Accessories

bad workmanship
lathe came in days before i was expecting it. amazon came through as always.
shipping box looked like crap but the lathe was not damaged. the hand wheel on the spindle side is so out of round and crooked that it will have to be replaced. there is rust on the machined surfaces and the pulleys are covered. the belt has a noticeable bad place in it so that will have to be replaced also. i dont like the plastic handles and they will also be replaced with metal ones.
when i started the lathe, it almost walked it's 80 lbs off the table due to the hand wheel vibration.
they say you get what you pay for. i have no doubt that this will be a good lathe. it is bulky and when yo take off the errant handwheel, very smooth. i just have to fix the items that they cut cost on and everything should be ok.

Excellent value
This lathe may be a little "rough around the edges" compared to higher priced brands, but it works exceedingly well for its intended use as a small bench-top lathe. I do mostly pen-turning and other small items on the lathe with very good results. The variable speed control is convenient, because there is enough speed control to turn pens from start to finish without the need to change the drive belt position. Sliding and positioning the tool rest was not smooth at first, but it was fine after applying dry lubricant to all friction surfaces. The tool rest surface was slightly pitted at the top edge, which caused tools to get stuck while turning enstead of sliding smoothly from side to side. It worked fine, however, after I ground the toolrest's edge smooth with a flat sharpening stone. It is an easy fix. I have no hesitation in recommending this lathe to anybody who is on a budget and needs to get good bang for the buck without compromizing on the usefulness of the product.

Great tool
Bought this lathe to turn bowls but have used it for several other projects. Well built, works great!

Great lathe!
Fantastic lathe. Using it in my personal shop in my basement. Nothing to setting up. Just plug in the cords and start turning. Only about 16" beteen centers without the bed extension. (I have one) That makes it 39" between centers. I turned my first peice and was more than staisfied. I am now building a Heavy stand from ShopNotes Issue no. 10. It fits perfectly. I would like to have a longer rest and may change that. But all in all I got more than I paid for.

You have to change the belt setting for some of the speeds but I have found that the middle speed on the belt gives me a lot of variable speed on the electronic speed control box.

A+ Thanks Amazon! I love shopping online!!! NO GAS NEEDED!!!

Out of the box...
Out of the box this lathe worked great! However, the instruction manual leads a lot to be desired. (Actually, it is poorly designed.) The manual assumes the new owner has had experience with wood lathes and wood turning. In my case, none. Prior to receiving the lathe, I viewed several online training videos and did some research, so I was able to manuever through the set up within thirty minutes or so. (There are still some areas I'm not too clear on, but I have friends who have offered to guide me through them.)

In deciding to buy this Turncrafter VS, I spent several hours reviwing the features and benefits of this lathe and also competitive models such as the comparable Jet lathe. The price was the deciding factor for me. The Turncrafter VS was about $100 less than the Jet model. Including shipping, the Amazon price was $227.00. Best deal I could find. E-bay offered it at about the same price, but I decided on Amazon because of customer support if I needed it.

I'm very satisfied with my purchase. I've read some of the "negative" reviews regarding the "finish" of this lather, but I chalked it up to "nit pickin". This is a fine model for beginners. It does what I want it to!

Don, Pineville, NC