Are the cheaper benchtop "precision" lathes worth it to have around for projects?

signcrafter · Apr 10, 2026

There are lots of times I could use a lathe to make up a small part or tool for a project or repair. I don't have the space and won't use it often, although that might change if I get one, for anything to big. Have been thinking about getting one of the smaller import benchtop lathes just to have for random needs. Just to make tools and parts for other smaller projects. Are these things worth the 600-700-800 dollars they are? Seems like one of these 7x14 or so ones sold under various names would do most of what I might need to do and would be nice to have around. But wondering if they are just **** and a waste of money? Mainly would use it for things like making a threaded rod for puller, seal and bearing driver adapters, some threading of rods, etc. Nothing too crazy or crazy precision, although would like it to be pretty close if I'm going to do something. I know HF, vevor, etc. all sell these things and guessing they all fairly similar in quality. Anyone have experience with one of these 6-800 dollar machines?

BigMike782 · Apr 10, 2026

The following is my opinion.
Any lathe is better than no lathe at all. A clapped out POS or a cheap import is slightly elevated above no lathe at all.
For many years all I had was a Craftsman/Atlas it was ok but when I found my South Bend Fourteen I snapped it up.
I am, by no means, a tool and die maker but I have found having a lathe and a mill opened up worlds of possibilities for me.

The Cobbler · Apr 10, 2026

I think the small import lathes are decent for doing small stuff. as long as you don't try to overload them I think they will give decent results .

ADKAmateur · Apr 10, 2026

I have heard the Precision Mathews are the best of the small lathes.

imagineer · Apr 10, 2026

I have a ShopFox M1049, 9" x 19". I spent just over a grand for it from Grizzly Industrial.
Whereas the lathe is fine, albeit a bit under powered**, the 3" chuck and accessories that came with it are junk.

As stated well previously, any lathe is better than no lathe . . . knowing what I know now, I should have spent a bit more for a stronger lathe.

** The lathe motor is strong enough, it's the drive belt system that's lacking. Any amount of back pressure and the drive belt slips.

rattle_snake · Apr 10, 2026

Any lathe is very useful in my opinion. Opens up many solutions.

RoninB4 · Apr 10, 2026

Innovate1 · Apr 10, 2026

ADKAmateur said:
I have heard the Precision Mathews are the best of the small lathes.

Quite a few years ago I bought a small Precision Mathews mill for the companies electronics lab. Used for very basic stuff. Was a step above most of the other low end china brands. There are some on line groups for the small import lathes that you could find out more from.

WildBill · Apr 10, 2026

ADKAmateur said:
I have heard the Precision Mathews are the best of the small lathes.

Unfortunately they cost 4-5 times more than the ones signcrafter was asking about. Unless you get a deal on a used one.

theoldwizard1 · Apr 10, 2026

The Cobbler said:
I think the small import lathes are decent for doing small stuff. as long as you don't try to overload them I think they will give decent results .

A lot of cheap benchtop lathe use plastic gears to speed changes. They break when over load and then you are dead !

Buy one with a built in speed controller.

LXCam · Apr 10, 2026

Go for it Scott. I started off with a HF one that I developed a stand alone drive system for kenne bell super chargers. It took some lite touches to dial in the parts but it did it. Did a lot of **** off that thing before I stepped it up though.

gtae07 · Apr 10, 2026

I have a little HF mini lathe I picked up off Craigslist years ago. It's done great for the simple little things I needed it for (making simple bushings, boring out an alternator pulley, etc). Just be prepared to spend time working slowly to get the results you want.

iagsxr · Apr 10, 2026

Products for bench top machinists

The premier source of tooling, parts, and accessories for bench top machinists.

littlemachineshop.com

I'm not necessarily saying buy from them, but there's some information on their page.

I've also been seeing like old Atlas lathes on Marketplace in the 5-600 dollar range. I think there's something to be said for a brand new benchtop. I also think you'd have a more capable machine once you figured out any idiosyncrasies of an old lathe.

vpd66 · Apr 11, 2026

I have a HF 7x14 that I picked up on marketplace for $200. Like said they aren't bad if you don't push them hard. Be prepared there is a rabbit hole of upgrades and some help and some are more or less just personal preference. My suggestion is to watch Marketplace and find a used one. The one I found had very little use on it. The previous owner was trying to make some sort of diesel injector part and said it wasn't able to do what he bought it for?? Also be prepared to spent more on tooling then you will spend on the lathe. This will be the same with any lathe. In my opinion the HF lathes aren't worth what HF is selling them for.

