I didn't see the post from bill.. I don't know how in the hell he keeps breaking those things. Starting to wonder if it isn't operator error
You burning them out with all that work?
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You burning them out with all that work?
That's my thoughts. "All that work" and Harbor Freight do not go together all that well. Considering that's what, 5 of them now, I think he'd be much better off just paying more for it and not worrying about the burning up of each weak motor/. Then he could work faster, longer, and likely more uniformly (though I'm not saying he needs to do more, he just needs something that could without dying).
It's three. The first two had faulty motors. The third was significantly better but it used plastic on one of the parts, a part needed to properly tighten the fit between the headstock and tailstock to avoid wobbling. The third one worked much better than the first two but over time, the deficiencies of that plastic part became more acute. By paying for the full warranty package, I've been able to go in and swap out lathes and even buy up to the better equipment. I used my credit in the first two to buy the third and then the same credit to buy the one I just got.
This one has a self-centering three-jaw claw that lets me go back and do touch-ups at any point in the process. In addition to the variable speed, it has a forward and reverse, which I think helps create a cleaner job sanding. It's set up for wood and metal, so I can lathe aluminum as well as my favorite tonewoods, especially with the guards.
To test its usefulness, I decided to sand a couple of skinnies I've been meaning to sand smooth.
Even with a short run with a used-up piece of sandpaper, it didn't take long to get a smoother finish.
Applying the same process with another piece yielded a very smooth finish, even without lacquer.
As for the relative merits of Harbor Freight, it's the only place around here that sells lathes to a walk-in customer. What I'd like to have, somewhere down the road, is a CNC. I just wasn't in a position to start higher. My $500 lathe is not a $5,000 or $50,000 machine but it's progress. As my demands become more keen, so does my appreciation for the gap between entry-level equipment and the real thing.
For now, I'll hang onto the receipt.