There are 3 sizes of wood-turning lathes – mini, midi, and full-size.
This came up in another post, and it made sense to put together a very informal primer.
Before we get into sizing, we should talk just a little about wood turning.
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With most woodworking operations, you engage a workpiece with rotating tool, whether it’s a drill bit, saw blade, jointer blades, router bit, or similar.
But in wood turning, you secure the wood workpiece (or different kinds of machinable plastics), and then rotate it. You then bring a turning tool into contact with the wood.
Wood lathes create round shapes, such as bowls, spindles, pens, rings, etc. Want to make your own bowling pin? You can do that on a wood lathe. The same goes for bats, cups, vases, and so forth.
Mini Wood Lathe
Here’s an example of a MINI wood lathe. This Rikon is a 10″ x 18″ lathe, meaning it has 10″ max swing and 18″ max between centers.
The “swing” is the max diameter of the workpiece you can fit on a lathe.
The distance between centers is the max separation between a center mounted in the head stock (where the motor is) and one mounted in the tail stock (sliding support structure).
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Generally speaking, you’re not going to be turning a massive 10″ diameter and 18″ long post on a mini lathe.
Mini lathes lack the horsepower and mass to work on very large workpieces.
Midi Wood Lathe
Stepping up to a midi lathe, this one has a 12″ max swing and 16-1/2″ working distance between centers.
Midi lathes are larger and more powerful than mini lathes.
The mini lathe shown above has a base size of 29-1/2″ and overall length (with tail stock at is widest position) of 35-1/2″. The midi lathe shown here has a base size of 31-13/26″ and overall length of 39″.
Mini lathe: 10″ x 18″
Midi lathe: 12″ x 16.5″
You can’t focus on just those numbers. The mini lathe has a 1/2 HP motor that draws 3.7A, and the midi lathe has a 1.25 HP motor that draws 10A.
Despite difference in working length, the midi lathe is going to be a far more capable machine.
You’ll see different features and working capacities based on the brand.
Lathes should also be secured to a sturdy stand.
Turning a pen on a mini lathe is different than turning a large bowl on a midi lathe.
Floor-Standing Wood Lathe
Then you have floor-standing or full-size lathes. This Rikon has a 230V motor and is spec’ed at 18″ max swing and 24″ max span between centers.
Here are weights for the 3 models discussed here:
Mini: 75 lbs
Midi: 99 lbs
Full-size: 373 lbs (including stand)
Large lathes can handle larger chucks and bigger workpieces.
Generally, mini lathes have max swing of up to 10″, midi lathes have a max swing of 12″, and full-size lathes have a max swing of 14″ and up.
Generalizing again, you’re probably not going to have a great experience if try to work your lathe to the max. In other words, don’t expect to actually turn 10″ wood blanks into salad bowls on a mini lathe.
You can work on small pieces on larger lathes – there are no shortage of chuck jaw and mounting options. But you might not be able to work on larger projects even if technically within the dimensional capacity of a smaller lathe.
Thus, the general advice is to buy the largest machine you can accommodate.
For me, I think midi lathes are the sweet spot. Hence I Almost Bought a Rikon Midi Lathe (and Still Might).
IronWood
Well, there IS one more size of lathe: https://www.seaviewboatyard.com/spar-lathe Pretty cool.
In the normal people world, I’ve got an old Atlas full size lathe that mounts on a bench or stand. I’ve liked it, though I don’t do a lot of turning. A lathe is definitely something I’d think about looking for older iron in good shape. Belts and bearings can be changed out if needed and it’s good as new, plus they don’t seem to be all that expensive used around here.
MM
There are other types as well. Pen lathes, Cue lathes for making billiard cues & walking sticks…probably other specialty types we’ve never heard of.
Jared
Bead lathes too. They’re practically microscopic.
Stuart
Yes, but I figure those are inaccessible to most people.
This post was more of a response to the “is midi a thing or is that a typo?” comments in the other post.
fred
When we bought the failing and virtually bankrupt metal fabrication business, the shop floor was dotted with machinery from a bygone era. A beast of a Monarch lathe of WWII vintage and a somewhat newer and smaller Clausing were among the machinery that we sold off. The sale was probably for pennies on the dollar – but we decided that we needed to pivot the business for the smaller and lighter-duty work that represented the new marketplace. We held onto the travelling crane (too hard to disassemble and sell) and some other items for a while (like a big Marvel vertical plate saw, a Doall saw, and a Houdaille aspherical grinder) to meet the needs of existing customers. But we cleaned up much of the shop, hired some new workforce, retained many of the old timers, instituted many new practices (like TQM and six-sigma) and struggled to get ISO certifications. Benches and equipment for rework on assemblies for what became our paying customers – many in the military and civilian aviation arena – replaced vintage lathes and other machine tools. I’m guessing that that Monarch at something like 9 feet long would have been off your Mini-Midi-Full-Size chart – and the oily swarfy mess surrounding it when we acquired the business – may well have weighed more than 373 pounds.
MM
Those large WWII vintage Monarch lathes are an operator’s dream, they have really good disc clutches in the apron so feeds engage and disengage instantly and with very crisp feel. When I had my machining business I used to own a model 32NN built in 1952. It was the largest lathe in my shop: 36″ swing x 120″ between centers, it weighed about 45,000#. The headstock on that machine is absolutely massive, about as tall as a man and nearly as long. I never took the tailstock off but I’m sure it weighed more than a ton by itself. I have seen machines like that sell for very little or also for many 10’s of thousands all depending on the condition. I paid a pretty penny for my machine but it was in absolutely amazing time-capsule condition with the original hand-scrape marks on the ways still visible.
The Monarch model 10EE is the ultimate small metal lathe and has been since their introduction in the 1930s. They are still being made today. They are only 12.5″ swing by 20″ centers but weigh 3200lbs.
Jared
You want to check your minimum speeds on cheaper lathes too. It’s an exciting experience spinning unbalanced wood at any amount speed. A lot of inexpensive lathes spin way too fast for comfort. Not a big deal for turning pens, but if you’re going to turn a 10″ bowl from a square piece of wood – make sure everything is bolted down.
Some lathes let you turn on the outboard side too, eliminating swing constraints. My midi lathe has that option, but it seems like a terrifying prospect.