WisJim · Apr 11, 2026

I (and my son) wanted a metal lathe for years, but couldn't afford a new one, so when he found an old Seneca Falls lathe on Craig's List, we drove an hour to take a look and ended up bringing it home for $300 or so. It had enough tooling to be usable right away and we used it to make or rework lots of odds and ends. Then I discovered a late model Craftsman (Atlas) 12x24 lathe nearby for $200 and called the lady selling it that I would take it. I still have it and use it. It came with all of the tooling that her dad had for the lathe, but I have added things like a quick change tool holder and collets etc when I found them cheap.
My point is to keep looking at FBM, Craigs List, etc., local auctions and sales, and something may pop up. I found my South Bend 9" lathe and tooling at a garage sale, sitting in a back corner on the floor, $200 complete with a box of tooling, an unexpected find.

cvairwerks · Apr 11, 2026

Something to keep in mind when price searching for lathes. It's going to be heavily dependent on where in the county one is located. What's cheap in the north eastern seaboard or LA area, may not be ever found in other parts of the country. Around me, a clapped out, somewhat tooled Atlas with flat ways, will still command over a grand. A junky Monarch 10EE with no drive system will still bring over 3 grand. An HF benchtop mini lathe will bring near new prices. Now on the other hand, a Gisholt 5, won't bring much more than a grand, unless it's got scads of tooling with it and multiple chucks.

Bottom line, be aware of regional price differences and how wear and included tooling affects pricing. One may end up being better served going with a bit more machine and driving some distance for it, over buying something more limited within the local area.

larry_g · Apr 11, 2026

signcrafter said:
Just to make tools and parts for other smaller projects. Are these things worth the 600-700-800 dollars they are? Seems like one of these 7x14 or so ones sold under various names would do most of what I might need to do and would be nice to have around. But wondering if they are just **** and a waste of money? Mainly would use it for things like making a threaded rod for puller, seal and bearing driver adapters, some threading of rods, etc. Nothing too crazy or crazy precision, although would like it to be pretty close if I'm going to do something. I know HF, vevor, etc. all sell these things and guessing they all fairly similar in quality. Anyone have experience with one of these 6-800 dollar machines?

The two things you said, highlighted in red, tend to make me think that you intend to use some tougher materials. These tough materials are where so many small lathes lay down. I started with a 6" Atlas, moved to a 10" Logan and then stepped up to a 10" and 13" Sheldon lathes. The Atlas would not do tough materials, The Logan would at very slow and small cuts. The bigger Sheldons do OK but are still not power houses. So really think about what you want to do and the materials you want to work with.

lg
no neat sig line

danielbuck · Apr 11, 2026

rattle_snake said:
Any lathe is very useful in my opinion. Opens up many solutions.

I agree with this. I had a small-ish lathe (7x16") for about 10 years before I got a much larger one, I still keep the small one. You will find more uses for the lathe than you thought you would. Even though almost the entire time I had just the small lathe I was wishing I had a larger one, I just didn't have room for it, and I made/modified many parts with it.

If all you have room for is a bench top, I would go for it. If you have room for something larger, I would get something larger and more rigid.

crguy · Apr 11, 2026

A decent old Atlas, Logan, etc. will outperform any of those new cheap imports. Parts and tooling are available.

IndyGarage · Apr 12, 2026

I bought a Smithy lathe/mill machine and had it in my garage. I made quite a few things on the lathe, including a lot of custom threaded stuff. I found the mill section was not as useful to me. The layout was awkward and the movement was short.

About 10 years ago I sold it because I hadn't used it in a year or so. It was almost a bidding war to get it. I wish I hadn't sold it, it was a really useful machine.

giddygoat · Apr 12, 2026

I have the Smithy 3 in one that I bought 20 years ago, use it all the time, just used it last week to machine down secondary clutch on a johnson snowmobile to be able to install the more standard comet primary on a CCW motor swap. It gets used for turning, drilling and milling but I do not do alot of milling. It has been trouble free, not super accurate but if one takes it easy you can do good work on it.

txvwnut · Apr 12, 2026

My foray into machining was with a Smithy 3 in 1 as I needed a lathe and a mill but only had the budget for one or the other. I machined a lot of veedub engine cases on it as well as made many other parts and tools. I sold it in the early 2000’s as I “upgraded“ and bought an El Dorado bridge mill as I wanted an R-8 quill as there was more tooling available than in the MT3 quill the Smithy had. Now I have an Enco knee mill and a Precision Matthew’s PM 12-28 lathe.

Xti04 · Apr 12, 2026

Little machine shop sells plenty of parts to upgrade the smaller import lathes. I bought a 5 in chuck and lots of tooling from them for my 7x14 grizzly when I had it. Thought I was buying a larger lathe and sold the grizzly and never replaced it. Still kick myself for that.

jfleisher · Apr 14, 2026

The small lathes can be very useful, you just have to stay within their limitations.

gte718p · May 1, 2026

It has been said before, but yes so long as you temper your expectations. A benchtop lathe is not going to hog out a big 12 in piece of steel, even though you might possibly find some way to mount it. I had an only Craftsman lathe that I pickup up. It became one of my most used tools in the shop. Once you have a lather, its amazing how many times you need spacers, bushings, drivers, punches, etc.

