Sherfey's wrote:
I have been wanting to get into bowl turning / carving for awhile
now. I
don't have the money to buy a real lathe yet. I don't care to turn
spindles
or aynthing like that, as I am just fascinated (sp) by bowls. So, I
have a
$75 gift card for the BORG (Men) and they have this Mini Lathe on
sale for
$69 and I was wondering if it is worth getting or not. All I want to
do is
see if this is for me or not. I have this endless supply of black
walnut
and this is all I think of doing with this stuff as I don't have a
sawmill
handy.

Scott

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Not to "Cut down" anyones comments, I believe that you will get a
decent lathe, if you buy the Wilton.

A little history. When Menared first started carring this lathe, it
sold for $139.00. They have had it on sale several times. I believe
that to get the 69.00 price tag, you have to send in a rebate for
10.00.

I have a very small shop and can't afford the room needed for a full
sized lathe, so I bought a Jet Mini. Wouldn't trade it for any other of
the same size on the market.

That being said, last summer, I was doing a lot of Turning
Demonstrations and the Jet got a little heavy to lug around. I looked
at what was out there, looking for a lighter lathe that didn't give
away much in quality. I ended up with the Wilton. For doing small
turnings - bowls up to 8" diameter - and pen turning, it is very good.

What you are giving up is the handles are plastic vs steel on the jet.
You don't get an outboard wheel, and the Morris Taper is a MT1 instead
of MT2. Also the spindle is 3/4' x 16 tpi . Since you get faceplates
and turning centers with the lathe, not much of a problem. A plus with
the Wilton vs my Jet is that it has Variable Speed.

I ran it for six weekends and am happy with it's performance.
"Just one OLD man's opinion."

The Other Bruce