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expirediconian | Staff posted Nov 10, 2023 10:20 AM
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expirediconian | Staff posted Nov 10, 2023 10:20 AM

WEN 7-by 12-Inch Benchtop Metal Lathe (Variable Speed, Two Direction)

+ Free Shipping

$531

$885

40% off
Amazon
36 Comments 48,502 Views
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Deal Details
Amazon has WEN 7" x 12" Benchtop Metal Lathe (ML712) on sale for $530.87. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Deal Editor iconian for finding this deal.

Features:
  • Turn aluminum, steel, brass, and more up to 12 inches in length or 7 inches in diameter
  • Two full variable speed ranges allow for operation anywhere from 100 to 2500 RPM in either direction
  • Threading dial indicator helps turn 18 different screw thread sizes ranging from 12 to 52 TPI
  • Operate either manually or with the adjustable auto feed
  • Features a 3-jaw chuck, 5/16-inch capacity tool post, an MT3 spindle taper, an MT2 tailstock taper, a 5/16-inch tool rest, a 4-amp motor

Editor's Notes

Written by StrawMan86 | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • Our research indicates that this offer is $149.10 lower (22% savings) than the next best available price from a reputable merchant with prices starting from $679.97.
  • About this product:
    • 2-year warranty
  • About this store:

Original Post

Written by iconian | Staff
Product Info
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Product Info
Community Notes
About the Poster
Amazon has WEN 7" x 12" Benchtop Metal Lathe (ML712) on sale for $530.87. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Deal Editor iconian for finding this deal.

Features:
  • Turn aluminum, steel, brass, and more up to 12 inches in length or 7 inches in diameter
  • Two full variable speed ranges allow for operation anywhere from 100 to 2500 RPM in either direction
  • Threading dial indicator helps turn 18 different screw thread sizes ranging from 12 to 52 TPI
  • Operate either manually or with the adjustable auto feed
  • Features a 3-jaw chuck, 5/16-inch capacity tool post, an MT3 spindle taper, an MT2 tailstock taper, a 5/16-inch tool rest, a 4-amp motor

Editor's Notes

Written by StrawMan86 | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • Our research indicates that this offer is $149.10 lower (22% savings) than the next best available price from a reputable merchant with prices starting from $679.97.
  • About this product:
    • 2-year warranty
  • About this store:

Original Post

Written by iconian | Staff

Community Voting

Deal Score
+34
Good Deal
Visit Amazon

Price Intelligence

Model: WEN 7-by 12-Inch Benchtop Metal Lathe, Variable Speed, Two Direction in Orange | ML712

Deal History 

Sale Price
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Sort: Lowest to Highest | Last Updated 4/4/2026, 10:32 PM
Sold By Sale Price
Amazon$849.97
The Home Depot$849.97

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Top Comments

blueman123
630 Posts
76 Reputation
On eBay you can get 8x14 new lathe for a similar price. They are much much beefier than the 7x12 kind, i would go strongly consider going that way
climbhard13
214 Posts
85 Reputation
Most used machining equipment is all about the condition. Something high quality like a South Bend or Logan that spent it's whole life being used everyday in a factory is more likely to be worn out than a cheaper import model that a hobbyist bought new and used a few times a year. Make sure everything moves smoothly with minimal backlash, make sure you're getting ALL the parts since you don't want to be on a never ending hunt for parts, and with as much tooling as possible. Seriously, tool steel and chucks and drills will cost you more than the lathe it's self over time.

There are several friendly machining forums like hobbymachinist that are a big source of info. PracticalMachinist is geared more towards professionals but it's a treasure trove of knowledge.
climbhard13
214 Posts
85 Reputation
I had a harbor freight branded one as my first lathe. They work for small bushings and the like but can't take a very deep cut so the work goes slow. Cheap carbide tooling really helps a newbie out so your not grinding your own HSS tooling.

Honestly for this price you can usually find a used old lathe on Craigslist that will have considerably more capacity, versatility, and a higher resale value. Keep in mind though that the footprint will be far far larger.

All said, it's a decent first lathe that you'll end up out growing pretty quickly if you're actually using it on a regular basis. For this price, it's an easy introduction into the amazing world of machining.