Lots of fun things that you can get into with a small lathe from drones to watch making.

In general, GJ rules apply. Buy 10EE if you have space and can afford it. Buying the most expensive lathe you can afford will save money down the road, but upgrading and tuning import mills is a hobby unto itself. The ~$600 HF lathe can make usable parts out of the box. With some time, energy, and money, it can make some really good parts. Of course, for less overall layout, less time, and less energy you would come out ahead by paying more upfront for the Precision Matthews.

Ultradog MN · May 3, 2026

I've known 2 guys who despite my misgivings and advice, bought those POS mini lathes. They were both noisy, ill made, under powered, prone to failure and incapable of holding any kind of tolerance. Both got rid of them within a year and started looking for something better. Look for an old Craftsman, Atlas, South Bend or equivalent. You will be glad you did.

tool_scrounge · May 3, 2026

Ultradog MN said:
I've known 2 guys who despite my misgivings and advice, bought those POS mini lathes. They were both noisy, ill made, under powered, prone to failure and incapable of holding any kind of tolerance. Both got rid of them within a year and started looking for something better. Look for an old Craftsman, Atlas, South Bend or equivalent. You will be glad you did.

I agree with the above. My folks started me with a 6” Craftsman metal lathe when I was quite young. It was just OK. They upgraded to a Craftsman 12” lathe with the metal stand with the motor and reduction pulleys built into the base of the stand. Definitely an upgrade.

There are quality small precision instrument lathes out there. They are usually eye watering expensive even on the used market with the accessories. The picture below is of a Levin lathe.

RoninB4 · May 3, 2026

Ultradog MN said:
They were both noisy, ill made, under powered, prone to failure and incapable of holding any kind of tolerance.

-While I agree with your evaluation of this grade of import lathe there can be a place for them. If you're in a rented apartment, not enough budget for a better machine, or are willing to work withing the (severe) limitations of a tiny machine then one of these may just (barely) be the best choice. I don't advise buying one either, especially buying new. A used one will be much less expensive and allow a newbie to decide if machining is worth further pursuit, it's not for everybody. I've made plenty of pins, bushings, and even turned the lower fork legs on my motorcycle with one after I sold my larger machines to relocate. I rarely use it now, prefer to use my Weiler. They may be a tinker-toy but a good machinist can still get work done with them and are better than nothing. There are several reasons to NOT own a better machine, even if the offerings from Chi-Wan are POS.

Ultradog MN said:
Look for an old Craftsman, Atlas, South Bend or equivalent. You will be glad you did.

-These may be better machines but not if the bed is worn to the point of not holding tolerances. None of the above were ever considered anything but light duty hobby grade machines even when brand new. Most of these are worn out by now. Machine condition is everything, name brand is a distant secondary consideration IMO.

gtae07 · May 3, 2026

Yesterday I dug mine out for the first time after our move and used it to turn down a 5/16 socket so it would fit into a tight recess. For this kind of use it's just fine.

Steve from Socal · May 3, 2026

I think ANY lathe is better than no lathe BUT, the known limitations have to be considered. If you are only going to use this for small parts of low strength materials with the expectation of spending lots of time and money to make anything. If the OP is only going to use this once in a great while, honestly find a shop of friend that can do small jobs. If either of these don't work, consider a HS/JC metal shop class or joing a makers space with a lathe, much better way to get access to machines. The school or makers will also have someone who can get you pointed in the right direction.

LXCam · May 3, 2026

For you guys that say this is a worthless purchase, I'll tell you something. If you have the patience and skill you can still produce a worthwhile part. Is it fast....nope, do you need to pay attention and take your sweet *** time about it....yup!, but it can be done. And its better than nothing.

Here's a couple of product prototypes I made with my POS HF mini spinny that drove me to go bigger and better for inhouse production.

I developed a solid adjustable subframe bushing with mine. The intent was how do you create a solid bushing that can be installed within a stamped steel non-symmetrical hole that was out of round upwards of .050+. So all though I bought the right sized ID/OD tubing, it all needed to be cutdown and ribbed. Not rocket science, but still on the money.

Here are the final production parts.

And when I decided to start building stand alone drives for Kennebell superchargers it pulled off the task. Sorry there's not decent pictures handy, but this was 20yrs ago after all. The internal drive extension was 1018 with both a male/female interference fit and the external extension (6061 - the polished piece between the black snout and the blower case) the same interference fit that had to be perfect as any misalignment of the drive spinning upwards of 22Krpm could have put on quit the show.

