Wen Metal Lathe

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Basically the same lathe as sold by Harbor Freight, Grizzly, and others.

I think that most of the lathes of that appearance are made in the same factory in China.

I have one that I purchased from Princess Auto in Canada. . King (in Canada) sells the same lathe also, as does Busy Bee Tools.

I think you will find they are all made by a company named Sieg.

I have been using mine for about 7 years quite steadily without problems as long as you don't expect accuracy of better than 0.001" or perhaps a little better. . I have never used it on steel though and I think steel would push it beyond its capability.
Keeping the ways well adjusted is a bit of a challenge.
 
It is identical other than the color to the Harbor Freight 7 x 12. It a good little lathe. I have the 7 x 10 (really 7 x 8). I've seen the HF for $599 occasionally.


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Looks like my Sieg lathe. I really like working with mine. There are a lot of accessories available. Check out YouTube there are tons of vids on the lathe. I recommend shopping around for a better price.
 
I'd like to point out that using the same body castings and coming from the same factory does not mean the lathes are the same quality. I have worked in manufacturing in several facilities where competing brands were made with identical appearance. One brand might have machined steel gears, the next some junk pot metal, and a third some junk plastic. The tolerances on the three parts might vary greatly also. A body casting that was scrapped from be might be switched to a lesser brand and be well with-in specs. That is a generality about "same factory" manufacturing and not specific to these products.
I have looked at several of the different Harbor freight/grizzly/LMS models under the different brands. LMS are the only ones I would buy. There seems to be a good bit of difference between them to me. Additionally, it seems someone in the back room at Harbor freight performs a drop test on all lathes.
I have not looked at the WEN metal lathes in person.
 
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I've used mine on aluminum, brass, tool steel (O1 and W1), Stainless Steel (304 and 440C), and Stainless Damascus Steel. Use good cutting fluids and bits ground with the right geometry. High Speed Steel bits worked on all but the Damascus where I had to use carbide. Surface finish was fare. Next upgrade is tapered roller bearings which should reduce runout. The LMS does have a better motor and speed control with upgraded metal gearing.


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