They say this is not for turning pens daily but I have found that to not be true. I do think this lathe needs 2 styles of rests because the one provided is sometimes too small. Easily fixed with a piece of aluminum angle, but still. There is a level of patience required to setup the piece you want to turn. This machine is customizable to work better. For example, sometimes...but not frequently...the provided tip to hold the material is too small. Easily replace with a cut drywall screw or wood screw. You can also purchase separately an adjustable chuck, which fits inside the key chuck provided. That makes some types of turning better on this lathe. I highly recommend after using it but YouTube is lacking on videos for these. The media reviews at the time I write this review are poorly done or done by influencers that don't really try using it properly. Do not compare these to mini lathes. Mini lathes are around $200-$300 dollars and more powerful than this micro lathe.