Wood Lathes: What Full-Size, Midi, and Mini Machines Offer
Wood lathes are a great hobby pastime which can be very rewarding, letting your imagination run wild as you watch the chosen wood blank change from just a block of wood into something truly creative.
Woodturning is best described as the art of transforming a block of wood, stock or a blank as they are also known as, into usable objects or display pieces.
The person performing this task is known as the turner, the chosen wood is held in position on the wood lathe by either a faceplate, chuck or clamped between the headstock and the tailstock.
Often seen as a hobby or craft pastime, wood lathes are also used in industry, although the industrial machines are generally fully automated.
Wooden items such as bowls, spindles, candlesticks, egg cups, lamps, chair and table legs can easily be made. Architecture, furniture restoration, and cabinetry making are also connected with woodturning. The wood lathe is often used to produce new parts for broken or damaged furniture, sculptures, and other detailed ornamental features.
A large variety of power tools are available to help you with your woodturning projects, these include scroll saws for intricate cutting of wood, band saws for cutting thicker wood stock and wood blanks.
Essential items for use with wood lathes are of course the turning tools, these are often bought as a set to help you with your woodworking creations. If buying turning tools individually then I would recommend you invest in a 1/2 inch bowl gouge, 1/2 spindle gouge, spindle roughing gouge, skew and a parting tool.
As the wood chippings and wood shavings start to pile up as your woodworking skills progress, the type of wood chosen becomes more important to you.
Walnut, Oak, Cherry, Maple, Rosewood, Spalted Maple, Elm, Sycamore, Pear and the beautiful Cocobolo wood are just a few of the many varieties of wood available.
When you're turning you start to see the beautiful wood grain features become visible as you work the stock, the deep natural wood tones appearing as your latest project starts to take shape.
The finishing process involves sanding, sealing and polishing the wood to really bring out the wood grain features. Waxing is often used on the wood and can be brought up to a beautiful shine using a polisher or buffer.
The Wood Lathes We're Looking At
| Machine Type | Distance Between Centers | Brand |
|---|---|---|
| Full Size Wood Lathe | 40 Inches | Jet 719500 JWL-1640EVS 1.5 hp Lathe |
| Large Capacity Full Size | 42 Inches | Grizzly Industrial G0766 22" x 42" Wood Lathe |
| Midi Wood Lathe | 20 1/2 Inches | JET JWL-1221VS Wood Lathe |
| Alternative Midi Option | 16 1/2 Inches | Delta Industrial 46-460 Wood Lathe |
| Mini Wood Lathe | 18 Inches | WEN LA3424 12" x 18" 5-Speed Wood Lathe |
| Alternative Mini Option | 12 inches | SHOP FOX W1704 Wood Lathe |
Jet 719500 JWL-1640EVS Wood Lathe
This full size woodworking lathe is packed with cutting edge features and built for professional workshop use.
With a massive 40 inch between centers, you've got just about every woodturning project from wooden bowls to spindles covered here.
The electronic variable speed control system is where this powerful 1.5 HP lathe really shines. The running speed can be set from anywhere between 40 and 3200 RPM, giving you an incredible amount of speed options to choose from. So you've found your favorite speed to work at on the many various different types of wood, now you want to get those precise, evenly spaced features cut into the workpiece. Not a problem, there's a really handy 36 position indexing feature that's adjustable in 10 degree increments to help you do just that.
This newly designed model features a sliding headstock, which is such a great feature as this enables you to find a much more comfortable working position, making it a very versatile and user friendly machine to use.
As you'd expect from a top class piece of machinery, this thing is big and heavy. Size wise you're looking at 57 x 31 x 28 inches and as for the weight, it comes in at 300 lbs.
Don't be concerned about the weight of this lathe. When it comes to working with precision equipment, mass helps prevent the lathe from jumping or moving about when fully loaded with stock.
This lathe comes with a 5 year warranty.
The sliding headstock enables users to find more comfortable working positions. The electronic variable speed control provides speed options between 40 and 3200 RPM for precision working. The warranty covers 5 years.
Check the latest price on Amazon.
Grizzly Industrial G0766 22" x 42" Variable-Speed Wood Lathe
The Grizzly Industrial G0766 is a feature packed full size woodworking powerhouse of a machine. This lathe is perfect for serious woodturners who want to turn large bowls, furniture pieces, and other large-diameter projects.
