The 14x43 Harbor Freight Lathe

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Bob Crawford 16 years ago

Well, I've had it a week and here is my assessment...

Its heavy, stable and smooth as glass. Speed changes are a breeze and the head rotation is flawless. That being said, I have a few problems with it. The ad

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) says "Forward/reverse allows for outboard bowl turning", only there is no forward/reverse on the lathe I received. It is supposed to have a "spindle lock pin", I haven't found it yet and the owners manual makes no reference to either quality. The lathe was poorly packed and delivered, not on skids, just in boxes of which the lathe box was split open and parts were missing, clearly having fallen out. The dust cover on the end of the motor housing was smashed in and jamming the cooling vanes, preventing the motor from turning. I removed it and used a hair dryer to bring the cooling vanes back out to where they are supposed to be (they're plastic). The motor turn fine now.

HF's customer service is great and they have been helpful in having the missing parts sent out to me, along with replacing the motor assembly, even though only the dust cover needs replacing. The issue with the forward/reverse and indexing have yet to be resolved since no one seems to know what I'm talking about. A few more phone calls are in order to see what can be done.

Overall, it's a decent lathe.

Bob Crawford

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Bob Crawford 16 years ago

From me to Harbor Freight:

From: Bob Crawford [malto:star_rider@nospam_charter.net] Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2009 1:44 PM To: Michael Rhembrandt Subject: Re: Order ID:xxxxxxx - Bob Crawford

I spoke to a lady on Tuesday and she is ordering the parts I need. Thank you for that. However, I do have another concern.

The ad for the 14x43 wood lathe states "Forward/reverse allows for outboard bowl turning" and "Indexable spindle" and "Spindle lock pin".

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NONE of these features is on the lathe I received, As well, the owners manual makes no reference to these features. Is there someone there who can address this issue? One of the main reasons I purchased this particular lathe was the "forward/reverse? feature. From the wording, I assumed that this was a feature of the motor itself and not the rotating head, which is listed as a separate feature. Thank you,

Bob Crawford

Their answer:

This was indeed an advertising error that we are aware of and is in the process of being changed in our system but does take some time. If the lathe does not suit your needs it can be returned within 30 days.

I apologize for the inconvieniance this may have caused.

***Please forward all previous emails with your reply*** Michael Rhembrandt Harbor Freight Tools Technical Support

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sbnjhfty 16 years ago

Bob Crawford wrote: > Their answer:

Who has to pay shipping?

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Jerry - OHIO 16 years ago

Doesn't the out bound side turn in the reverse direction ? or isn't that what they mean . Jerry

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Bill Noble 16 years ago

if you actually care, it isn't that hard to make the motor reverse - just reverse the two wires to the start windings (this will do it on most motors) - if that does make it reverse, then add a reversing switch to your lathe and move on

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Leo Lichtman 16 years ago

"Bill Noble" wrote: (clip) it isn't that hard to make the motor reverse - just

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ On some motors, this can be done easily--the wires are spade connected on the terminal clip of the motor, and the instructions are generally printed on the back of the cover plate, along with instructions for selecting 120 or

240 volts. If that option is not there, then might have to take the motor apart and identify the correct leads. For most people, this is too much of a challenge. A motor shop could do it for you or sell you a reversible motor. If you need to change motors, I would look to HF to do it at no charge--after all, it was their error. The problem is they probably don't have anyone who can deal with anything beyond part numbers and catalog numbers.

If you do change motors, be sure you do not install one with automatic thermal reset. Such a motor could stop, due to overload, and then cool down and restart by itself while your fingers are in a bad place.

This still leaves the question of an indexing pin unresolved. I don't see any way HF can fix this for you. I have seen a friend build his own indexing setup by clamping a notched disk behind his chuck, and a locating lever on his tool post. He needed more and finer choices for doing fluted turnings. For your needs, this much effort may or may not be justified.

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Bob Crawford 16 years ago

They would, but I'm keeping it regardless.

Bob Crawford

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Bob Crawford 16 years ago

Does this work on 120v?

Bob Crawford

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Bob Crawford 16 years ago

Thanks for the input Leo. I may look into the reversing setup myself since all HF wants to do is apologize and agree the take back the lathe, which I don't want to do since, as is, I think it's still a pretty good deal. The indexing thing isn't all that big of a deal, but it's something I'd have like to have had.

Bob Crawford

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Bob Crawford 16 years ago

If I turn the whole head, the piece is still rotating in the same direction, I just have to move to the other side. Both ends of the motor turn in the same direction, if that's what you mean Jerry.

Bob Crawford

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Jerry - OHIO 16 years ago

I was thinking about the laths with left hand face plates. The ones with threads at both ends of the arbor.

Jerry

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Jerry - OHIO 16 years ago

I just read the ad again. It states " reversible head " not reversible motor. The ad is a little foggy.

Jerry

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Jerry - OHIO 16 years ago

I was watching Nam and his cover on top of his lathe had a door on top and his index was inside.

Jerry

That is a nice lathe !!!!! Better than my monotube ,Me thinks me needs to go shopping ,,,DAM YOU

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The 14x43 Harbor Freight Lathe

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