Apprentice 812 VS Mini Lathe
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Apprentice 812 VS Mini Lathe
Part# 9796460001 | Mfg Part# 812Apprentice 812 VS Mini Lathe
Details
- The Apprentice™ 812 VS Mini Wood Lathe is an exceptional value among true mini lathes. Designed specifically for pen turning and other small woodturning projects, the Apprentice™ 812 VS Mini Lathe offers quality construction, dependable performance and a 5 year, 100% satisfaction guarantee making it the right choice for budget-minded woodturners who demand a great value. Whether you’re just getting started or you’re looking for a second woodturning lathe, the Apprentice™ 812 VS Mini Lathe is just what you’re looking for.
- Perfect for pen turning and small woodturning projects
- Compact, easy to transport
- Electronic variable speed drive
- High torque lathe motor for increased power under load
- Soft start-up for safety and motor longevity
- Adjustable cam-lock tool rest and tailstock
- Cast iron construction
- 5 year 100% satisfaction guarantee
- Designed for bench top use only
Specifications: - 8" Dia. capacity
- 12" between centers
- Electronic variable speed drive
- Speed range- 750-3200 rpm
- 1/3 h.p. motor,120 v 1 phase
- 1"-8 tpi spindle
- No.1MT headstock and tailstock
- 43 lbs
Standard Equipment: - 4-1/4" and 6-3/4" Tool Rests
- 2" Faceplate
- 4 Prong Drive Center
- Revolving Cup Center
- Faceplate Wrench
- Knock-out Bar
- Instruction Manual
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
Great Lathe for the Price
CJ in UT
Comments On Sep 30, 2021:I have had this lathe for a few years now, and it has not failed me. It is perfect for pens, being the perfect size and power. The price is great for how durable it has been. My only disappointment is the tailstock, it has trouble extending, and the plastic grip is hard to turn. Overall it has been great, I would recommend it to any beginner or someone looking for a just-pen lathe.
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5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
UPDATED REVIEW to 5 star from prior 2 star
TERRY in AR
Comments On Oct 04, 2017:Initially I had problems with the tail stock constantly slipping. After a call to a very helpful tech, I was able to correct the problem by using the supplied small Alan wrench to tighten all the screws. After using twice, I had to do this again. Seems none would hold through the turning of more than 2 pens. So, I just learned to re-tighten everything before I tried to turn any pens! I may have turned 8-10 pens before I had to take a break from turning for a few months. I decided this week to start turning again for a small show that is next month. Again, I had to re-tighten everything before each turning. Yesterday I managed to turn two pens and finish them out and then sanded about 3 blanks that I had previously turned, then shut down my lathe, unplugged it and called it a night. I went out this morning to place work on some previously turned blanks so I could sand and finish them, and it won't even turn on. I've checked the power, tried the circuit breaker, checked the "key" that has to be in place for it to work and there is nothing out of place. The circuit breaker reset had zero effect. So, now I have a lump of metal sitting in my garage. Not happy with this machine at all. I guess I am going to use my drill to do finish work on these. :-(
Additional Comments On Oct 24, 2017:I cannot say enough about the Customer Service that I received regarding this lathe. I called regarding my problem described earlier and without hesitation, Craft Supplies USA sent out a new lathe and a box to return the problem one in. I have had no trouble from the new one and everything works just like it should. Thank you so much Craft Supplies USA for your AWESOME customer service and getting me a full replacement for this lathe. I'm back in business! Happy Customer that will continue to buy from you and sing your praises!
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Perfect mini lathe
BRENT in UT
Comments On Oct 16, 2017:I have had this lathe for almost two years and it has been great for making small projects like pens and tops. I wouldn't recommend trying bigger projects but other that that it is a great lathe.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Awesome lathe
Adam in VA
Comments On Mar 31, 2017:This lathe is amazing, I have turned a good number of pens and it works like a charm. It struggles with larger pieces so I would advise keep it for smaller projects and mainly pens. When mine arrived the switch cover was busted up pretty bad but that's nothing to be freaked out about. The price is absolutely awesome for what you get, The warranty is great too, I will be turning pens on this till the day it blows up, and at that point I will buy another one. This site is my main source for anything pen making related. Thanks so much for the great products!
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3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
Works great!
BRIDGER in UT
Comments On Oct 22, 2016:I've been using this lathe for a year now. I mostly do pens on it. I tried to turn a few small bowls, but the lathe simply doesn't have enough power to do anything too big. If you are doing just small projects it works excellent. For a beginner lathe it is great. I've noticed it is very similar to the Harbor Freight mini lathe. The main differences are the paint jobs and the spindle threads. I like to buy local so I grabbed this one from the great people at Craft Supplies. The warranty on this lathe is awesome too. If you are looking for a good lathe for a great price, pick one up!
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Great lathe, best price around!
Timothy in LA
Comments On Jul 29, 2015:This lathe has been pretty great! Using it to turn pens. I had a small issue with getting it mounted, the bolts were too soft. I bought replacements at the hardware store for about $2. If I ever need a second lathe, I will definitely buy another. You cannot go wrong at this price!!
