8" x 12" Variable Speed Benchtop Mini Wood Lathe

Good lathe for anybody who wants to just turn small projects. I've made a bunch of stuff on this thing so here are the pros and cons. Pro: It's cheap Con: If you try to take off too much wood at once, the lathe slows down and stops. Pro: Because it slows down whenever you try and work too fast, it sort of teaches you to take your time and not rush your projects. Con: It's not as fast as a big lathe, and catches are usually really big. At one point my tool kicked back so badly it broke my nose. Just a reminder to go slow and take your time. Pro: It's under 200 dollars so if it only lasts a year or so, it's not as big a deal as it would be if a big lathe didn't last that long. Conclusion: it's a good little machine, but it's not meant to last forever. It's expendable. It's a learning lathe, hence the low price and performance issues. All in all, if you are just starting out, this is perfect for you. But maybe if you want to professionally turn wood, maybe upgrade sooner rather than later.

This is a great starter lathe. It works fantastic for pens. I bought two of them to get my two sons into a constructive hobby. So far they've made pens, mini bats, and harry potter wands. Easy to set up and switch between projects. The only downside to these is finding a bed extension, you're not going to find one. So if you are thinking of doing coffee table legs or chair legs, it's not going to happen without working on them in two parts. Best bang for your buck if you're just starting out and are unsure of how much you'll enjoy turning. It says you can make an 8" bowl on them. I'm gonna go with good luck on that. Maybe a 6" dish or bowl. But it's going to be a little challenging for this small lathe.

Great heap for a beginner to break. The arms for tightening the tail stock and tool rest never worked correctly, suggest a pair of channel locks. Also the pins holding the lugs on those come out easily, may require punching again. Pros: It’s quiet It’s about two feet wide little less than a foot tall. It’s a great lathe for beginners Comes with chucks Easy assembly Cons: Chucks for tail stock and tool rest are garbage, bad design, unusable Motor end is super heavy, tail stock requires anchoring Tool rests are sticky at first and require a bit of wear. I want to say I love WEN products but would highly suggest going with Rikon’s similar model instead. I hate that I’ve had this WEN lathe for 10 hours and the chucks don’t work, but it’s not worth getting replacements as it’s a design flaw.

UPDATE: 20 days in with minimal use and one of the headstock bearings has started going bad, clicking when tail stock puts minimal pressure on workpiece. Removed bearings and cleaned bad one and repacked with grease so I could try using again. It is better but still going bad. Ordered a 10 pack of better grade bearings and not going to deal with Wen. Aside from low grade bearings I am still ok with purchase from the stuff I have made and how well it turned out. Nice entry level lathe. For me as a cnc machinist this lathe is super basic which I like. No G&M codes/programs, just a wonderful tactile hobby. Within 20 minutes of box hitting my front step I had wood chips flying. Unit is solid and works as expected with only one disappointment and that is the motor being more underpowered than I expected. Not a huge issue as this is a smaller inexpensive lathe. Overall I am pleased.

The lathe is cheap, but it punches slightly above its weight for that price. Its not that powerful, the working area is very narrow, and the tailstock effectively moves less than an inch. However, this is a pen lathe at its core and none of those things matter for that. This will turn pens without issue. By far the nicest feature is the adjustable speed and overall size. If you have a small worksurface this is a great option. One thing i have not seen in the reviews (maybe I didn't look hard enough) is that the tool rest has been updated for the 3421 over the 3420. The tool rest can now be set to sit well below the center line of the spindle. Given this was the largest complaint the community seemed to have for the 3420, I'm surprised WEN doesn't include this more in their marketing material.

EDIT- I spoke with WEN customer service, and they were FANTASTIC. They walked me through checking a few parts of the motor and are shipping me the parts to make it all work again. It's looking like the carbon brushes that touch the motor to create electricity were somehow damaged. Will update when they show up, hopefully this should solve the problem! Original-I bought this for my husband as a Christmas present back in 2020. He didn't get a chance to try it out until later on, so it's only been used for just over a year, maybe once a month tops, as he's busy with work and school. He was a beginner, and produced only 8 pieces total on this lathe. It was great for what we were looking for and for him being a beginner, until 2 days ago when he was using it like he has for the last year and the motor died. It also created a power surge that killed our speakers and sound system that were plugged into the same surge protector. We've looked into a new motor, but it's a third of the original price and doesn't make sense to replace if the same thing could happen again. We'll be looking to other brands to replace this, really bummed that it didn't work for long.

Todo llegó muy bien empacado este torno tiene muy buena relación calidad-precio es pmas para principiantes o para hacer piezas pequeñas pero funciona muy muy bien tengo ya casi 2 meses con el y ni una sola falla ha tenido muy recomendado

The lathe performs as advertised . you will need to purchase a step down transformer for Australia , but that can also be obtained from amazon (Giantz 1000w 240v to 110v ) . I have used this lathe mostly for smaller items but it is capable to perform larger operations . Just remember it is not a 1hp Vicmarc lathe , I have purchased a second unit , to use to set up as a buffing station , and as the transformer has two outlets it will run them both ( probably not at the same time? ) . So for less than $200 you have a good little lathe that takes up a very small space . For the $100 price they are now I might get a third for a backup or for spare parts .

Excellent price and just as advertised

me gusto

Good price for what it is. Be aware that you will need a transformer to make it work anywhere that doesn't run on 11ov. Be patient when using, it bogs down easily. OK for small projects and that is about all. Anything too ambitious will bring much frustration