Merc mini lathe

I just returned mine after 11 months. Motor siezed. Just as well. It's lack of power made turning anything bigger than pens a lesson in patience. Everything else about that unit is great. Nice fit & finish. But severly underpowered.

Peter Teubel Milford, MA

Peter, Did you have the original 1/4 HP unit or the newer 1/2 HP? I don't know from personal experience, but I've heard that the new Merc are much better.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX

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lack of power made turning anything bigger than pens a

finish. But severly underpowered.

Peter Teubel Milford, MA

George -

I agree with both Phil and Peter. I have a Comet as my primary lathe and the Mercury as my secondary and more portable lathe. I have only a 1/4 hp (yes, yes - I know I need to upgrade it) motor on my Comet and it does seem to out power the 1/2 hp DC variable speed of the Mercury. Oh, but I do love that variable speed!!! But I just can't justify spending 4-500 dollars for a Leeson which would be more than what I paid for the Comet. Back to the Mercury. I did purchase the bed extension as the lathe's bed seemed to be an inch too short for many of my projects. Outside of the power (or lack of it) issue, I do very much like my Mercury. I am a little worried that when running the lathe for the length of time to complete any project, the headstock seems to get rather warm. I suppose that could indicate a bearing problem. (Any thoughts on that would be greatly appreciated.)

Another thought - maybe we should start a support group for the under powered! ;-) Any way, happy turning!

- Dan

Peter, I'm not sure what motor is supplied in the US but in OZ its a 12volt

1/2hp. Three step pulley with VS on all. I've not found much difference in power between the 1/2 hp Teknatool Comet and the Mercury. For useability, there is no comparison. It does make a difference where you get your speed. For example, it seems to have more torque at 2500 on the mid pulley that 2500 on the top speed pulley.

When I first got ours I was concerned that the headstock was running very warm. I got the dealer to contact Teknatool and the reply was that they recommended running them unloaded at around 3000 rpm for a couple of hours to settle the headstock. We did this and at the end of the run it was running much cooler and quieter I don't know if it had any effect on the grunt of the motor. Don't know why that isn't in the instruction manual.

Its a lovely little lathe for precision turning of medium to small items but if you want to have your way on a 10" blank with a 5/8" bowl gouge, go find something a bit bigger.

Regards Graeme

The Jet or Delta 1/2hp lathes have MUCH more torque

Mine used to run warm also. Not quite HOT, just very warm, when using the tailstock to hold the pen mandrel.

Peter Teubel Milford, MA

Same motor. With the motor running at top speed (full torque) on ANY pulley setting, I could simply grab the handwheel (3" faceplate) and stop the lathe with my bare hand....easily. Can't do that with a Jet or Delta mini's. Several of our club members who own either Jet or Delta mini lathes have turned on my Merc. ALL of them noted the lack of power.

Peter Teubel Milford, MA

could simply grab the handwheel (3"

with a Jet or Delta mini's. Several of our club members

them noted the lack of power.

Peter (and all) -

Mine is still what I would say is underpowered, but I cannot just grab the handwheel. (I, too, use the bi-threaded faceplate as the handwheel.) I can slow the motor a bit, but I really notice the lack of power when turning small bowls and such. Must use a light touch or the motor slows way down. Stalled it a few times, but usually just back off before that happens.

Timing seems to be everything. I wonder what the power is like on the new Jet variable speed lathe and what motor they are using?

- Dan

I don't understand this power thing at all. I turned a 6" wooden hand wheel and screwed it to the LH thread faceplate. I can slow the lathe by grabbing the hand wheel but no way can I stall it. I might be drawing a long bow on this but the source power supply in the US is either 110 volts or 220 volts at 60 cycles/sec. Australia and New Zealand are 240 volts at 50 cycles/sec. I wonder if that 10% difference could have any bearing on the problem with the output from the control unit being lower in the US than it is in Australia. They are nominal voltages and can vary according to grid loads. If the grid is under load the supplied voltage could be quite a bit less than nominal and I suspect with the type of VS unit they use it could have a marked effect. I will ask an electrical engineering friend of mine for an opinion and let you know.

Regards Graeme

tailstock to hold the pen mandrel.

Hi, It seems that I heard not long after the Merc came out about a lack of power due to misadjustments on the speed control board. It may have been Fred Holder that had the problem. When readjusted, it increased the torque. Maybe the factory needs to check up on this since they are in competition with Delta and Jet, and they're at a price disadvantage against Jet since Jet dropped the price on their belt/pulley model. I think they're going for $199.00 US while supplies last.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX

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the tailstock to hold the pen mandrel.