ridgid 1200 wood lathe

[FINER9998]

anyone have any experience with this ridgid product:

http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/WL1200-Wood-Lathe/EN/index.htm

i have a chance to get one built in 1998 and never used. motor and all parts work, and lathe is complete down to the owner's manual. price is under $100. any known weak areas? anything to look out for in terms of performance deficiencies? i have no experience with lathes, but want to get into furniture making as a hobby. one of these could come in handy. i checked with ridigd and since it is an emerson unit that predates 2003, the lifetime guarantee applies to this tool. comments welcomed.

[Bob D.]

At that price go for it.

Search the forum and you'll find some comments about it. Some like it and some don't, its kinda like the BS love/hate thing I guess.

For the money I don't think you should pass it up though. Lathes unlike other tools are fairly universal in many accessories. That is you can use centers and faceplates and chucks from other makers as long as they are the right size for your lathe which for the WL1200 is a #2 MT I believe, but it will be in the manual for sure.