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Mini Lathe Comparison

Mini lathes are sold by Grizzly, Harbor Freight, Homier, and Micro-Mark

This chart compares the specifications of the major brands of the mini lathe. Bold rows highlight what we feel are significant differences, rather than mistakes or variations in measurement.

	Grizzly Industrial, Inc.	Harbor Freight Tools	Harbor Freight Tools	Micro-Mark	Homier Mobile Merchants	ToolsNow.com (Cummins Industrial Tools)
Brand	Grizzly	Central Machinery	Central Machinery	MicroLux	Speedway	ToolsNow (Cummins)
Model	G8688	93212	93799	82710	03911	5278
Size	7x12	7x10	7x12	7x14	7x12	7x12
Price	Lookup	Lookup	Lookup	Lookup	Lookup	Lookup
Color	Green	Red	Red	Red	Blue	Yellow
Spindle Bore	25/32″	3/4″	3/4″	0.787″	0.79"	0.79"
Spindle Taper	#3 Morse Taper	#3 Morse Taper	#3 Morse Taper	#3 Morse Taper	#3 Morse Taper	#3 Morse Taper
Tailstock Taper	#2 Morse Taper	#2 Morse Taper	#2 Morse Taper	#2 Morse Taper	#2 Morse Taper	#2 Morse Taper
Tool Size	5/16″	5/16″	5/16″	5/16″	5/16″	5/16″
Spindle Speed	0-1100, 0-2500 RPM	186-1100, 440-3000 RPM	186-1100, 440-3000 RPM	100-3000 RPM	0-1100, 0-2500 RPM	100-1100, 200-2500 RPM
Motor Controller	PWM	PWM	PWM	PWM	PWM	PWM
Safety Interlock Switch	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Horsepower	0.34 HP (250W motor)	0.34 HP (250W motor)	0.34 HP (250W motor)	0.47 HP (350W motor)	0.34 HP (250W motor)	0.34 HP (250W motor)
Threading	18 threads from 12 to 52 TPI	18 threads from 12 to 52 TPI	18 threads from 12 to 52 TPI	18 threads from 12 to 52 TPI	18 threads from 12 to 52 TPI	18 threads from 12 to 52 TPI
Cross Slide and Compound Rest Dials	1 mm / Turn (0.0394″)	1 mm / Turn (0.0394″)	1 mm / Turn (0.0394″)	0.050″ / Turn	1 mm / Turn (0.0394″)	1 mm / Turn (0.0394″)
Leadscrew	16 TPI	16 TPI	16 TPI	16 TPI	16 TPI	16 TPI
Tailstock extension	2-1/2″	2″	2″	2.125″	2.56″	2.5″
Cross Slide Travel	2-3/4″	2-3/4″	2-3/4″	2.56″	2.56″	2.56″
Compound Rest Travel		2 7/8″	2 7/8″	2.165″	1.38″	2.17″
Spindle Tachometer	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Camlock Tailstock	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Faceplate	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes
Steady Rest	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes
Follower Rest	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Live Center	No	#2 MT	#2 MT	No	No	No
Dead Center	#2 MT	No	No	#2 MT	#2 MT	#2 MT
Tailstock Drill Chuck	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Cutting Tool Set	No	No	No	No	No	5-Piece
Chuck Mounting Holes in Spindle Flange	6 (3- and 4-hole patterns)	6 (3- and 4-hole patterns)	6 (3- and 4-hole patterns)	6 (3- and 4-hole patterns)	6 (3- and 4-hole pattern)	6 (3- and 4-hole pattern)

All the mini lathes listed on this page are made in the same factory in China. Except where they have different features, the parts are interchangeable. In our experience there is not a noticeable quality difference between the brands.

The Grizzly model G8688 is a 7x12 mini lathe. The Grizzly mini lathe comes with more accessories than most of the other mini lathes, including a faceplate, steady rest, and a 2 Morse taper dead center.

Harbor Freight Tools sells two versions of the mini lathe. The Central Machinery model 93212 mini lathe is a 7x10 mini lathe. (Harbor Freight uses a different kind of ruler from everyone else when measuring their 7x10 mini lathe because it is actually 4 inches shorter than the 7x12 mini lathes.) The Central Machinery model 93799 mini lathe is a 7x12 mini lathe. This is the same size as all the other 7x12 mini lathes. Harbor Freight includes a 2 Morse taper live center with their mini lathes. The earlier version of the Harbor Freight 7x10 mini lathe is model 33684. The newer versions have some additional guards, but are basically the same machine.

Micro-Mark carries the MicroLux model 82710 mini lathe. The Micro-Mark mini lathe is a 7x14 mini lathe, which is 2 inches longer than the Grizzly and Homier mini lathes, and 6 inches longer than the Harbor Freight mini lathe. The MicroLux mini lathe comes with a 2 Morse taper dead center. The MicroLux mini lathe has several unique features besides the length of the bed. The cross slide and compound rest dials both advance 0.050 inch per revolution. On all the other mini lathes the dials advance 1 mm, which is very close to, but not exactly 0.040 inch. The motor on the MicroLux mini lathe is also larger; 350 Watts to the other's 250 Watts. And, the MicroLux mini lathe has a lever-lock tailstock, while the others require that you tighten a nut to lock the tailstock.

Homier Mobile Merchants distributes the Speedway model 03911 mini lathe. The Speedway mini lathe is a 7x12 mini lathe. The Homier mini lathe comes with a 2 Morse taper dead center.

ToolsNow.com (Cummins Industrial Tools) distributes the model 5278 mini lathe. The ToolsNow mini lathe is a 7x12 mini lathe. The ToolsNow mini lathe comes with more accessories than any of the others, including a faceplate, a steady rest, a follower rest, a 2MT dead center, a tailstock drill chuck and a set of five cutting tools.

This information is put together from published specifications and by measurements made by users of the machines. It is believed to be accurate, but there are no guarantees.

Mini Lathe Comparison

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Contact Us / Company Info / Privacy Policy / Terms & Conditions / Payment Options / Shipping Rates & Policies
Copyright © 2007 LittleMachineShop.com Phone: (800) 981-9663 Fax: (626) 797-7934