Wood turning can be an expensive hobby, but it doesn’t have to be, and certainly for beginners it’s worth looking at some lower cost models before investing a ton of money. If you’re looking for a cheap wood lathe there are a few good options.

My personal recommendation is the Shop Fox W1704. Reviews are generally very favorable and for the price there is nothing available right now that can match it in terms of features and quality.

Depending on what kind of work you want to do with your lathe I would consider the following:

Inexpensive Wood Lathes
See larger image Grizzly H2669 Hobby Lathe (Misc.) If you already have a power drill, this is a very inexpensive option for some light wood turning. Essentially an adapter for your drill plus a lathe bed. Swing over the bed is 6 inches, and distance between centers in 24 inches. The power will depend on the drill of course, but this is a reasonable setup for a beginner. If you want to do more serious turning I would recommend a more conventional lathe however.
See larger image SHOP FOX W1704 1/3-Horsepower Benchtop Lathe (Tools & Home Improvement) List price: $209.00 USD New from: $173.73 In Stock The Shop Fox W1704 is a very nice mini lathe at a very affordable price. It features a 1/3 HP variable speed motor that should give you more than enough power for small projects. Distance center to center is 17 inches, with an 8 inch swing. Cast iron body, weighs in around 45 pounds. Great value and much cheaper than similar offerings from other manufacturers.
See larger image New Industrial 4 Speed 1000MM 40' Wood Lathe Turning Lathe Woodworking (Misc.) The least expensive option available for a fully featured lathe. 14″ by 40″ with a 0.5 HP engine.
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Happy turning!

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PSI has put together a really great beginner wood lathe in the Turncrafter Plus. It’s small and affordable, which makes it very easy to get into wood turning without too much of an investment and without requiring a ton of space. It’s not the biggest or most powerful lathe on the market, but it’s a capable mini lathe and comes at a very good price.

PSI Turncrafter Plus

The turncrafter plus is suprisingly effective considering it’s price tag. You’re not going to get the same results as you would on a full size wood lathe, but that might cost you ten times more. Certainly it’s not a bad lathe, and it’s comparable in build quality and feature set to the mini lathe offerings from companies like Jet and Shop Fox.

This is quite a small lathe with a 7 1/2″ swing and 12 1/2″ between centers. The size of this lathe  makes it well suited for pen turning as well as turning small bowls, ornaments, figures etc. You won’t be making any table legs on this lathe, but that’s not it’s intended use.

The Turncrafter Plus has a 1/4 HP engine, which is not overpowering, but for a small lathe like this is enough. Then engine provides more than enough torque to make roughing cuts, and also runs smoothly and quietly allowing for finer detail work. The engine is powerful enough that it won’t overheat or struggle, and that’s really the most important factor.

This is a variable speed engine capable of up to 3200 RPM. The variable speed control is really the standout feature of this lathe. Variable speed control is commonly found in more expensive lathes, and is a very nice feature to have as it removes the hassle of having to open up your lathe mid project and adjust belts in order to change speeds. It’s pretty much unheard of for a mini lathe in this price range.

All in all this is not the nicest wood lathe on the market, but it’s probably the best bang for your buck. If you’re new to wood turning it provides a great entry path. It’s also a good choice if you’re looking to add a small lathe to your shop for pen carving or detail work and don’t want to break the bank.

The Turncrafter comes with a nice standard set of accesories: two tool rests (4 1/2″ and 7″), a faceplate, spur and live centers, knockout bar and wrench. Amazon has this lathe available and actually knock a few dollars off the list price. You can see the details below.

*PSI has recently updated their product line and the Tuncrafter Plus and Turncrafter Pro are no longer available. If you’re looking for an affordable lathe with a similar feature set I recommend the Shop Fox W1704, listed below.

See larger image SHOP FOX W1704 1/3-Horsepower Benchtop Lathe (Tools & Home Improvement) List price: $209.00 USD New from: $173.73 In Stock The Shop Fox is a very good alternative to the Turncrafter Plus. It’s features include a 1/3 HP variable speed motor, 8 inch swing, 17 inches center to center and cast iron body.

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• Jet Mini Lathe Video Review – 1014i/1014vsi

A New Woodworker video review of the 1014 series from Jet. These are some great wood lathes, probably the best in the mini-lathe category. This video goes over the important features of the lathe, such as the updated indexing head and explains the speed change system.

I know a lot of people are very visual and really like to see a lathe in action, and I think a video is the next best thing to actually getting your hands on one.

You can find some more info on the Jet 1014i and 1014vsi on our wood lathes for sale page.

See larger image JET JML 1014I 10 Inch X 14 Inch Indexing Mini Lathe (Tools & Home Improvement) List price: $521.00 USD New from: $429.99 In Stock

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