# Excelsior lathe from Rockler



## Itchy Brother (Aug 22, 2008)

Has anyone seen or used a lathe selling at Rockler thats named Excelsior for $210.00? 10" swing , 5 speed, it comes with an extension for cutting 38 1/2" spindles.!0" dia. bowls?It says it reg.sells for $329.00.I'm just wondering if it is a good deal?I tried to cut and paste but it didnt work SRY>Itchy


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## Gordon Seto (Sep 23, 2007)

IMO, they don't even know how to make a good copy cat. This looks like a clone of the Jet mini lathe. They have no idea that faster slow speed is not better. The speed is OK for spindle turning, but 760 is too fast for slightly out of round bowls. It would be better looking for a Jet or Rikon mini/midi lathe. Both have been very popular and have excellent warranty service.

*Features include:*


5 different speeds: 760, 1100, 1600, 2200 and 3200 RPM


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

I have one and it's been a pretty good lathe for the money. The drive and tailstock points line up dead even and it seems fairly well built for such a cheap lathe. Indeed the slow speeds could be better, bottom end is 600 rpm but careful work on the bandsaw will help minimise the problems from out of round bowls.
Right now I'm mainly using it for center drilling pen blanks and doing my main work on my Delta midi.


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## dragonguy (Jun 27, 2013)

I just ordered the one you are referring to --the Excelsior 5-speed mini Lathe model 1018 for 199.00 plus tax. I usually turn small stuff so the big 12X42 inch lathe I have is overkill. The first thing I will use it for will be a small goblet about 4 inches high. I'll let you know how it did if I can figure out a good mounting method. I am using a 4-jaw chuck. The stock is a 2x2x12 block which I will round down from square to round on a joiner.(jointer?)


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

dragonguy said:


> I'll let you know how it did if I can figure out a good mounting method. I am using a 4-jaw chuck. The stock is a 2x2x12 block which I will round down from square to round on a joiner.(jointer?)




Whoa ... that does not sound safe.

Simply put the 2x2x12 block "between centers" and turn it round using a spindle roughing gouge.

Once it's round, you can make a tenon on one end to fit into your 4-jaw scroll chuck.

The tenon must be shorter than the internal depth of the chuck jaws. It must not "bottom out" inside the jaws, the objective is to have the jaws square against the shoulder of the tenon.

HTH


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