VEVORDidactical Mini Metal Lathe Machine, 2.76 x 5.12 in, 36W Power Metal Lathe, 20,000 RPM Speed, with 3-jaw Chuck, Aluminum Alloy Handwheel, for Processing Precision Parts Soft Metals Wood Plastics

For the money, this little machine did its job. I was very happy with it and it saved me from going to a machine shop to get work done for about the same money I paid for this unit. Good Garage Lathe!

The media could not be loaded. The mini lathe was shipped in a nice crate and had no damage on arrival. First impressions of quality was decent about a three star. I was actually pleasantly surprised by some of the finished metal it's a nice glossy blue color does make it look nice. Everything upon initial setup seemed to be functioning properly y and X access slides slid smoothly that wasn't any rust. However now we get to the numerous negative aspects. The tail stock does not line up on center with the chuck. You can adjust it but it is a pain. Then we have the fact that it is mostly driven by plastic gears. The manual does not cover gear ratios and which gears should go where to slow down your auto feed etc etc.All of that stuff can be fixed easily or the machine can be ran as is very minor details. However the one thing that cannot be overlooked is that there is a ton of play in your carriage. The slides are made for a bigger lathe and the manufacturer produced these metal inserts to take up the rest of the space but they are very sloppily made and leaves anywhere between an eighth of an inch and a quarter of an inch worth of play between your X and y slides. There is also no mechanism to easily lock the entire carriage when facing material.So to sum it up for the price it is definitely worth buying if you are a skilled machinist or just know how to work with your hands you could make new inserts to tighten up the slides and once that's taken care of this machine will definitely move up to a four-star. If they fix the slop in the slides and create a way to lock the carriage when facing and put metal gears , I think this could be easily a five-star product. And before everyone goes crazy and says that that would increase the price you can actually buy a whole new set of metal gears that include the gears to slow down the screw for $80.If you are to buy this brand make sure it's sold by Amazon. At least then you could get your money back hassle free. Because if you try to do it through another company you will have a very hard time.Update: I informed Amazon of the inferior quality and craftsmanship of this lathe. They gave me several options including returning the unit for a full refund with no hassle. I did simply ask for the manufacturer to send me new slide inserts that were fit better but they didn't seem like that was an option so they basically gave me some money back to compensate me for the time is going to take me to create new slide inserts polish them and install them. So again overall for the beginner for the price and if you are handy enough to fix the minor deficiencies then this lathe wouldn't be a bad fit for you. But if you do have the money and can afford just a little bit more I would say go to the harbor freight or equivalent brand.

I've bought 3 of these all from different sellers and this is by faaaar the best! Initially The shipping company was too rough with the crate or dropped it and cracked the bed and had to get a replacement, but the machine is great. This company took the time to go through and make sure every screw and slide was tight, clean and working perfect. I paid twice as much $$$ for ones from Bestequip and Mophorn thinking you get what you pay for so it has to be good right. WRONG! What i got were machines that looked like they tried to break every single part on them purposely before they sent them out. And they looked like they had been used for years by rough children or maybe they were used for target practice. The one from Mophorn had bent lead screws, bent Gib strips, cracked headstock case and holes everywhere like it was shot or someone was practicing hole drilling skills. I'm glad I found this seller. Their customer support team is very nice, generous and knowledgeable. Well worth it and would definitely buy from them again.

The bed screws were both bad, couldn't move the screws. They had threads not milled correctly and both needed to be redone. Takes a lot of time to remove repair and correctly re-install (4 hours). The bed under the tail stock is not even and makes it difficult to move back and forth. Seems to have enough power and function. Not sure if anything else is wrong but these are pretty substancial issues.

I knew from hundreds of other reviews that I would need to completely disassemble, clean and reassemble the entire lathe. I did that. I found the components to be well made and with care and engineering expertise when reassembling, this lathe can be aligned to be very accurate. But it is not that way out of the box. A lathe like that will cost you 4-5 times the price of this one.I ordered through Amazon because, if I found it to be completely destroyed when I opened the crate (as many have), I could return with no cost to me. Mine had some damage to minor parts but nothing I couldn’t accept.

it requires a great deal of tuning/adjusting and new pieces to make it a good lathe.

very fast delivery and a very good lath

I received the lathe and when unboxing, I found damages.For starters, there was only 1 bolt holding the lathe to the shipping carton, so don't know if that had any effect. The feed was not engaged so the entire feed ran into the head stock. I was able to straighten the the gear guard with just a little nudge, but the other damage is documented.The clear drop down shield was shattered.The safety cover for the power switch was broken off.The carriage feed knob is shattered.The feed control selection is broken off.The motor cover gaurd is either wrong or a hole didn't get drilled or drilled and tapped.