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Written by Douglas Smith
If you are starting as a woodturner, it can be quite hard to afford all those expensive lathes that can offer you various features. Indeed, a woodturning lathe can drastically change your woodturning experience because of its quality and features, but what if they are actually out of range? You would not want to lose your passion due to this minor problem, right? That is why we are here with some of the best wood lathe under 500 dollars to offer you outstanding performance while you craft the wood and enhance your skills.
But one important thing you will also have to do is check all the features of various woodturning lathes mentioned in this list, and pick the best one according to your preferences. It is imperative to fulfill your needs while woodturning so that you can come up with the best results without any type of interference.
What to look for when buying a woodturning lathe on a budget?
Here are some of the very essential things you should look out for when buying the best wood lathe under 500 dollars.
- RPM and HP: As we are talking about the budget lathes here, you will probably not get many robust lathes with 2 or 3 HP, but you can surely get your hands on good ones even in this budget. So check if your lathe is offering enough HP and RPM for your needs, projects, and style, and then decide to buy it.
- Size support: You cannot find full-sized lathes within the mark of 500 dollars, but you can get your hands on the medium-sized lathes or mini lathes for sure. So check the size support of your preferred lathe and then match it with your preferences to get the best one.
- Adjustments: Adjustment of RPM, various indexing positions, portability, and other similar things can play an essential role in making your woodturning easy. So do not forget to check if your preferred wood lathe is offering these types of easy adjustments or not.
Top 7 best wood lathe under 500 for great woodturning experience
Let’s get on with our list and check out some of the best wood lathes under 500 dollars that can serve you well.
The Best Wood Lathes Under 500 Dollars
1.WEN 34018 Woodturning Lathe
This woodturning lathe can indeed be the band for the buck for you as it offers very excellent features for its price. WEN has unquestionably done a fascinating job to keep this lathe within a budget so that everyone can easily afford it. If we talk about the great specifications of this lathe, it is equipped with a 4.5 amp motor. This motor can easily offer the woodturners the RPM of 3500. The best thing is, woodturners can adjust this RPM within the range of 400 to 3500 right from their lathe.
The size supported in this lathe is also perfect as the users can attach the wood pieces of size 12″ x18″. This size is excellent for medium and small-sized projects, but unfortunately, you will not be able to perform big projects on this lathe. Other than that, this lathe also includes a digital display for the RPM and also comes with an 8″ tool rest to ease up the things for woodturners.
Key Features
4.5 AMP Motor
400-3500 RPM
Good Size Support
Tool Rest Included
RPM Adjustable
2.Shop Fox W1704 Woodturning Lathe
If you are looking out for a completely cheap solution for your woodturning needs, then Shop Fox has the perfect and reliable solution for you. They are offering one of the best wood lathes at the lowest price possible to their users so that they can efficiently get on with their woodturning journey. If you think that the features will be miserable in this lathe due to its price, then you might be wrong. This lathe is integrated with a 1/3 Hp motor, which is more than enough to handle small and medium projects. You will not absolutely have to worry about anything, even if you are trying to craft a medium-sized project.
This lathe’s overall quality and durability are also outstanding and can last longer than you expect it to be. The size support in this lathe is 8″ x13″, which is suitable for small-sized projects. You can furnish your skills and develop some of the best designs to start with this lathe with the given features. If we talk about the RPM, woodturners can also adjust it from anywhere between 700 to 3200. This much RPM is also pretty good in this price range and can offer a good experience while woodturning. There is also two tool rests provided in this lathe to make it even better for the woodturners.
Key Features
1/3 HP Motor
3200 Max RPM
Two Tool Rest
Adjustable Speed
Easy-to-use
3.Mophorn Wood Lathe
Mophorn might not be a trendy brand in the woodturning industry due to their limited number of machines, but they are indeed a great one when it comes to value for the money. This Mophorn wood lathe can be an excellent fit for you if you are trying to find the very best wood lathe under 500 dollars. As this wood lathe is integrated with a 550W powerful motor, it can make your woodturning efficient and better. The best thing that Mophorn has done here is that they have made the RPM adjustable for the users. It does not matter if you want your wood lathe to run on 1000 RPM or 3000; you can easily adjust it from the lathe. But do note that the maximum RPM you can go to is 3800, and the minimum is 500.
If you are wondering what size of wood pieces can you fit on this lathe, then know that this lathe can support the maximum size of 10″ x18″. Not only that, but due to the construction with cast iron, this wood lathe is also pretty strong and durable and won’t be affected by anything. The woodturners also don’t feel any type of vibration and have a smooth experience while working their hearts out due to the excellent strength.
Key Features
500W Powerful Motor
Great RPM
Stable and Smooth
Great Size Support
4.Grizzly Industrial G0624Z
This lathe is perfect for the woodturners who are looking for the best quality, reliability, and features on a budget of 500 dollars. Grizzly Industrial G0624Z is a great lathe and can unquestionably offer you some great features. The power of this lathe is 0.7 HP that runs on 120V and a single phase. If you think that this much power won’t be able to handle your projects, then know that the maximum RPM this lathe can support is more than 4000. You can easily craft your projects without facing any difficulties until or unless you are trying to put a big wood piece on them.
