts. Even in a soft, green wood. Even if you were wanting to go larger than that, you can't as the slowest speed is 600 rpm, making anything than, say, 12 inches unsafe to turn. Another issue is the locking levers. The lathe came with three (one on the banjo for the tool rest, one on the banjo extension, and one for the quill). Two of the three are stripped out, both on the banjo. It is impossible to lock the tool rest sufficiently without stripping them eventually. Without replacing these, it makes the banjo extension useless, which also makes the swiveling head stock useless. A few minor issues: The indexing on the head-stock swivel has quite a bit of slop. Whenever you turn it back over the bed, you must remove any faceplate work and bring up the tailstock to get everything centered before you lock it down. The live center that comes with the lathe has a bit of wobble to it, but this can be replaced. All-in-all, I would recommend this lathe to start out with. It has been a great introduction for me and caused me to start calling myself a woodturner rather than a woodworker. The lathe isn't perfect by any means, but is enough to get me going before I can afford something better.

Show full review

This review helped me

Detailed Ratings

3.5

out of 5

Performance

Features

Ease of Use

Value

Great starter lathe!

Reviewed by: wmartin1963

Review Summary

I've had this lathe for about a year now and have been able to create many great bowls and vases with it. However, I have recently purchased some new tool rests with only a 5/8" post. I also purchased a post adapter reduction insert (1" OD x 5/8" ID) to reduce the post hole size in the tool rest base but the hole is only 9/16", not a true 1" ... Anybody know where I can get a 9/16" O.D. x 5/8" I.D. insert?