- Overview
- More Info
- Reviews
One good turn deserves another! Create precise duplicates of spindles, table legs, and other turned projects. This Lathe Duplicator attaches easily to almost every floor-model lathe. The hand wheel allows for smooth operation while cutting.
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Technical Details:
- Will duplicate to a maximum length of 39'' (depending on the lathe used)
- Maximum duplication depth-of-cut to 2-3/8''
- Suitable for lathe with a turning diameter of 12'' to 20''
What's in the Box:
(1) Lathe Duplicator
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Customer Reviews and Photos for:
Lathe Duplicator and Optional Replacement Cutter
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Average Rating:
3.6
(13 customer reviews)
$331.99
Add your review...
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1) Submitted by
John Antonucci, from Barrington, ILLINOIS
on 6/1/2010
Customer Rating: 
Set up is a challange but, once you have it set up the end results are very good. It is worth the money. I wish the cutting tip lasted longer so, I would recomend buying one or two spares. This duplicator has made my wood working life so much easier.
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2) Submitted by
John Abbott, from Woodinville, WA
on 12/24/2009
Customer Rating: 
As stated in several of the other reviews, you get what you pay for. It is a good duplicator for the money but certainly not great. But you can always clean up the sharp and deep transitions with hand tools afterward. Two major complaints:
1) There is CONSIDERABLE slop in the cutter control rod in that it rotates depending on the direction you are going. This makes fine details very difficult to duplicate. This can be fixed somewhat with a custom bushing around the control shaft to hold it in the slot. But it is an annoyance and more of a problem when turning hard woods.
2) Setting the cutting depth is VERY DIFFICULT, can easily slip during adjustment, and damage the part - so BE CAREFUL. An improvement would be to some kind of screw adjustment to the control rod.
Otherwise, the unit is OK. It is heavy making set-up something of a battle. But once set, it does make pretty good parts as long as you pay attention to the slop in the cutter control and are comfortable doing the fine finish work by hand.
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3) Submitted by
Glenn, from Sheldon, IA
on 9/16/2009
Customer Rating: 
Recieved my dupilcator today. This is a very good duplicator for the money, Yes it does take some setting up, but what piece of equipment doesn't? Took me 1/2 a day to get comfortable with it, but by 7:00pm that night, I was turning out 2-3 26" porch spindles per hour. All in all in my opinion, this was a good purchase, have been very pleased with all of my Rockler purchases.
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4) Submitted by
Roger Ball, from Brixham, DEVON UK
on 12/17/2007
Customer Rating:
I have left a review earlier. However, seeing the reviews above I felt I should make another comment. With any machine it requires some setting up. I had to do some work to make it fit my lathe, and align the cutter in the best position.
The cutter is a bull nose profile, if you require more fine detail it will need to be re-ground. To this end spare cutters should be purchased.
The guide wire did need to be tightened this was an easy job. This type of wire will stretch if left under tension. You have two choices. 1) slacken the damned thing, or 2) re-tension if it stretches.
An item such as this cannot be used straight from the box it will need to be set up. It is fairly heavy so be careful when handling it.
I use mine for making legs for Rocking Horse Stands among other things.
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5) Submitted by
Mark Kalous, from Spokane, WA
on 11/28/2007
Customer Rating:
Easy to setup, well thought out.
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6) Submitted by
Rich, from Marstons Mills, MA
on 6/4/2007
Customer Rating:
As always Rockler services is excellent!
As far as this duplicator is concerned I agree with the other reviewers. It is a pain in the @!#$! to use.
I found myself just ignoring the wheel and sliding the unit along the stock by hand. I found that it is critical that you do not advance the stop screw more than a fraction of an inch per pass or you will get bad tear out! I found this out on some red birch legs I was turning. As far as the final finish is concerned I was able to clean up my turnings with a scraper afterwards which saved me a lot of time on sanding. All in all this duplicator is ok for occasional light and I stress both occasional and light work. Definitely not a production machine. Also another point to mention, Do Not over tighten the cutter set screw. It is soft brass and will strip very easily.
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7) Submitted by
Roger Ball, from Brixham, DEVON
on 12/2/2006
I bought the duplicator from the Houston store 18 months ago and have only just got round to using it.
The lathe is a Record with a 48" bed. The duplicator works really well. I found it quicker to rough cut some of the wood then finish off with the duplicator. The way I am using it I find it does not pick up very fine detail. However, nice sweeping curves are well reproduced. It took some time to cut the template I had designed and made. However I now have two exact copies. I dont believe that they could have been made as exact by free hand turning.
All in all I am very pleased with the duplicator. It was well worth the flight from London to Houston to get it. (I didn't fly to Houston just to get the duplicator. I also visited Family)
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8) Submitted by
Alice Bybee, from Corrales, NM
on 4/17/2007
I was excited to get this duplicator and for such a great price. I had a job coming up for several legs and bowling pins and needed a duplicator fast. After finally cleaning off the goop, I set it up. I have a Jet 16-42 and had a hard time getting the duplicator high enough to touch the middle of the wood. After messing with it for a long time, I was able to get it to run well enough to copy a few spindles. They were close and I was able to sand to the correct sizes. My hands were exhausted turning the small wheel that moves the cutter head right and left. The wire that rests on the pulley was loose and I have it cranked tighter with pliers. I have to pull them taut as the wheel moves down to the head stock or the cutter doesn't cut 3" left.
