The Best Wood Lathe for Experienced Woodworkers
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Central Machinery 5-Speed Benchtop Wood Lathe -
Woodstock Wood Lathe -
Jet 10" x 15" Wood Lathe -
Craftsman 12" x 16" Midi Wood Lathe -
Buyer's Guide
Lathes are one of those woodworking tools that not every woodworker needs. They are a specialty tool, used for turning wood spindles for furniture, table legs, and wood bowls. While I know that some wood turners (the term for people who use a lathe) can make some amazing things on their lathes, it’s just not the tool for all of us.
On the other hand, there are things which you can do on a lathe, which you can’t do on any other type of tool. I don’t care how hard you try; you’re not going to be very successful making a turned wood table leg on a table saw, although in theory it should be possible. Even so, to make it possible would require holding the part in a spindle; much like you would in a lathe.
A woodworking lathe depends a lot on the skill of the individual wood turner, as they are essentially carving the spindle, with the lathe only rotating the work piece to allow the cutting action to happen evenly all around the circumference of it. Cutting is accomplished with a series of hand-held chisels, with only a tool rest to reduce the amount of strain on the woodworker’s hands.
Turning wood is hard on the chisels, especially if you are turning dense hardwoods. Good quality chisels are needed, so that they will hold an edge. Even so, you'll probably find that you need to sharpen them frequently. Having a bench grinder on hand to do this makes using a wood lathe much more enjoyable.
If you need additional information to help you in your search for a wood lathe, be sure to check out out buyer's guide provided below. We've compiled the best wood lathes in 2022.
Compare The Best Wood Lathers Of 2022
Central Machinery 5-Speed Benchtop Wood Lathe - Best Wood Lathes Overall
This lathe, manufactured by Central Machinery and sold by our good friends at Harbor Freight is an incredible bargain. It comes with a 1/2 HP motor, which delivers 750 to 3,200 RPM across five adjustable speeds. The lathe’s capacity is 18-inches long and up to 10-inches in diameter, which isn’t bad for a benchtop wood lathe. The faceplate is 3-inches in diameter and it comes with both live and spur centers.
Woodstock Wood Lathe - Runner Up
This unique attachment from Woodstock allows you to convert any drill press into a drill press. It mounts to the drill press table and the drill chuck with both screw and spur centers for the chuck, giving you variety in how you hold the workpiece. The tool rest is 12-inches long, allowing you to work on pieces up to 24-inches long, if your drill press has enough room between the table and the chuck. It might take a bit of time to get used to turning wood vertically, but for those who have never used a lathe, there would be no time lost in unlearning how to turn the wood. For the hobbyist who only has occasional need for a lathe or limited space in their workshop, this is a great option.
Jet 10" x 15" Wood Lathe - Honorable Mention
Jet produces a very nice mini wood lathe, although I'll have to say that it's a bit pricey. Actually, if it wasn't for the price, I would have rated it higher. This lathe offers 10 inches of swing between 15-1/2-inch centers and the ways are extra wide for added stability.
I'd have to say it's the most stable lathe in this class. The tool provides fully variable speed, broken down into three ranges and an improved tensioning system makes it easy to change the belts for each of the ranges. 24 position indexing provides additional accuracy for detail work.
Craftsman 12" x 16" Midi Wood Lathe - Consider
This bench-top midi sized lathe seems to fit the bill for many homeowner projects. It will take material up to 12-inches in diameter by 16-inches long. The only thing I could fault Craftsman for on this unit it the 1/2 hp motor and I’d like to see this same unit with a stronger motor. Nevertheless, 1/2 hp is adequate for turning chair spindles without a problem.
Buyer's Guide
While wood turning is a very specialized part of woodworking, its history goes back for over 2,000 years. Early wood turners used manual lathes with an assistant pulling a leather strap to turn the wood. While nowhere near as efficient as modern wood lathes, they were able to manufacture a number of things.