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
great little lathe....
todd in NY
Comments On Nov 12, 2014:I have owned several lathes in my life and this has to be one of the best for making pens and other small projects. it has plenty of power and is very easy to use. It's well made, and had no problem mounting it to my bench. In comparison to the turncrafter lathes which I have owned.. The little turncrafter pen lathe they have is okay, just not enough power and your limited to pens. The other lathes they have are too big I have no use for turning large bowls of 10 to 12 inches in diameter. This apprentice lathe seems to be perfect, I turned eight pens in a few hours and it's easy to use. And the speed control is the way to go no more changing belts. So in my opinion if you're in the pens bottle stoppers or small bowls this is the way to go for your money and the guarantee they have can't be beat and they have much better service people to speak to if you have a problem.and I will be putting a YouTube video of my it and how I'm using it so you all can see how it's made and how it works thanks so much Tennessee todd..
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Great Lathe
Joseph in NV
Comments On Sep 07, 2014:For a pen lathe this works very well. I bought for this specifically for pens and it works great for this application. Very pleased with this lathe.
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5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Good beginner lathe. MT-1 is not very standard.
Stephen in MI
Comments On Apr 05, 2014:The Apprentice 812 VS Mini Lathe is a reasonable lathe.
The price point is low. Being made of cast iron, the lathe is heavy enough to dampen most of the wobble. However, I do wish it was a little bit heavier for larger 6+ inch green wood straight from the tree that still needs to be turned down and trued.
Variable speed is nice but the lowest speed settings should be slower as it is too fast when trueing up a large piece of wood and the lathe wants to jump around a little bit too much at that speed. The plastic knob for the variable speed control was broken upon arrival. I have since made my own.
The handle on the end stock is poorly designed and it should have been made differently as there is no handle which means advancing the end stock is more work than it need to be. I don't mind, I replaced the stock handle with my own and it works very nicely.
The motor could use a bit more power as I have found that turning a piece of 8X10 green pine dogged this little lathe down so much that I was beginning to wonder if it was capable of turning such a large piece of wood! You will need to go very very slowly with larger pieces of wood, and don't try to take too much off at a time. It will turn a large piece of wood, only it will eat up a lot of your time as you will need to make fine cuts very shallow and patience. If you don't the motor WILL stall... A lot.....The motor will not handle drilling a 2 inch Foresters bit into maple. Do not even attempt it.
The lathe comes with one 4 inch tool rest and one 7 inch tool rest. The posts for the tool rests are way too short and barely reach high enough to be centered with the work piece. For me this is the second worst issue I have with the lathe other than the motor.
The headstock is made of a soft metal and the holes drilled into the headstock that allow the headstock tightening tool to be inserted for the purpose of adding or removing faceplates, jaw chucks etc., have actually bent and are no longer fully round. This means that sometimes the lightener tool will slip out while attempting to tighten a face place or jaw chuck. It will even slip out even while trying to loosen them.
Although I seem to be complaining in most of my review, I have to remind myself that this is a low price point lathe, and should be used like one. This lathe will do very well for pen turners and other small items. One will need a lot of patience if turning larger pieces of wood.
Most importantly, if this is your first lathe make sure you understand what a Morse taper is and the available sizes. this lathe is a MT -1 Morse taper lathe and it is a little bit more difficult to find accessories and tools that are MT -1.. MT -2 is the more standard size for lathes and if you decided to upgrade to a new lathe, it will most likely be a MT -2 Morse taper lathe. This means that all the tools that you buy will most likely be specifically for this lathe and will not fit on the lathe that you plan to upgrade to in the future.
In conclusion, the variable speed control is its best asset. Heavy enough for medium-small size green wood turning. Great for pens and smaller work pieces. Poorly designed end stock handle and the motor could use a bit more horsepower. The fact that this is a MT-1 Morse taper lathe limits the ability to use the tools and accessories purchased. And, will mostly likely be used for this lathe only (or another MT-1 lathe, which is rare) if you intend upgrade to a MT-2 lathe in the future.
I will give this lathe a 4 star rating. It is a small lathe and if you are turning small projects it will work perfectly fine. If you have ideas of turning anything larger than 6X10 you may want to go for a different lathe. That means spending a bit more money. Personally as for my own needs, I wish I had spent double or possibly even triple of what I paid for on my first lathe; If I had known about the different morse tapers, MT-1 and MT-2.
I hope this review helps and happy turning!
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Workhorse for a Small Lathe
CURT in OR
Comments On Dec 30, 2013:I love this little workhorse! It has just enough power for the projects and pens I am working up on it, and I love the variable speed feature!
I did have an issue after about 10 months of use with the lathe not wanting to start spinning on start-up - it seemed to happen mostly when I first started out in a cold shop - I could spin it by hand to get it going, but you really don't want to do that - even with the slow-start spin up feature.
I contacted customer support on the issue and these guys were absolutely GREAT! Immediately sent me a whole new lathe - AND extended the warranty to the same time period offered originally for the new one!
The second lathe is working like a champ - no issues whatsoever. I picked up an old Jacobs 55 drill press chuck on Ebay that screws right onto the lathe, and it works great for my mandrels and thin dowel projects - next purchase is a 4-jaw chuck to add some capabilities.
I recommend this as a great starter lathe for the novice, carrying through to intermediate turners - you may want to upgrade when you get to the point where you want to do some larger projects or a good deal of bowl turning.
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