On the second occasion that I used the darn thing, as I was setting it up and trying to get the brackets and the holes lined up, the cutter head slid to the left forcing the right side to jump off the bracket, hit me in the face and broke my nose.
Today, (after a several weeks), I tried it again, 3rd times a charm? Now, I'm looking to return the duplicator. Buyer beware.
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9) Submitted by
John Landry, from Belton, TX
on 6/1/2008
Customer Rating:
I've read all of the reviews and one thing that hasn't been mentioned is that the duplication of spindles is so precise, that I don't think that, even the pros could resist, by stating that it is so simple and easy to set up, that my grandson and my future niece will be thrilled in way these cradles have turned out. All of the 40 spindles, are exact and true to the only original one that I had left. Making these heirloom baby cradles have been very enjoyable, with the precise duplicating of the spindles. Thanks to Rockler, I have been able to make two baby cradles at the same time.
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10) Submitted by
Jerry Froggatt, from Langhorne, PA
on 2/19/2008
Customer Rating: 
The direction are poor at best. The cutter is too low when working on thin stock (1.5in square. It's going to take me some time to get use to using it. Once I get the hang of it, it should be fine.
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11) Submitted by
Riley, from Anchorage, AK
on 1/26/2009
Customer Rating:
I bought this duplicator several years ago, and ended up leaving it unopened on a shelf. Recently had a need to make multiple turned and carved balusters, and decided a duplicator was necessary for the top 14" section. The manufacturer claims this is intended for a 14" lathe, but it needed 5/8" - 3/4" risers between the bed and mount to fit a lathe that size. I've never seen a consumer duplicator yet that left a smooth finish or can copy a steep parting cut. This was no exception. However, precise parting cuts can easily be made when roughing out the blank before using the duplicator, and it takes very little effort to sand out the minor ridges and irregularities left in the finished work. With one hand on the lever controlling depth of cut, and the other on the wheel guiding movement side to side, the user has ample control of the cutting tool. For the price, it is a good duplicator for occasional use and a worthwhile addition to the shop. Worth noting: the duplicator is supported by sleeves that drop down onto posts. One of the sleeves on mine was not plumb, which forces the mount to not sit flat on the lathe bed -- easy to fix when making a riser block, but an annoyance anyhow.
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12) Submitted by
Ed Sherk, from Elgin, IL
on 7/24/2010
Customer Rating:
Set up wasn't too bad but directions need to be better, the cutter has dulled and there is no instructions for sharpening. If it can't be sharpened they should at least offer it in carbide. One problem is if you lean on the duplicator in any way it changes the geometry and cuts off. I've been using it to make the long section of a candle stick and it tends to be rough and as noted it can't make fine detail cuts. One trick is to rough out the piece before going to the duplicator which saves a great deal of time.
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13) Submitted by
Dan White, from Plattsburgh, NY
on 4/2/2007
Invest in 3M and Norton stock! You'll need sandpaper!
The good:Rockler service is excellent. No complaints there. That's about it for the good.
The duplicator: Well, I paid $200 for it. When compared to the other duplicators out there, I should have wondered why no others were $200. We'll start at the beginning. The machine is covered in so much lubricant that operation is hindered. The cutter will slide on the cable it rides on. Everything you inadvertently touch will have oil stains on it. Including any wood you plan to turn. Speaking of turning, we get to my major complaints. The handwheel is 4 inches in diameter. It takes a few dozen revolutions to copy a simple taper on a 28 inch spindle. If you don't have a smooth continuous motion on the wheel from start to finish you will get a mark left in your work. I am not joking when I say that even removing your hand from the wheel will give you a mark. The copier didn't fit my 14" grizzly lathe. I had to make riser blocks almost 2 inches tall to get it to height. The cutting blade refused to hold a sharp edge, and I never used it to round off the stock. The other major problem was the looseness of the copier. It would flex, and every time it flexed it would gouge the wood, sometimes making an 1/8" gouge in the wood. The follower pin had problems as well. It's a 1/4" round bar that has been pinched on one side to create a sort of point. They advertise it as a roughing out side and a detail side. The "detail side" is really only capable of copying details that are no less than 1/8". Forget about sharp transitions. There was so much slop in the guide pin and the spring loaded handle that there was a difference of 1/16" whether you were going right to left of left to right. It would tip one way and drag up the taper, or tip the other way and be ahead of the taper. There was no adjustment for this slop. I rigged up a bushing to restrict the movement of the handle in the channel, but that only slightly diminished my anger. Want to get frustrated? Try to read and gain education in copier setup and usage from the supplied directions. All in all, save up a few hundred dollars more, and get what you should have gotten all along. This is definitely one of those you get what you pay for items. And $200 doesn't go very far in terms of lathe duplicators.
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