Anyhow point is guys, you can make due with one if you have too.

jfleisher · May 3, 2026

I have made a few things with my lathe…

jar944 · May 3, 2026

jfleisher said:
I have made a few things with my lathe…

Those work best with a offset ramp to push the gas jet across the bore.

BigMike782 · May 5, 2026

"find old American iron" is fine IF you can. Some live in a machine tool desert. I feel incredibly fortunate that my shop has been built finding old American iron by keeping my eyes open and waiting for a good deal but I live in the rust belt and machines are plentiful if you're willing to look and wait.

txvwnut · May 5, 2026

jar944 said:
Those work best with a offset ramp to push the gas jet across the bore.

Funny how we knew what that was without being told.

signcrafter · May 5, 2026

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'm going to keep looking into them and see what may come up used or just pull the trigger on a new one. I'm not in a huge hurry for one.

The reason I am even looking into one is just to have the ability to do small things that I run into here or there. Make a custom bushing or fab up a tool, things like that. Nothing crazy and won't be used often. There have been times where I wish I had the ability to turn a piece of metal down or be able to put threads on a rod. The only reason for even considering a benchtop like this is because I simply don't have the room for anything bigger, especially for how little I will use one. Wish I did and then I wouldn't even question one of these little guys. Just wanted to have the ability to do small things when needed and why I'm considering one of these.

RoninB4 · May 5, 2026

signcrafter said:
There have been times where I wish I had the ability to turn a piece of metal down or be able to put threads on a rod.

-The former is far easier to learn/do than the latter. Threading is almost a skill in itself and thought you should know this when considering your purchase. You know your budget and needs, plan accordingly. Good luck with your search.

Aaron_W · May 5, 2026

A 100lb lathe is never going to stack up well against a 1200lb or even a 500lb lathe, but if you keep your expectations realistic they can be very nice to have. There is also a huge range of benchtop lathes, the tiny Unimat has a foot print about 5x15", weighs 30 lbs and has been a staple with model makers for decades. On the other end of the scale but still bench top there are the larger 10x22" lathes around 22x46" and weighing 330-350lbs.

Also quite a range of quality. The 7" Chinese lathes are kind of the low hanging fruit. They are big enough to be pretty useful, but they also seem to face the harshest cost cutting to keep them affordable. With these, buying "not the cheapest" option is usually worthwhile. Buying from a reputable seller like Little Machine Shop, Micro Mark or Grizzly will cost more, but often saves you headaches compared to the Ebay seller with the lowest price.

Upgrading to the modestly larger, and more expensive 8x16" or 9x20 size seems to see the cost cutting loosened up a bit, they usually come with more stuff and have marginally better quality control.

There are also a couple of very small USA made lathes. Taig and Sherline fall in between the tiny Unimat and the 7" minis, but they are targeting a little more specialized user. Taig is very customizable, and Sherline offers a huge range of tooling and accessories even including an extended bed for pool cue makers. Taig and Sherline also offer CNC ready machines.
There is also Levin, but that would only be for those with very deep pockets (they are tiny, but start around $12000).

Personally I'm a fan of the "old iron", but there are definitely pros and cons there as well. It is a rabbit hole, but so long as you are realistic with your needs and the lathes capability they are a great tool to have.

I started with a little Sherline lathe, and I was sure that would be all I needed. Well it wasn't long before a Sherline milling machine joined it. These are really useful tools to have but they must send out invitations to their friends, because I've ended up offering a home to a lot more small and some not so small machine tools.

gte718p · May 11, 2026

Aaron_W said:
I started with a little Sherline lathe, and I was sure that would be all I needed. Well it wasn't long before a Sherline milling machine joined it. These are really useful tools to have but they must send out invitations to their friends, because I've ended up offering a home to a lot more small and some not so small machine tools.

The Sherlines are what I was trained on in college. However, I would never recommend them unless you work exclusively in plastic. They are great on derlin. You can machine aluminum and brass but I found it increadably painful on anything bigger then watch parts.

Aaron_W · May 11, 2026

gte718p said:
The Sherlines are what I was trained on in college. However, I would never recommend them unless you work exclusively in plastic. They are great on derlin. You can machine aluminum and brass but I found it increadably painful on anything bigger then watch parts.

Yeah, right tool fpr the job. I use them mostly for model making, so generally small parts from brass and aluminum. I've turned some mild steel, slower going but no issues. Need to use sharp HSS and certainly not like turning material on a bigger lathe.

Once I realized how useful a lathe was I ended up getting a bigger 11x24, but these little guys have been great for my intended purpose of small parts.

Are the cheaper benchtop "precision" lathes worth it to have around for projects?

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