With 22 inches of swing and a heavy-duty 1-1/4" x 8 TPI RH spindle, you've got the clearance and torque to easily rough out big projects at low speeds. The electronic variable speed control and 3 HP motor (running off single-phase 240V power using a variable-frequency drive) give you an impressive range from 100 to 3200 RPM. You can select between a low-speed range of 100 to 1200 RPM for heavy roughing work, or switch to the high-speed range of 330 to 3200 RPM for finishing cuts.
The distance between centers measures 42 inches, really giving you room to work on substantial turning projects. The digital readout for spindle RPM means you always know exactly what speed you're working at, which is particularly useful when switching between different types of wood or different stages of a project.
One of the standout features here is that the headstock can be positioned anywhere along the bed, giving you a wide range of control and flexibility with your projects. This is especially valuable when turning larger diameter pieces where you need the swing capacity but not necessarily the full length between centers.
The heavy-duty cast iron bed and stand make this lathe extremely stable. At 524 lbs, this thing stays right where you put it. It won't start to wander even when you are working it hard. The overall dimensions are 81" long x 23" wide x 49-1/2" high, so you'll need to ensure you have adequate space in your workshop.
Forward and reverse spindle control is included, along with 10-degree spindle indexing. The tailstock, headstock, and tool rest support all have lever-action cam locks for quick positioning. The tailstock barrel travel is 4-1/4 inches, and the machine includes a spur center, cupped live center, knock-out tool, tool rest, 6" faceplate and indexing pin.
This lathe is made in an ISO 9001 factory and is ETL certified.
Check the latest price on Amazon.
JET JWL-1221VS Wood Lathe
This midi wood lathe is a very impressive piece of kit. With a 21.5 inch distance between centers, you've got plenty of woodworking options available to you.
Powered by a 115 volt, 1 HP motor with a variable speed control option that allows you to select optimally designed turning speeds ranging from 60 to 3600 RPM. Even changing direction from forward to reverse is a nice and smooth transition.
Getting great results from your woodturning projects is down to how well you can work with the chosen wood. This midi lathe boasts an over bed swing of 12.5 inches and an over tool rest swing of 9-9/20 inch, giving you plenty of scope to work with.
To help you get consistent, detailed results in your turning jobs, there are 24 indexing positions to choose from, so no shortage of options here.
As we always say with wood lathes, it's great when they pack some weight. This super impressive midi wood lathe does just that, with 129.8 lbs to its credit, this thing is as solid and stable as they come.
Just to make sure you've got the room available to fit in your new woodworking buddy, you're going to need a space big enough to accommodate 32.8 x 14.6 x 21.2 inches and plenty of room for you to move about freely.
You get what seems to be a standard offering from Jet when it comes to warranties, and that's a very impressive 5 year warranty with this model.
This lathe has so many top class features you'll probably never need to buy another lathe, ever.
An official Jet manufactured extension bed is available from Amazon which extends this woodturning lathe to 43 inches. With such a big bed size transformation, you now have a lathe that can do so much more, meaning much bigger woodturning projects are now possible.
And that's the great thing about these Jet made lathes, you get so many options to help you get the setup just how you want it. In case you want to keep that workbench clear, there's a Jet lathe stand that's available to buy on Amazon as an add on. This makes the perfect choice should you wish to adapt this midi lathe even further to your own requirements.
Speed control is what this lathe is all about. You choose the speed that you want to work at, you are in total control. There are so many options to help you get the results you crave for, with 24 indexing options for that fine detailed work. This is a 129.8 lb solid and super stable woodturning machine.
Check the latest price on Amazon.
Delta Industrial 46-460 Wood Lathe
This is an alternative option if the JET midi wood lathe is outside a particular budget range. This machine has essential woodturning features.
This powerful 1 HP motor midi lathe from Delta produces a turning speed of 1725 RPM which is controlled via an electronic speed controller with 3 pulley speed ranges available.
A swing capacity option of 12.5 inches is possible with this lathe, making it the largest swing capacity of any woodturning lathe in its class.
For accuracy and precision, this lathe features a forward and reverse function. When sanding wood, rotating a turned piece in both directions produces smoother finishes.
