Ryobi 16"Mini-lathe: Any good?

[Bill in Buena Park]

I ran across this item in the OC CL, again not even knowing Ryobi made lathes, and wondered if any here own this, and can comment on their experience with it. Is this a good entry model for pen turning?

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/tls/997970162.html

[Carlos]

I would say it depends on what you want to do. We bought a Rockler mini lathe, which is much heavier (a copy of the Jet mini), and it sucked. You could probably pull off very small bowls or legs, but for pens it was too imprecise and resulted in a number of oval pens. I haven't used the Ryobi, but I doubt it would have the precision and stability of the Jet. The lack of cast iron is very likely to translate into vibration.

[drumpriest]

Yeah, I think Carlos hit my major concern, which is the pipe rails and lack of weight. You want something with stability for turning, and I doubt that Ryobi will provide that. The oval issue Carlos is talking about can be caused by either run out or the head and tail stocks not lining up properly. Can't really test those without seeing the thing in person. I got an el cheapo lathe from Rockler as well, but I've had great success with it, I had it unboxed and tested alignment and run out before I took it home.

The Jet is certainly nice though, just a bit pricey, but hey if you are gonna use it, it's still one of the most affordable areas of woodworking, I think. I know a lot of turners who spent the money for a nice Jet mini, and a 9" bandsaw, and have been happily turning away for years. (add in some turning tools, of course) All for a lot less $$$ than my table saw cost.

[Carlos]

The oval issue Carlos is talking about can be caused by either run out or the head and tail stocks not lining up properly.

The Rockler lathe had both problems. Then you add in the vibration caused by those problems, and you end up with even more tendency to turn ovals. The Jet variable speed mini is a joy to use, and worth every penny. It's one of the few tools that absolutely never makes me wish I'd bought something better.

[Bill in Buena Park]

Thanks for the input, Carlos & Keith. I can appreciate being able to see it run before committing to a purchase, so I took a "pass" on this.

[drumpriest]

Yeah Carlos, I know a lot of people who have had bad luck with the M power lathes from Rockler (which btw, are the same as the PSI cheap lathes), I lucked out w/ the motor, and the rest of my "luck" I chalk up to knowing what to test and doing it before I left the store. I'm thinking of upgrading to a 12-20VS from Jet though, there is no question that the Jet mini's are better.

[Charlie]

Deleted by me.