36 Comments

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Nov 11, 2023 08:19 PM
1,112 Posts
Joined Feb 2007
goggles99Nov 11, 2023 08:19 PM
1,112 Posts
Quote from Nessism :
Here is an 8x14 for roughly the same money...https://www.ebay.com/itm/165600986868

The 8" lathe family is far more rigid than the 7" jobbies.
These are trash, look at reviews before buying:
https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Mach...merReviews

The Wen is a gamble (no reviews yet) but a comparatively better brand overall.
You can purchase the Wen for a few dollars more at WalMart for an easier return possible perhaps?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/WEN-7-...3395340140
Last edited by goggles99 November 11, 2023 at 12:23 PM.
Nov 11, 2023 10:54 PM
3,392 Posts
Joined Sep 2007
fewlioNov 11, 2023 10:54 PM
3,392 Posts
best deal is check facebook marketplace and craigslist, pro level models from the past can be had for pennies on the dollar today
3
Nov 12, 2023 02:02 AM
3,926 Posts
Joined Jun 2016
Logan_71Nov 12, 2023 02:02 AM
3,926 Posts
Quote from goggles99 :
These are trash, look at reviews before buying:
https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Mach...merReviews

The Wen is a gamble (no reviews yet) but a comparatively better brand overall.
You can purchase the Wen for a few dollars more at WalMart for an easier return possible perhaps?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/WEN-7-...3395340140
What's up with the PLASTIC gear on the lathe? (4th pic on Amazon) That doesn't bode well.
1
Nov 12, 2023 03:02 AM
201 Posts
Joined Oct 2020
TibetanGuruNov 12, 2023 03:02 AM
201 Posts
Quote from fewlio :
best deal is check facebook marketplace and craigslist, pro level models from the past can be had for pennies on the dollar today
None that I have seen in 10 years of daily review!
1
Nov 12, 2023 03:16 AM
90 Posts
Joined Sep 2008
BrewNinjaNov 12, 2023 03:16 AM
90 Posts
All the mini lathes are literally made in the same china factory. They basically just have different accessories that come with them. So brand x y z is not better or worse, they are the same. What they come bundled with may make them a better value or not. Plastic gears are fine. If for some reason you do something stupid, you would rather have the gears strip than power through and have a serious accident. If for some reason you do break them, replacements are easy to find, and you can even 3d print them. I have a harbor freight version of this. It's a nice little machine. I got some upgrades to it from little machine shop. They have lots of good stuff there to upgrade these mini lathes (and mills, which you guessed it, are also all from the same factory).
1
1
Nov 12, 2023 03:16 AM
3,392 Posts
Joined Sep 2007
fewlioNov 12, 2023 03:16 AM
3,392 Posts
Quote from TibetanGuru :
None that I have seen in 10 years of daily review!
I see. where I am fb is about even with craigslist for listings, and I always do both bc some use one website and some use the other. I usually find a few things like that every time I look, but sometimes it's fairly close and sometimes 2-3 hours away. However don't be discouraged by the distance, these machines are industrial grade and are designed to be serviced, no "planned obsolescence" like we get these days. Basically any good ol' machine from that era can be made to work indefinitely, but make sure you got SAW and not Metric
Nov 12, 2023 03:40 AM
201 Posts
Joined Oct 2020
TibetanGuruNov 12, 2023 03:40 AM
201 Posts
Quote from fewlio :
I see. where I am fb is about even with craigslist for listings, and I always do both bc some use one website and some use the other. I usually find a few things like that every time I look, but sometimes it's fairly close and sometimes 2-3 hours away. However don't be discouraged by the distance, these machines are industrial grade and are designed to be serviced, no "planned obsolescence" like we get these days. Basically any good ol' machine from that era can be made to work indefinitely, but make sure you got SAW and not Metric
The machines I see are 6 ft long wait 10 tons and cost $5,000 on facebook. I'm in Rochester minnesota, which is not an industrial town. There's very little here in terms of lathes or CNC Mills that aren't big bucks

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Nov 12, 2023 05:26 AM
29 Posts
Joined Jun 2019
OrangeMustang5208Nov 12, 2023 05:26 AM
29 Posts
Quote from DesetiJugovic :
Can you suggest a brand?
If you're looking at 7x12 mini lathes, this is a pretty interesting site to explore. Although they don't have this Wen unit listed in their comparison chart, they do sell parts for it. https://littlemachineshop.com/inf...ompare.php
Nov 12, 2023 04:11 PM
62 Posts
Joined Jul 2016
JayspannNov 12, 2023 04:11 PM
62 Posts
Quote from Logan_71 :
What's up with the PLASTIC gear on the lathe? (4th pic on Amazon) That doesn't bode well.
Plastic gears aren't that big of a negative. I've printed gears out of PLA to use on my 10" Logan lathe to cut threads that I didn't have the stock metal gears with the correct teeth count for. Those plastic gears don't get a ton use use but they show no wear when they are used.

Tell you something else. You will crash your lathe one day. And I bet it's much less of a kick in the junk to crash and strip some plastic gears that are cheap to replace than to break the teeth off of metal gears.

Never stripped a plastic one (yet) but have had to fix several teeth on two separate metal gears.

I'm also pretty sure I've seen cheap kits on eBay to replace with metal gears but I would not worry about it with a small motor like this little guy has.

