WEN 7-by 12-Inch Benchtop Metal Lathe, Variable Speed, Two Direction (ML712)

I got this lathe to try my hand at metal turning. I knew it wasnt the “best” mini metal lathe, but it sure does what i need it to do. Great for small metal items. Only thi g i changed was the quick change tool post.

Initial review: Not a fan of any products that contain plastic gears. So i made silicon molds of the 10 plastic gears for when they break. After further analysis, it is a well built system, good solid design. The plastic gear is used as a protection for the motor, if something happens it will shear the gear instead of break the motor. I still feel a strong gear design could be used and still be able to break if something happens.

Lathe went up in smoke during it's first month. It's performance was lousy up to that point, too weak, too shaky. Wen never got back to me, and carrying a 115 pound lathe into the UPS store helped motivate me to get a quality lathe.