I have discussed my use of this tool before, but only in bits and pieces, and thought it was high time to give it a proper review. The @craftsman midi lathe is the ideal lathe for any home or small shop, especially someone who does a light-to-moderate amount of wood turning. Once you get one of these in your possession, and you start turning, you will not want to stop!
I have previously labeled the lathe as one of the most fun and favorite tools in my shop. Out of the box, it comes with every piece you need to start basic turning, from the tapered bits to the tool rest and more.
I first used this lathe at Craftsman’s first #Makecation in Lake Arrowhead, CA and mentioned it in my post about tools I discovered there: http://craftsmancave.com/post/130207044055/5-tools-i-now-own-that-i-first-discovered-at
The 6-speed, belt-driven motor is powerful for any project you tackle, giving enough strength to rough and shape your spindles in pizza cutters, candlesticks, or even pens. Once everything is tightened up and adjusted correctly, the lathe is actually a fairly quiet tool.
The location and the fact that the lathe comes standard with a safety power switch is a plus for me. It is convenient to turn off the rotation while you are checking the status of your work piece (how much wood you’ve turned). The spindle lock is also nice for changing accessories and loading the work piece as well.
One thing you’ll want to keep in mind though - a lathe is a particularly messy tool. It will throw sawdust at you, on itself and on the floor. Dust collection will help with this (especially in sanding your piece at the end) but you will want to accessorize your lathe with some added features to make turning cleaner and easier. I picked up a dust collection system for the lathe at Rockler, and made some minor modifications for it to work on the Craftsman lathe, which you can read about here: http://craftsmancave.com/post/133378920595/whats-better-than-a-craftsman-lathe-a-lathe
A face shield is required. No ifs or buts. You will NEED it. But I don’t want that to deter anyone reading this from understanding how fun turning really is. I also recommend a apron to keep the chips and dust out of your clothing.
Lastly the Craftsman Midi Lathe does not come with cutting tools. Sadly, nor does Sears sell them separately. I recommend picking up carbide-coated replaceable tip cutting tools from @rocklerwoodworking, or our other author Mac is fond of Robert Sorby tools.
If you have ever considered wood turning, get this lathe. If you have never heard of wood turning, get this lathe. I promise you will not regret it!