Customer Reviews for VEVOR 7"X14" Mini Precision Wood Lathe 550W Metal Bench Lathe Turning Machine

Sure, it's not a Hardinge, but for the money it can't be beaten. It's a little wobbly and it can't take heavy cuts, but if you use your head, it'll do what it should.

For someone who wants to rekindle his passion for wood/metal turning, this lathe is an excellent first step. From the size perspective, it will meet most of your hobby tasks or smaller items if needed to be fabricated around the house. Its swing of 7" (total diameter of a material you can use) is more than sufficient unless you are planning on doing some business doing bigger parts, at which point this would not suffice. You can literally start using it out of the box (or in this case, out of the crate). However, do not expect great accuracy at this moment. Some things I have experienced from the get go: 1. Whatever you turn will be off between the two ends of the material you are working on (taper). The longer the item (the maximum about 12 inches if you include the tail stock) the bigger the taper will be. I've seen some videos of people disassembling entire unit and re-assembling it to get the best tolerances they can, but if you spend this much time, effort, and in many cases fabrication of new parts, why don't you just buy a more expensive lathe that will come with those concerns addressed? Isn't it a wash in price? But that's just me. 2. The two points between the head stock and the tail stock have to be calibrated. Out of the box, it's really not there. 3. The cutters provided with the unit are more than adequate for the beginner. 4. The turret is also sufficient. So in my case, after about 5 days of light use (I mostly turn wood), the motor gave up. There was a puff, my breaker went off and that was it. After resetting the breaker and changing the fuse on the lathe, still no go. The motor is gone. So, I am invoking my 30 day return policy. I hope there is no issue because I plan on getting it again (if not a bit more expensive lathe for the reasons I mentioned above). I hope that Vevor comes through

I had watched enough Chinese lathe videos to make my eyes bleed before landing on this one, which is my first purchase from Vevor - but won't be my last. The company profile, reviews, plus the fast-free shipping all sealed the deal. The lathe arrived in just a couple days, well secured in a wooden crate, and without damage. Thankfully I noticed the FedeX truck drive off as the driver had left it in the torrential rain, in the middle of the driveway, (just 4 feet from a large garage overhang), and within full view of anyone driving by. This was just 1/2 hour after receiving an email from FedeX that the lathe delivery would be delayed to the following day due to the weather. Not Vevor's fault! Lathe was well oiled, (not greased), and therefore easy to clean up. My particular lathe was properly tuned and had very little to no slop in all the areas that matter. The tailstock required a very small adjustment to line it up perfectly with the chuck. The chuck itself required disassembly and cleaning as it contained a lot of grit, but once cleaned it worked smooth as butter. Nothing was found to be loose or poorly made. The spindle runout measured at the faceplate was just under .0005", and the chuck runout at the OD was under .002". Impressive. The metal gears offer more confidence over plastic.The backlash between of all the gears installed on the lathe was set exactly as it should be, which made me even more confident that whomever put this lathe together cares about his/her quality of work. In reading the reviews of others, many comments need to be taken with a grain of salt. I've been retired 10 years now from a background of metal fabrication and have a lot of lathe experience (from a long list of different machines). For what this lathe is and the price it costs I would buy it again in a heartbeat. P.S. Why is this called a "wood" lathe?

The Vevor metal lathe I received would not run. Zero response after it was plugged in. Did everything I could think of to find out why it would not run. No luck. I contacted Vevor, Amazon, and the insurance I purchased with the lathe. I had to send photos and make phone calls, but Vevor returned my money and all is well. I can’t say much for the lathe, after all I never got it to run for even a moment, but the timely return of my money helps make the problem right. I am out the HOURS spent cleaning and the money for a lot of WD-40 and and degreaser, but no big deal in the larger scope of things. AD2 So, I give the lathe 1 star and the customer service 4 stars. I am still Ok with doing business with Vevor. AD2

First off reviews on this I find fascinating. One shows lathe dead on arrival and shows video. Lol wish I could reply and say put chuck guard down at I bet the 600 bucks it will turn on and all reviews that tail stock is out of alignment. Lol. level lathe first buy a chuck to tailstock center tool and you will see it works. Perfect no its 600 not 6000 dollers. Now I received mine in a nice create well packaged and all intact. Was not expecting what I got for 600 dollers. I have run several different lathes big and small in my 54 years as a mechanic. Mostly to make shims collers spacers and tools. This little lathe has met my expectations by a 1000 percent so far. Have done about 16 hours on it and have had to do some very minor tuning. With that said I have not used it to turn anything that has to be 100000ths of being Perfect. If that was the case I would have spent the 6000 to 20000.00 doller lathe. For me great unit so far. ONE CON SO FAR. Tool post and bits are junk at best. Easy fix spend another 100 bucks upgrade you won't be disappointed.

Happy with my purchase work perfectly i'ts do my job very easy Recomended

This is one of the Chinese mini-lathes that has started a whole industry, the hobby machinist subculture. Any one of them is the same: a kit. They come ready to use for whatever you want to turn, but you will end up customizing to your own purpose and budget. There are even books on the subject and about a life time of You tube videos. Make some popcorn and have fun.I bought this one because it was the cheapest I could find with free delivery, and I am going to go deep into making it a precise machine for my scratch built model car hobby.What turned my buy into an event that I would review is the fantastic customer service. The UPS delivered my lathe in a badly crushed wooden crate, which the well packed lathe survived, but there was a minor issue that had to be repaired locally.The customer service representative was so helpful in getting the matter set straight that I am glad I bought from them, and can confidently assure you that they will respond to your needs as well.

Arrived with the tool box smashed, screws that hold gears were loose,tail stock is a poor fit, and motor was not adjusted,bolt was not touching motor so belt was very loose, in spite of this I like the machine,also cutters that came with it cut poorly so I bought a different set , now it cuts fine

It is pretty good and pretty accurate for a $600 lathe. I came with lots of extra gears and replacement pieces for the front stock, that I don't know what to do with. That's where the lack of decent instructions is a problem. Yes, the instructions are so cursory they are useless. Other than not knowing what the extra parts are for or how to use them, the setup is overall pretty easy and there are some unboxing videos of similar, but not exact lathes on YouTube. Not a big deal to set up. This lathe is really heavy. Close to 100 lbs. If you aren't a strong guy it will definitely be a two-man lift. Make sure your table can support the weight. The weight is great because it doesn't move around using just the rubber feet. The biggest problem I had is YOU MUST LOWER the PLASTIC FRONT STOCK SHIELD ALL THE WAY DOWN. THE LATHE WILL NOT WORK UNLESS THE PLASTIC FRONT STOCK SHIELD IS ALL THE WAY DOWN. I may take it off but it sprays a lot of oil still with the new parts, so I may wait a while before I remove it.

This is the first lathe I’ve ever used/owned. So far I’ve used it to make a bunch of aluminum and stainless spacers for a chopper I’m building. The gears are indeed metal. It doesn’t have hi/lo gear but it does spin from 0-2300ish rpm. The tools that come with it are way too big. I purchased some WEN 5/16” shank carbide tools and a few boring bars, and also stuck a quick change tool post on it. I did have to adjust the tail stock and gibs but with about an hour of setup time, it’s a decent little machine and suits my needs. Cuts aluminum very nice and quickly. Stainless is a bit more finicky but it will definitely do it. If you’re looking for something to make custom parts and have fun with, I suggest this lathe.