WEN 3421 3.2-Amp 8" by 12" Variable Speed Mini Benchtop Wood Lathe

Good lathe for anybody who wants to just turn small projects. I've made a bunch of stuff on this thing so here are the pros and cons. Pro: It's cheap Con: If you try to take off too much wood at once, the lathe slows down and stops. Pro: Because it slows down whenever you try and work too fast, it sort of teaches you to take your time and not rush your projects. Con: It's not as fast as a big lathe, and catches are usually really big. At one point my tool kicked back so badly it broke my nose. Just a reminder to go slow and take your time. Pro: It's under 200 dollars so if it only lasts a year or so, it's not as big a deal as it would be if a big lathe didn't last that long. Conclusion: it's a good little machine, but it's not meant to last forever. It's expendable. It's a learning lathe, hence the low price and performance issues. All in all, if you are just starting out, this is perfect for you. But maybe if you want to professionally turn wood, maybe upgrade sooner rather than later.

This is a great starter lathe. It works fantastic for pens. I bought two of them to get my two sons into a constructive hobby. So far they've made pens, mini bats, and harry potter wands. Easy to set up and switch between projects. The only downside to these is finding a bed extension, you're not going to find one. So if you are thinking of doing coffee table legs or chair legs, it's not going to happen without working on them in two parts. Best bang for your buck if you're just starting out and are unsure of how much you'll enjoy turning. It says you can make an 8" bowl on them. I'm gonna go with good luck on that. Maybe a 6" dish or bowl. But it's going to be a little challenging for this small lathe.

This is the second one Ive had now, first one burned up switch pretty quick. The second one was working nicely until the motors drive shaft sheared off today. Works well enough that I will give it another try if they’ll replace or repair this one Just called the WEN support number and they’re sending a new motor. Great customer service! It will keep making duck calls

UPDATE: 20 days in with minimal use and one of the headstock bearings has started going bad, clicking when tail stock puts minimal pressure on workpiece. Removed bearings and cleaned bad one and repacked with grease so I could try using again. It is better but still going bad. Ordered a 10 pack of better grade bearings and not going to deal with Wen. Aside from low grade bearings I am still ok with purchase from the stuff I have made and how well it turned out. Nice entry level lathe. For me as a cnc machinist this lathe is super basic which I like. No G&M codes/programs, just a wonderful tactile hobby. Within 20 minutes of box hitting my front step I had wood chips flying. Unit is solid and works as expected with only one disappointment and that is the motor being more underpowered than I expected. Not a huge issue as this is a smaller inexpensive lathe. Overall I am pleased.

This is an ideal lathe for a beginner. Yes, the reviews are right- the motor stalls on aggressive cuts. I'm a beginner and that's why I decided to buy THIS lathe. Aggressive/bad cuts happen when learning this skill. I found it was much safer to have the motor stall on me rather than have a bad catch or a tool ripped out of my hand! I did buy the additional 4" chuck that makes life easier. It was about another $50. (See attached picture) 1-year later And it's been just over a year since I bought this lathe. It's not a lathe built to last. The metal is soft so the tighteners have rounded quite a bit. And the 'knockout rod' completely broke. But we're adaptable tinkerers and we find a way. I use a 5/16 wrench to tighten the tool rest down. I also found a metal rod in a similar diameter to the broken 'knockout rod' that was provided. The lathe also started to rust very early after purchase even covered with a canvas tarp. But rust can be managed. I recommend this lathe to any beginner. It's great for your starter needs. You'll want to upgrade to other lathes if you stick with wood turning. Have fun creating!

The lathe is cheap, but it punches slightly above its weight for that price. Its not that powerful, the working area is very narrow, and the tailstock effectively moves less than an inch. However, this is a pen lathe at its core and none of those things matter for that. This will turn pens without issue. By far the nicest feature is the adjustable speed and overall size. If you have a small worksurface this is a great option. One thing i have not seen in the reviews (maybe I didn't look hard enough) is that the tool rest has been updated for the 3421 over the 3420. The tool rest can now be set to sit well below the center line of the spindle. Given this was the largest complaint the community seemed to have for the 3420, I'm surprised WEN doesn't include this more in their marketing material.

My wife and I gad been wanting to try wood turning for some time now, and after some research we finally bought this lathe, figuring we could upgrade later if we really get into it. After using this for a few weeks, I don’t think we will need to upgrade unless our projects get much bigger. It was fast and easy to setup and get going. Pretty much take it out of the box, attach a few parts, and go. The variable speed feature comes in the form of a dial instead of messing with belts and pulleys, which other machines in this price range tend to have. It’s fairly small which means you can turn pens, small bowls, honey dippers, and stuff like that, but you won’t be working on really long or wide projects. We also bought the Wen 4 jaw Chuck which I highly recommend to go with this lathe. We have been running this lathe for various small projects for a few weeks now with no issue. Attached is a picture of my first attempt at a bowl, which turned out well for my first time.

Don't waste your Money! I wanted to start learning how to use a lathe, saw this and thought it was a steal...didn't realize i was the one being stole from. I'm a novice so i have only used this lathe a grand total of 3.5 times. the ".5" is from the last project i was working on and halfway through the motor gave up the ghost. This is advertised to be able to turn a project up to 8" wide and 12" long, which geometrically it can, but they fail to mention that the total weight of that can only be about 1.5 lbs, anything over that weight will bog the motor down and then its over. So adding the 4-inch-4 jaw chuck will only make matters worse. This thing is really only good for very light-weight projects, probably things like pens and small pill boxes or honey dippers. Even then you have to be very gentle and shave off a tiny bit at a time, if not it will most likely burn the motor out. Another note besides the carp motor is the locking mechanisms, they will not hold very well. As you try to tighten down the piece of wood they give way making it almost impossible to get your project secured safely Take advice from someone already fooled, if you want to start turning wood, invest in something a little more durable. This definitely seems affordable, but when you consider you will end up having to buy replacement parts that will probably give out soon as well, then you will end up buying another lathe (if you haven't given up on the lathe dream by then), you end up burning through a few hundred bucks with nothing to show but a couple crappy looking first time projects. Dear WEN, please be honest when advertising this thing

Todo llegó muy bien empacado este torno tiene muy buena relación calidad-precio es pmas para principiantes o para hacer piezas pequeñas pero funciona muy muy bien tengo ya casi 2 meses con el y ni una sola falla ha tenido muy recomendado

The lathe performs as advertised . you will need to purchase a step down transformer for Australia , but that can also be obtained from amazon (Giantz 1000w 240v to 110v ) . I have used this lathe mostly for smaller items but it is capable to perform larger operations . Just remember it is not a 1hp Vicmarc lathe , I have purchased a second unit , to use to set up as a buffing station , and as the transformer has two outlets it will run them both ( probably not at the same time? ) . So for less than $200 you have a good little lathe that takes up a very small space . For the $100 price they are now I might get a third for a backup or for spare parts .

Excellent price and just as advertised

me gusto

Good price for what it is. Be aware that you will need a transformer to make it work anywhere that doesn't run on 11ov. Be patient when using, it bogs down easily. OK for small projects and that is about all. Anything too ambitious will bring much frustration