I am almost an intermediate pen turner. I began using the lathe part of a Shopsmith many years ago, dropped the hobby because of some issues with my eyesight, but picked it up again with a Harbor Freight mini lathe.
I found the HF lathe to be entirely adequate in terms of turning the blanks. I had some problems with it - the belt broke and it was a struggle to replace it (let alone find a replacement). I just could not keep it going, so I used the limited funds to purchase a lathe from Woodturner's Catalog called "the Apprentice" last year. It was a similar unit to the HF unit and a Chinese made item.
It too served me well turniung blanks, but when I started to use a chuck and tailstock drill bit, it became more inaccurate and had issues withthe tailstock quill advancement. I talked to the tech support people at Woodturner's and learned that the unit was not built for doing such blank drilling operations because the motor was not capable of it over the long haul (whichi n my case was about a year during the warm months). He suggested that I could sill drill the blanks, but with me advancing the tailstock withoit unlocked to the bed. Now this works fine for all my woods except ebony and pink ivory. These blnks blow out because I don;t have the physical ability to carefully advance the bit when breaking through the end of the blank. It is the same way, but not as severe with the acrylics I turn. Given all this, I have decided to purchase a better quality machine with a strongert motor and better accuracy with the tailstock that is little to no side to sdie wobble.
I am looking at Jet, Nova, a Peenn State private brand, Rikon and Grizzly. What are the experiences of other turners and what did you look at when choosing your lathe?
Thanks for any and all responders.
John Carter