The mini lathe machine for woodworking is a customized lathe machine that is designed to fit conveniently into small workbenches that are often found in small or mini carpenter workshops usually found in homes or garages. The lathe machine has undergone thorough metamorphosis over the years and designed with industrial technologies that make them more straightforward to use for getting better woodwork outputs. In addition to these, these machines are fitted to work on different sizes of wood pieces and for various purposes.
Uses Of The Mini Lathe Machine For Woodworking
- Making bowls
- Making table legs
- Making candlesticks
- Making musical instrument parts
- Many others
Parts Of The Mini Lathe machine For Woodworking
Many parts constitute a mini lathe for woodworking. However, the significant components of a metal lathe include the legs, bed, tailstock, gearbox, and carriage.
The Bed: The foundation provides the flat platform on which every other component of the lathe rest. It is usually made of cast iron and designed to have screw ports which are used to fasten it to the workbench.
The Legs (Nuggets): The legs are a fundamental part of any lathe. However, because of the sophistication of the mini machine, it doesn’t have legs; instead, it is designed to sit on the woodwork bench.
Headstock: The headstock consists of such parts that facilitate the rotation of the work piece on the mini lathe. It consists of such other components such as the driving pulleys, the live center, reverse gear, and the cylindrical headstock spindle that directly connects with the work piece.
Tailstock: The tailstock is directly opposite the headstock, and it could be easily adjusted to accommodate different sizes of the work pieces. Also, it is designed to also hold other tools for specific operations such as reamers and drills.
Gearbox: This called the quick-change, and it contains several gears, all in different sizes, and it functions in moving the carriage.
Carriage: The transport located in between the tailstock and the headstock. Is employed for mounting and guiding the tool against the work piece based on the work operation at hand, the carriage consists of identifiable parts such as the saddle, the cross slide, the compound rest, the tool post and the apron which all have unique functions.
Ways: These are guide rails that are designed to ensure that the movements in the lathe machines are accurate. It could be inner guide rails or outer guide rails.
Other Accessories: Except a very few, most mini lathe requires an external accessory to position the work piece to the spindle for operation. Some of these accessories include the faceplate, the mandrel, the collect, and the spur drive.
How to use the mini lathe machine?
Using a mini lathe isn’t a big deal at all. All you need to do is getting a clear cut objective of what you want to achieve, e.g., cutting, drilling, the work piece and all the necessary tools that you need based on the manufacturer’s instructions and you are ready to go. Using a mini lathe is best understood practically than theoretically. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you watch this video.
What Precautions Are Necessary When Using The Mini Lathe?
2. Ensure that the lathe stopped before making adjustments.
3. Handle sharp tools and accessories with care.
4. Always remove wrenches and chuck before using the cutter.
5. Be familiar with the emergency stop button.
6. Use brushes to remove wood chips that are stuck in the lathe. Avoid using hands.
7. Don’t rest on the lathe especially when it is in use.
8. Don’t take measurements while the lathe machine is running.
Best Five Mini Lathe Machine for Woodworking in 2024
Below are five carefully selected Benchtop lathes you could purchase in 2019 for efficient woodworking and some of their features.
| S/N | MINI LATHE | WEIGHT | MOTOR SPEED | MOTOR POWER |
| 1 | Grizzly G8688 | 89.2 lbs | 0-2500 rpm | 0.75 HP |
| 2 | Nova 46300 | 82.4 lbs | 250-4000 rpm | 0.75 HP |
| 3 | Ricon Power | 74 lbs | 500-3200 rpm | 0.5 HP |
| 4 | BestEquip 550W | 102.1 lbs | 100-2500 rpm | 0.75 HP |
| 5 | Morphorn 550W | 92 lbs | 50-2500 rpm | 0.75 HP |
Where could one buy the Benchtop Lathe Machine?
There are many offline carpentry stores where one could purchase a mini lathe for woodworking. However, online stores such as Amazon will give you better options. In addition to this, there are certain factors you should consider when intending to buy a new mini lathe.
These include the bed length, the horsepower, the RPMs, and the weight of the cutter. Talking about the importance, a great mini machine should be lightweight. However, this should not be at the expense of minimal vibration to ensure that the output of the work process is perfect.
To Sum Up,
Everyone is becoming a local woodworker and many home shops are springing up. Best Wood lathe have also been customized into small mini sizes to accommodate this trend. Mini lathes for woodworking are numerous, efficient and easy to use. Most importantly, they are available around you and relatively affordable.