RIKON Mini Lathe

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7miles

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2007
Messages
310
Location
North Pekin, ILL. USA.
Anyone use this lathe.

I'm thinking of getting it. Was looking for some hands on opinions. Likes, Dislikes???????
I like the way it changes speed far better then the JET, As well as how it indexes easier then the JET.

Thanks
Dale
 
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Dale,

I bought this last April, after attending a penturning class at WoodCraft. Since this is the only lathe I have ever owned, I may not have the best review.

I love this lathe. It is easy to work with, and you are correct about changing the speeds settings on this. I used a Jet in the class, and was seriously considering a variable speed lathe like the PSI TurnCrafter Pro VS. After a discussion with several people, I was convinced that an adjustable belt lathe was the way to go. A good friend who attended the class with me, and has good taste in tools, is very envious of my lathe.

For the price, the Rikon cannot be beat in my book.
 
I've had the Rikon for about 2 years and have never had any problems with it. I like the ease of changing belt speeds over the competition. It has turned a couple hundred pens and a dozen or so bowls plus kaleidoscopes and game calls.It is a bit under powered for bowl turning but will get the job done with light cuts. IMHO it's as good as all of the similiarly sized lathes available and better than most.
 
I have the Rikon also and it is a good lathe. However, I got tired of changing speeds, even if it is easier than on the Jet. I bought the variable speed motor and controller from PSI and installed it on my Rikon. I really do enjoy the VS.

One complaint for me is that while the MT2 spindles are perfect, the threads and faceplate do not mount chucks as perfectly as they should. I heard how accurate the Beall chucks and mandrels were. So I ordered a Beall and tried it out. It was worse than MT2 mandrels. Finally I realized that it gets its precision by seating perfectly against the back plate, not by the threads. After working the back plate, turning, sanding, smoothing it considerably, the Beall did well but still not as good as my best MT2 mandrel setup (I have several). About the time of ordering the Beall, I ordered a Grizzly chuck and it had the same problems as the Beall. After reworking that backplate, the Grizzly worked OK but not with the perfection that I wanted.

I also had problems with the switch. I had to take it apart twice and clean the contacts about once a year. I will say that it was one of the first ones released after a reworking of something in the design in the summer and fall of 2005.
 
I have had mine for one and a half years and could not be happier. Range of speeds is good. I have turned some 10" corian and wood bowls without problems.

I recommend the lathe.

Steve
 
Thanks for all the feed back...........Its been a great help.
I stopped by the local Wood Craft and picked it up.
Can not wait ti get busy with it.

Thanks
Dale
 
I have had my Rikon for about 8 months now and it is great. The ease of changing the belt sold me. I checked the head stock with the tail stock with two centers and it was perfect. Happy to see you made the Rikon choice.
 
I have had my rikon for 18 months or so, hundreds if not over 1,000 pens, plus many bowls spindles and everything else you can think of. I have had relatively large and out of balance logs on the lathe, thought for sure the bearings would give out, but still running smooth and true. I got my money's worth out of the lathe a long time ago, I did upgrade to a larger size lathe, but still use my rikon, good choice.
 
jnelson said:
Dale,



For the price, the Rikon cannot be beat in my book.
Click to expand...

EXACTLY.

I have used a Rikon at local Woodcrafts when they do their turning demos (I act like a noob so I can play with their tools and mess up their floors:cool:).

I have ONLY good things to say about the Rikon.

It's quieter than my Delta (which isn't saying much, both are fairly quiet), it changes speeds A LOT EASIER, has a larger swing (which sells it for me!), has an indexing head, and is CHEAPER than the Delta and Jet.


If I had to buy a new lathe today, Rikon would get my money.
 
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