Customer Reviews

Wilton 99177 15 Amp 4-Inch Swing 12-Inch between Centers 2/5-Horsepower Mini Woodworking Lathe, 110-Volt 1 Phase

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I got my Wilton mini lathe a few months ago, and it does exactly what I need it to do, and more than I expected it to do for the price. Although it has shortcomings, it's hard to beat as a small-scale lathe for the price being charged. It runs smoothly, adjusts easily, and the headstock to tailstock alignment on mine was dead on right out of the box. This lathe works well for smaller stuff like pens and bottle stoppers and other small spindle work. Don't expect to turn large off-balance bowls with this thing, or try to hog off 1/2" of depth on a spindle in one pass.

I've used mine a bit with a Nova G3 chuck, and roughed out one green 4" bowl with the Wilton. Although I could have completed the bowl on the mini lathe, I opted to finish the turning on my bigger 15" lathe.

I did notice some in and out play in the spindle in mine. I haven't dug into it to see if it something that can be tightened or a problem I'm stuck with. This play is noticeable when turning on a faceplate or chuck, but for spindle work and pens and such (any time the tailstock is in use), it's a non-issue. The lock nut on the spindle shaft also came loose, but it was pretty straightforward to re-tighten it.

A friendly note to folks considering buying this lathe as a starter lathe: This is a nice inexpensive way to get your feet wet turning, but expect to spend some additional money buying chisels, sharpening tools, and other accessories. (My chuck cost more than the lathe itself, for example.) Sharp tools are a must for any lathe, big or small. Also beware of the vortex known as woodturning. It all starts with a little mini lathe, then you find a good deal on something a bit bigger, and before you know it you've got a lathe bigger that some cars, and woodchips everywhere you look. If the vortex pulls you in, you'll be hooked, and there's no saving you (or your money). It's worth it, though.

Out of the box the lathe was a surprise, for the price I expected it to be smaller (weighs around 50lbs). A little out of alignment but not so bad it couldn't be fixed. I have run a brand new LeBlond $55,000 lathe that had to be flaked and the tail stock scraped in. All said and done for $99.00 it's a great little lathe, took me about 25 minutes to clean yuk off it and 5 more with a file to deburr the edges. Another 10 to align the center points. I have since turned about 100 pens on this little jewel and love it enough that if it goes down in price again I will buy another one for a spare. Well worth the money!!!


Following up on the little gem of a lathe I have purchased another Wilton from another source. I have't taken it out of the box, haven't needed to! The first one has performed flawlessly and shows no sign of giving out at all. I have turned around 2000 pens and about 700 wine bottle stoppers on this little giant and it still won't quit. Great lathe, I hope the one Jet makes in it's place can live up to the original!

Bob G.

As a professional woodturner, I have used many, many lathes. It doesn't compare to my Oneway, but for the money, its a great PEN lathe. Don't even THINK of trying to turn any sort of faceplate work on it or any spindle larger than 1". There's just not enough power to do so efficiently. HOWEVER, for pens its just fine. In fact, I have TWO that I use for teaching. You can expect the fit/finish to be a bit rough, but spend a few minutes tightening up the loose nuts & bolts, filing off a casting burr or two, maybe adjust the pulley, and you'll be ready for pen turning. I can't say how long the live center will last because I use a different one, but it takes a standard MT#1 which are available from many vendors. FYI: I paid $89.99 w/free shipping back in 2006.

I have used many midi and mini lathes and this machine performs as well as some costing three times as much. The compact size allows me to easily take it to the patio when the weather permits. Can't go wrong for the price. It is more than a hobby lathe, I make handles for chisles and turning tools frequently.

The motor burnt out on my Wilton mini-lathe and Amazon could not find a good contact number for Wilton so I gave it a poor review based on no warrenty available. Since then one excellant customer service person determined that Wilton is now owned by JET. Problem solved and I have a new one comming from JET. This lathe works very well and is great for the money. Now if I could only figure out how to edit the number of stars for this review, a solid 4-star considering the price.

I got this lathe a little less than a year ago - my first, hurrah! - and since then, have turned several hundred pieces on it, even getting money for one or two of them. For the price, I'm simply amazed at just how good this lathe can be; it turns smoothly, it's easy to set up and use (although the manual IS a little confused in places) and yields nice results overall - when I've remembered to sharpen my chisels, anyway.

It needs a little cleaning and maintenance, of course, but that's normal for any tool that generates this much debris. The most common problem I've had has been with wood-dust build up under the tool-rest fitting - it tightens the fitting so that the locking handle won't lock, but it's very easily fixed with cleaning and a little adjustment of the locking nut when necessary. And so far, everything else has worked flawlessly.

Hundreds down, and thousands more to go, no doubt - a wonderful little lathe!

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I'm following up on this review now, and I've now had this lathe for two and a half years. It's still working perfectly, it's still a great little lathe, and although the price has gone up a little (and what price hasn't, really?) it's still great value, I think. Nothing is broken, and apart from the addition of a little oil, it's needed no more maintenance than described above.

It's a great little lathe, and the other people I know who have one are just as happy with theirs as I am with mine. Highly recommended!

I've had this lathe over 6 months now and I still love it. It is not the finest lathenor is it priced like the finest lathe. It is a very usable small lathe.

At this point I cannot see me replacing it. It is solid, and works well. I have turned 25+ pens, 24 spoons/spatulas, 12 mushrooms, several handles,and two small bowls. It does get a little "whippy" when turning something longer than 12", but it doesn't claim to be able to do anything longer than 12", so it's ok.

I recommend it highly.

I just bought one of these on sale for $[...] and it's great! It's small and portable at about 50 pounds, and is very quiet compared to one of the 'big boys" a friend of mine has. I use it for turning pen & pencil sets and it is ideal for that use. Some small problems were easily fixed: 1)burrs on the tool rest prevented the chisel blade from sliding smoothly across it. A metal file took care of that; 2) the tool rest would not stay locked down. I had read another review on Amazon about the need to make sure all of the screws/nuts/bolts were tight, so I flipped the lathe on its side and tightened a nut that holds the tool rest to the frame. Problem gone. That's it! If you have never used a lathe before you might want to talk to someone who has to learn the details of operating one. Also, Penn State Industries [...] has a CD for beginning pen making that is fantastic (if they still sell it). I strongly endorse this lathe.

i bought this lathe on sale for $98.00 with free shipping from amazon.
it arrived well packed & in a timely manner.
to put it simply everything works & works well! it is nicely machined for the price range. the spurred bit & live center line up dead on!
it comes with all the basic attachments you need to start turning right out of the box. a big plus in my mind is that it has a veriable speed motor. all you need extra is the turning tools.
only thing i would change is the tail stock adjustment for the live center, the manuel feed could be a bit more more positive , but it does work ok with a little tickling. the motor is a 1/5th hp & does the job. given my druthers, i would like to see a 1/3rd hp motor.
i have turned a dozen or so pieces,I am very happy with my purchase.
this is an excellant buy!

I find this lathe to be an exellent starter lathe that will last you for years. You will be unable to turn very large items However it is great for Pens, Bottle Stoppers and items in this size range. This is a better starter for pens than many other lathes if for nothing else due to the variable speed. This saves so much time that I would recomend this lathe for Pens and small stuff OVER the more expensive ones with belts...
The only thing I needed to do was smooth out the toolrest surface..