Cast iron construction gives strength and stability to this lathe. Weighing in at 97 lbs, the mass helps when turning larger pieces of stock.
Size wise you're looking at 36 x 11 x 17.8 inches for this wood lathe, so that's a very reasonable size for a midi lathe, and just about right for fitting in that space you've prepared in your workshop.
If you wanted to keep that work bench area clear, then a Delta industrial stand for this lathe is available to buy on Amazon.
Included with this lathe:
- 1 x 6 inch tool rest
- 1 x 10 inch tool rest
- 1 x 3 inch chrome faceplate
- 1 x tool rest base
- 1 x knockout bar
- 1 x live center
- Wrenches
- Manual
Delta are renowned for making top quality woodturning lathes. They are so confident in the build quality of their machines that they include a 5 year warranty with this midi wood lathe.
This 1 HP motor produces a top turning speed of 1725 RPM. A swing capacity of 12.5 inches is possible with this midi wood lathe. The machine includes a 5 year warranty.
Check the latest price on Amazon.
WEN LA3424 12" x 18" 5-Speed Wood Lathe
This mini wood lathe features an 18 inch distance between centers and has substantial capacity for a mini lathe.
With a 4.5A motor supplying the power, this versatile mini wood lathe has 5 available speed options: 520, 900, 1400, 2150, and 3400 RPM. The motor provides maximum torque while the 70+ pound build prevents walking and wobbling during operation.
This machine features an MT2 spindle and tailstock taper to tightly hold your workpieces, along with a 7-7/8 inch tool rest for chisel and tool support during operation. The easy-to-use lever clamping system makes adjustments to both the tool rest and the tailstock simple and precise.
Bowls, cups and other non-spindle workpieces can be made with the included 3-1/8 inch faceplate. The lathe is perfect for making pens, chess pieces, and various small turning projects.
The overall dimensions are 30.25 x 8.75 x 16.25 inches, making this a benchtop machine that doesn't take up excessive space. At 78.9 lbs, this mini lathe has mass to help keep working vibration down.
The WEN Wood Lathe includes a headstock spur center, a tailstock cup center, a flat wrench, a knockout rod, 2 hex wrenches (3 mm and 5mm), an accessory holder, and a 3-1/8 inch faceplate for turning bowls, cups and other non-spindle workpieces.
WEN backs this lathe with a two-year warranty and a nationwide network of service technicians.
This machine has 5 speed options for control on woodturning projects. The lathe works for decorative turnings like spindles, table legs, and chair legs. The build weight is nearly 80 lbs.
Check the latest price on Amazon.
SHOP FOX W1704 Wood Lathe
Woodturning enthusiasts will be well aware of the name Shop Fox. Build quality is guaranteed.
Powered by a 1/3 HP variable speed motor, it offers speed choices of between 700 and 3200 RPM. This mini wood lathe has a 12 inch between centers measurement and an 8 inch swing over bed, which gives you plenty of scope for a vast array of woodturning projects.
This cast iron wood lathe is designed to sit on a workbench and is supplied with two tool rests: a 4 1/2 inch and a 7 inch tool rest.
A 5 3/4 inch faceplate is included with this lathe for bowl making.
This mini woodturning lathe provides variable speed options between 700 and 3200 RPM. It measures 7.1 x 27.9 x 13.7 inches for benchtop use. A 2 year warranty is included.
Check the latest price on Amazon.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is wood turning?
Woodturning is a form of arts and crafts performed on a lathe. What the woodturning process does is to enable you to create, in some cases very intricate, detailed creations out of wood.
Woodturning is performed on a wood lathe. The lathe holds the wooden blank in position by either a faceplate or held in position by a clamping process that allows the wood to rotate at various speeds.
All sorts of wooden items can be created using a wood lathe, such as a rolling pin, chair legs, spindles and even a baseball bat amongst numerous other things.
Is pine any good for wood turning?
Pinewood is a softwood, which makes it easier to work with than hardwoods. Bowls and spindles projects made from pine wood are common starting points since the softwood is easily shaped when using sharp wood chisels and scraper tools.
What is a bowl gouge?
A bowl gouge is used in woodturning. It has a rounded metal exterior shaft and a curved interior flute. The curved flute can be U shaped, V shaped or parabolic shaped and it's this shape that allows the bowl gouge to have exterior beveled wings that create a large cutting surface.