Mini Micro Wood Lathes

Alright, the mini lathe is one of those tools that you know you want, but you just can't seem to justify as an addition to your workshop! I had the same problem. I surf fish and when I was looking at the surf fishing forums, I found a mess of information about building surf fishing lures. Guess what? The most expensive tool to efficiently make your own fishing lures was the mini, micro lathe. Needless to say, I bought one!

The cost of wooden lures was anywhere from ten to twenty dollars apiece. Right, like I could afford that. Nothing like seeing the line break and a twenty dollar bill sailing into oblivion. And when you make a mistake tying the first knot, the line seems to keep breaking all night. Expensive, too expensive for me! So I bought the lathe, and with a few pieces of dowel, some brass wire, hooks, epoxy glue and paint, I was making my own wooden lures. I turned out about 20 in a couple of days, and guess what? The lathe paid for itself in the first batch of lures I made! The paint job isn't pretty but I crank them out fast and they work. Maybe I'll do a page here about making wooden darters. If you know the one little trick, they work like a dream!

Now I'm sure you have your own use for this great Power Tool or you wouldn't be here! I know what I needed it for and it paid off for me. You know if it is important for you so think about it. It is one of the most fun tools to use that I own. Just something about turning a piece of wood that I really enjoy.

I purchased the PSI Turncrafter for my own use. It seemed to deliver the most bang for the buck and I wasn't disappointed. The only accessories I needed was a set of chisels and the drill chuck. I purchased the lathe off of amazon and the chuck from ebay so I guess the total cost was about three hundred and fifty dollars! I had to assemble the lathe but it was a pretty easy job and the machine works really well!

The Cadillac of Mini Lathes is the Jet, so I am including it here, along with most of the other brands. All the cast iron ones seem to be built pretty well, at least mine was, and it was at the bottom of the price range!

For me it is just the most fun tool to use. I think it goes back to when I had shop class in Grammar School and we were taught to use them. Something about turning a piece of wood that is just a lot of fun back then and it is still fun now that I am retired and have my own mini micro woodworking lathe.