I love Harbor Freight

For a while I didn't really care about not having a lathe.  With some of the things I've been doing recently a lathe would be nice.  I started doing some digging and of course checked Harbor Freight for their options.  They happened to have this little beauty for only $160 after using my coupon.  It got almost 5 stars on all the reviews and seems like a solid little machine.  This lathe looks exactly like the one Grizzly sells for $235.


http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-x-18-Bench-Top-Wood-Lathe/H8259

As I spend more time at Harbor Freight I'm starting to realize that the crap they sell is often clearly from the same factory as other tools with a different paint job and much higher price.  Here's a ridiculous example.  This Jet lathe at Woodcraft is $900:
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2002046/23311/JET-12-Variable-Speed-Wood-Lathe-Model-JWL1236.aspx
Compare the picture of this to the $250 model at Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-inch-x-33-3-8-eighth-inch-wood-lathe-with-reversible-head-34706.html
They are almost identical, and it's quite clear they at least came from the same blueprint.  I've also read that if you need a new part for the Harbor Freight version you can order from Jet and it fits perfect.

Anyway, here's my new toy.