Rikon Mini Lathe ??

So who here has a Rikon Mini Lathe?? & What do you like & dislike about it?
Would you buy it again if you could buy it for $279. ?

No, your price is too high.
Just received the new flyer from Woodcraft. It is only $259.99. And it also has a $10 off $20 Father's Day saving certificate (Code 63009) on the front. It will be $249.99 after saving certificate.

I own the Jet mini/midi, no experience with Rikon.

I paid 349.99 at WC for mine less then a month ago. I would grab it again in a heart beat if I needed another one!

This is my first lathe, setup was very simple, the changing of the belt for speeds is a snap with the drop down cover on the side.

So far it has not failed at all, and it is very quiet. Havnt tried to turn anything over 3" but I would bet it would handle some bigger stuff without a problem.

The rails seem to be really well made and nice and flat. she dont walk hardly at all and is very sturdy.

Being it was my first lathe, I am really glad I choose it..

dennis

I have one, like it a lot. No issues. I now have a 16" as well, and the Rikon is a superb Beall buffing station, as well as a clamping station, a drill and a second lathe. The Rikon and the jet are the most bang for the buck in that size lathe. Both are good stuff.

If I had about $3000.00, I'd buy 10 of them for first time turners!

The only thing that has caused me problems is my stupidity. "Make sure that you turn off the spindle lock before turning the lathe on. If not, you hurt the spindle lock.

Like I said "Stupid me". By the way Rikon sent me a new one quickly and at no charge (It WAS under warrentee.)

You can't get a better lathe for $400.00.

Bruce

(I use one for demonstrating AND teaching.)

Well i can say last march i got mine for i think 229 but seeing the price they are now, GRAB IT!!! I absolutely love mine, wouldn't trade for a jet mini to be honest, mainly because of the pulley changing, i can hardly get my hand in my 1642 door, cant imagine trying to squeeze it into a 1220.

It was the first lathe I started with. Works well. I have outgrown it and now have a Powermatic 3520 so the Rikon doesn't get used as much. 1+ on the spindle lock!

I have one and use it all the time. Most of the turnings on it since I got my Nova DVR is the small stuff such as ornaments, mini birdhouses, lidded boxes, etc. I have turned everything from bowls to HF's on it. Yes for $279 I would buy it in a heartbeat.

I've had one since shortly after they came out, and really like it. It runs very smooth, the belt change is quick and easy to do one handed, the centers lined up pretty close out of the box, and the headstock has very little run-out.

The only problem I've had was when I first got it and was removing my chuck, the spindle lock pin bent badly. I wasn't even using much force, the pin was just made of really soft pot metal. I replaced it with a piece of hardened steel, and have had no further issues.

I had one for a month two years ago. The bearings went bad, their was significant runout, and the customer service was less than helpful (there are two guys at Rikon that handle all the complaints for the mini lathe). I took it back to Woodcraft and bought the Jet 1220. Looking at the forums back then, they were hit or miss on quality. It sounds like they worked those issues out, but I'm a fan of Jet now.

Hi, I have a Fisch and it is just like the Rikon. Love it. I use this lathe to teach on and also will use it this next week end to demo with in a city park. Not worryed about this machine at all. Nice and heavy and well built now. But my Fisch was not made in China

When the Rikon came out about 2 years ago, I know that they had some random and unpredictable problems. I got lucky with mine and have never had any problems, but like I said, the problems were very unpredictable and inconsistent. Considering the amount of people who love their Rikons (myself included) and how rare it is to come across someone who has had serious complaints about a recent Rikon, I would have to assume that Rikon has fixed all of the problems. Honestly, if I felt the need/want for it, I would get it again in a heart beat, even for full price. Hope this is able to help.

Tim

Hey Joe,

I own a Rikon mini. Had it since 2007, so it was an earlier batch. I've been turning on it since this winter- had to finish the shop to house it. I liked the fact that it was inexpensive. It has a 12 inch swing and at 80 lbs it is heavy enough to more safely turn larger out of balance blanks. You can add an extension to expand its spindle capacity to ~40 inches. I also like the fact that due to its design, I was able to add an outboard 1HP DC motor.

What I don't like about it- quality control issues during the manufacturing process. The tailstock end. It will align with the headstock just fine, but it needs to be finagled to do so-meaning there is slop between the tailstock and the ways... There is a good amount of slop with the quill when advancing, but this disappears when the quill camlock is engaged. The indexing pin/ spindle lock is under engineered. Turning the lathe on with it locked resulted in damage. If I do so a few more times with the DC motor, the spindle lock will probably no longer function.

Those issues aside, as I assume they have been corrected, would I buy this lathe again for $280 shipped? You bet. You still can't beat the price.

I also have a Fisch and have been very satisfied. I have had it about 5 years. I am looking for parts for it. In particular, I am looking for the Handles used to lock the quill, Tool rest height adjuastment, and the motor belt tension. Need to purchase a few and since Fisch is out of bus, not sure where to go. Any help would be gratly appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve

I started with a Rikon, still a good lathe for me, altho' I now have a 1642-2 Jet. Of late, I've been using it for buffing, also use it for sanding, wire wheeling (!), etc. Has been a good, sturdy workhorse, never had any problems with it other than a switch replacement that went quickly and effortlessly, and I turned some bowls and platters that stretched it to the swing/weight limits.

Would buy another in a heartbeat.

Rich

Thanks everyone.
I'm sorry I forgot to ad a post telling everyone I did actually buy the Rikon back in late June. However I have yet to actully use it. I pluged it in and turned it on and that's all I've done with it so far.:(
It does seem to be a good lathe for the money from what I see so far.