PS I think this would be a handy size to have. I have two small lathes as well. A Taig and a Sherline and they see more use than the big Logan lathe. I would not opposed to getting another and would pick one around this size if I did.
Nov 13, 2023 07:05 PM
45 Posts
Joined Nov 2013
MarcoG4286Nov 13, 2023 07:05 PM
45 Posts
As others have pointed out- all mini lathes are pretty much made in the same factory with different paint jobs and electronics. I highly recommend buying from littlemachineshop because they have great customer support and will fix the PCB when it inevitably fails.
Nov 27, 2023 02:00 AM
3,392 Posts
Joined Sep 2007
fewlioNov 27, 2023 02:00 AM
3,392 Posts
Quote from TibetanGuru :
The machines I see are 6 ft long wait 10 tons and cost $5,000 on facebook. I'm in Rochester minnesota, which is not an industrial town. There's very little here in terms of lathes or CNC Mills that aren't big bucks
take a trip to the cities, search fb and craiglist for twin cities. probably the best place to buy in MN. To find better prices and more machines you'd have to travel to Chicago and Milwaukee
1
Nov 27, 2023 02:05 AM
201 Posts
Joined Oct 2020
TibetanGuruNov 27, 2023 02:05 AM
201 Posts
Quote from fewlio :
take a trip to the cities, search fb and craiglist for twin cities. probably the best place to buy in MN. To find better prices and more machines you'd have to travel to Chicago and Milwaukee
Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.
Nov 27, 2023 09:16 PM
90 Posts
Joined Nov 2018
RobTsouNov 27, 2023 09:16 PM
90 Posts
Quote from BrewNinja :
All the mini lathes are literally made in the same china factory. They basically just have different accessories that come with them. So brand x y z is not better or worse, they are the same. What they come bundled with may make them a better value or not.
Kind of true. They do all come from the same factory (Seig) but the different sellers can spec them out differently with bettter or worse tolerances and QC and some features. Little Machine Shop does a pretty good job with their line and the similar lathe to this offering is only about $60 more and you get 2" more bed. Worth a look if you're considering this deal in my opinion. I don't have any affiliation other than being a satisfied customer.

https://littlemachineshop.com/pro...1271799306
Nov 28, 2023 03:59 AM
2,395 Posts
Joined Oct 2010
SprokitzNov 28, 2023 03:59 AM
2,395 Posts
Quote from BrewNinja :
All the mini lathes are literally made in the same china factory. They basically just have different accessories that come with them. So brand x y z is not better or worse, they are the same. What they come bundled with may make them a better value or not. Plastic gears are fine. If for some reason you do something stupid, you would rather have the gears strip than power through and have a serious accident. If for some reason you do break them, replacements are easy to find, and you can even 3d print them. I have a harbor freight version of this. It's a nice little machine. I got some upgrades to it from little machine shop. They have lots of good stuff there to upgrade these mini lathes (and mills, which you guessed it, are also all from the same factory).
I worked in a machine shop that machined mill rolls. Everything from about 20 to over 100 tons. I myself had a few "accidents" that would be considered serious, but no injuries. One was during a plunge cut and I ran into porosity with voids near the bottom of my cut. The roll broke but just wedged itself. Minor damage to the lathe. 2nd was a roll that was 24ft long and weighed around 70 tons. The lathe had no centers, had 4 jaws on head and tail stock faceplates. One of the tailstock jaws broke while I was machining, had it spinning around 40 rpm. It flopped around a few times before it stopped. That one got my heart racing. And the 3rd was close to 100 tons. That time a headstock jaw screw nut just gave up the ghost. That roll being so large (big diameter) I didn't have many rpms on it as I was just getting started, so it just dropped. I miss my jobnod
1

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Nov 28, 2023 08:07 AM
1,627 Posts
Joined Oct 2017
Gor32Nov 28, 2023 08:07 AM
1,627 Posts
Quote from Sprokitz :
I worked in a machine shop that machined mill rolls. Everything from about 20 to over 100 tons. I myself had a few "accidents" that would be considered serious, but no injuries. One was during a plunge cut and I ran into porosity with voids near the bottom of my cut. The roll broke but just wedged itself. Minor damage to the lathe. 2nd was a roll that was 24ft long and weighed around 70 tons. The lathe had no centers, had 4 jaws on head and tail stock faceplates. One of the tailstock jaws broke while I was machining, had it spinning around 40 rpm. It flopped around a few times before it stopped. That one got my heart racing. And the 3rd was close to 100 tons. That time a headstock jaw screw nut just gave up the ghost. That roll being so large (big diameter) I didn't have many rpms on it as I was just getting started, so it just dropped. I miss my jobnod
What kind of mill are we talking?

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