Steve Bedair's
9 x 20 Lathe Site
Gladewater , Texas
1-2004

Comments on the HF 9 x 20 Metal Lathe


    The 9 x 20 and 9 x 19 metal lathes are the same lathe. The measurement differs because the
    9 x 19 is measured with a live center in the tailstock and the 9 x 20 is measured with a dead
    center in the tailstock. The bed length is exactly the same on both models.
    The 9x class of metal lathes are offered by a lot of different companies: Grizzly , Harbor Freight ,
    Enco , Jet .... and so on.  They are all the same imported lathe. The difference is in the price ,
    accessories included ,  shipping charge , service & color.
    The exception here is the Lathemaster 9 x 20 which does not have the quickchange gearbox.
    So do some checking before assuming you are going to get a better 9x lathe if it cost more.

       I purchased my Harbor Freight 9 x 20 after owning the HF 7 x 10 Mini Lathe. The 9 x 20 is
   a lot heavier lathe weighing in at 250 lbs..  compared to the 7 x 10  at 80 lbs. The 9 x 20 has a
   lot more power / torque and no electronic speed control to worry with each time you stall the
   chuck. This seemed like an on going problem with the 7x's ( I went through 3 speed controller
   boards in one year ) I chose the HF since I could pick it up locally.  Like most import lathes the
   9 x 20 is going to require some cleaning and adjusting but is really pretty much out of the create
   ready to start turning.  The 9x's do have some common problems that can be corrected  with a
   few modifications.  I have added a web page showing a lot of modifications that I have made to
   my lathe. Don't let this scare you ,  these are modifications I have done over a period of a couple
   of years to better suite my personal needs. The only modification I think that is a "must have" it
   the 4 bolt compound clamp shown here. This really helps "beef up"  the cross slide and toolpost.

    Bottom line ,  If I had a few thousand to spend on a lathe I would try to find a good American made lathe but I don't.
    For the money the 9x imports are a lot of lathe for the money. Yes they do have there problems and are going to
    require some disassembly , cleaning & adjusting but in the end you will have a lathe capable of some pretty serious
    turning without a fortune invested.
    I'm very happy with mine.
    Good Luck,
                      Steve
 
  An excellent resource for the 9x metal lathes is the 9 x 20 Yahoo news group: Click Here
 

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 Copyright 2000 / 2004  Steve Bedair