Originally, wood turning was used more to make bowls and plates, than it was for turning spindles. However, in modern times, we find much more use of the lathe to turn spindles, both for furniture and for architectural adornment. We even find some purely artistic turning being done, such as making wood turning pens.
The average woodworker doesn't buy a lathe, unless they are serious about getting into turning wood. Once they do, turning becomes the major part of their woodworking. With that in mind, it's often a good idea to look for more than you need, so you won't end up having to replace a lathe after a year.
Types of Wood Lathes
Floor Mounted
These are larger lathes which have the stand integrated into the tool. They are generally sturdier units although the ways on many benchtop wood lathes are sturdy as well. If you are planning on doing really big work, you will need a floor mounted lathe.
Benchtop
The vast majority of lathes are benchtop units. These vary extensively in size so you’ll really want to think about how big a lathe you need for your projects. Larger lathes can pretty much always handle smaller projects but all lathes have a limit as to how big a project they can hold.
Mini Lathes
Mini lathes are a separate category of benchtop wood lathe, designed specifically for those who are doing smaller projects. These are used for wood turning pens and some types of doll furniture, such as the doll furniture used in wood doll houses. Mini lathes are specifically designed with detail in mind.
What to Look For in a Wood Lathe
Maximum Capacity
There really isn’t a whole lot of difference between one lathe and other, other than motor size and maximum capacity of the lathe. This maximum capacity is measured in two ways: between the centers and maximum swing. Between the centers refers to the distance from the spindle, which holds the workpiece at the motor end and the spindle which holds the piece of wood at the tailstock; the larger this distance, the longer the piece of wood that can be turned in said lathe.
Bed Extensions
Some lathes have bed extensions, which increase the effective maximum distance between centers. So, a mini lathe with a bed extension may actually have a larger capacity between centers than a different benchtop lathe which isn’t considered a mini lathe. Be sure to check this dimension for any lathe which you are considering.
Maximum Swing
The maximum swing refers to the largest diameter workpiece that can be put in the lathe, without it hitting any part of the tool. Typically, this is stated as the diameter, even though the critical measurement is the radius of the workpiece. Don’t get the two confused. This dimension is limited by how high the head is and how high the head puts the spindle above the ways (the part the tailstock slides on).
Outboard Side
Some lathes allow turning bowls and platters on what is called the outboard side of the head, which is essentially the other end of the motor spindle. This allows turning much larger bowls than would otherwise be possible with the lathe. Not all allow this though, so if this is a feature you want, be sure to check on it. Of course, if you are limiting yourself to turning spindles, this won’t be so important to you.
Ways
Structurally, the most important part of any lathe are the ways. These are the metal bars (often cast) which run from the motor head to the tailstock. Hefty ways are necessary to maintain the stiffness of the lathe. If the lathe isn't stiff enough, then the lathe can warp when working, causing the cutting tool to go off track and possibly even destroying a project.
Tool Rest
Tool rests vary little from lathe to lathe, although some are slightly longer than others. In most cases, you'll want to use the center of the rest as much as possible, locating your tool directly over the rest's support post. That will provide the best support for the tool and the least amount of chatter.
Motor Size
Motor size affects how quickly you can cut the material. If the motor is small and you try to make a heavy cut, there’s a good chance that your tool will chatter, or the workpiece will bog down. In either case, you’ll probably damage the workpiece perhaps beyond the point of repair.
Dense hardwoods require more physical force than softer woods to cut. This usually means having to take a smaller cut while turning the piece. A larger motor will make it possible to still take larger cuts to the workpiece, even when it is made of a dense hardwood.
Variable Speed
Most wood lathes are variable speed. This allows you to use the same tool effectively with a variety of wood densities. The harder the wood, the faster you’ll want to turn it, so that you don’t try to take too big a cut. At the same time, the larger the diameter of the workpiece, the slower you need to turn it. This is because a larger workpiece will have the circumference moving faster, even with the same lathe speed.