Just like most of the lathes available in this budget, this Grizzly Industrial G06247 also supports the maximum size of 10″ x16″. This site is standard for the lathes on a lower budget, and that is why they are considered significant for small and medium-sized projects. Aside from that, if we talk about the build quality of this lathe, it is also good as it is constructed with iron. It will undoubtedly not be affected by the weather or other circumstances and will always offer you reliability with great production.
Key Features
0.7 HP Motor
Standard Size Support
4000+ RPM Support
Adjustable
5.WEN 34027 Woodturning Lathe
We have previously discussed a lathe of WEN, but this time, it is even more portable and some other different features. WEN surely does not disappoint with its woodturning machines, and that is why they are being trusted by woodturners from all over the world. This specific lathe comes with a motor of 4.5 amp and efficiently manages to provide the maximum RPM of 2500. If you are really planning on buying the best wood lathe for under 500 dollars for learning and medium-sized projects, then this lathe can be a perfect fit for you.
Aside from that, the main highlight of this lathe is the various tools and features provided alongside the lathe. Users get a digital RPM meter to analyze the speed every single time. Not only that, but it also comes with a variety of accessories that can help the woodturners while woodturning. As for the size support, users can fit the wood pieces of 12″ x16″ or smaller than it to work perfectly with this lathe. You also won’t have to face any type of unstableness due to its premium quality and construction.
Key Features
4.5 Amp Motor
Great RPM of 2500
Adjustable RPM
Digital RPM Meter
6.Jet JWL-1015 Wood Lathe
Jet JWL-1015 is another great woodturning lathe with some fascinating features in a great price range. Many wood lathes in the budget price range offer a fewer number of indexing positions. But in this variant, Jet has offered massive 24 indexing positions that the woodturners can easily use. You can place your wood piece in 24 different positions and just as you want to start crafting your wood. If we talk about the spindle speeds, users are allowed to set them to six different modes. Those modes include 500, 840, 1240, 1800, 2630, and 3975. This means that the maximum RPM this lathe can support is 3975, which is surely enough for all types of projects.
The maximum size you can go with this lathe is 10″ x15″, which is undoubtedly not enough for big projects. But if you want something in a budget, it is still a great size that too with some excellent features. Not only that, the construction and overall body of this lathe are also designed in a way that it can offer long-term service to the woodturners. If you don’t want your lathe to get rusty in a few weeks, you will have to find a great lathe like this one.
Key Features
24 Indexing Positions
Six Spindles Modes
Huge 3975 Max RPM
Reliable
7.Rikon Power Tools 70-105 Woodturning Lathe
Just as the name suggests, this woodturning lathe offers powerful specifications to the woodturners, that too in a perfect budget. The lathe’s overall looks and design are pretty simple, just like most of the lathes, but the best thing is it offers a pretty clean look without any focusing colors. Aside from that, this lathe can support five different RPM modes. You can adjust the RPM as per your preferences and keep it at its lowest if you want your lathe to be slower, or you can keep it to the highest as per your likings.
The sturdy design of this lathe ensures that the users always get a smooth experience while woodturning. Unstable experience is one of the things that frustrate most of the woodturners around. That is why it is essential to check this feature and get the best possible lathe to solve this problem. The maximum size that his lathe can support is 10″ x18″, which is also very good. Woodturners can efficiently work with their medium-sized projects without any difficulties.
Key Features
5 Different Speed Modes
1/2 HP Motor
10" Swing
5 Speed Ranger
Self-Ejecting Tailstock
Best Wood Lathes Under 500 Dollars Buyers Guide & FAQ’s
Can I go for a budget woodturning lathe as a beginner?
Absolutely yes! In fact, it is better to try out your skills and ideas on a budget lathe first, and then after getting experience, you can switch to an expensive one if you want to move towards big projects.
Are budget woodturning lathes reliable?
It depends on what lathe you have chosen. The ones mentioned above are indeed reliable and durable and can also long-term performance to you.
Are there any specific things that I should look for when buying a budget wood lathe?
Yes! You can look at the top of the article to know more about those aspects in detail.
Are budget wood lathes good for experienced woodturners?
If you are willing to work only on small or medium-sized projects, budget lathes can indeed offer you excellent service even if you are experienced.
Are there any dangers included while turning wood?
There can be some dangers while woodturning, but If you tighten the wood correctly on the lathe and take all the precautionary measures, there is nothing to worry about.
The Verdict
It can indeed be hard to find the best wood lathe under 500, but it can surely be elementary for you to pick from this list. So check all of them with a keen eye and determine which one can be the best fit for you. Also, always try to furnish your skills and abilities and try to learn something different every single day to expect better results in the future.
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