Remove Stuck Faceplate: Harbor Freight 10x18 Wood Lathe FAST EASY WAY 2022

Always wanted to try woodturning so I recently bought the Central Machinery 10 x 18 Mini Wood Lathe #65345 from Harbor Freight. I'm no Ashley Harwood or Andy Phillip. I just started turning. It's really fun!

0:00 Harbor Freight 10 x18 Wood Lathe
0:17 The Problem
0:52 Solutions That Didn't Work For Me
2:18 The Solution That Worked!

At our wood mill in Fontana, we have wood species like Black Limba, Paulownia, Quartersawn Maple, Mahogany, Ebony, Ash, Alder, Koa, Paulownia, Sassafras, Kingwood, Rosewood, etc. Occasionally, I salvage wood (reclaimed wood?) from the trash can to make small turnings.

Check out my (mostly) hardwood lumber videos @Commercial Forest *

However, I overtighten the faceplate. Or more accurately - I didn't attach the faceplate properly and spun the lathe which caused the faceplate with to tighten with the force of 1700 RPMs...oops!

The troubleshooting section of the owner's manual didn't address how to fix. It showed how to remove the faceplate using hand pressure. However, that is not nearly enough to budge a stuck faceplate.

Owner's Manual for the Central Machinery 10 x 18 Mini Wood Lathe Model #65345:
https://manuals.harborfreight.com/man...

Apparently, this is a common problem, especially for new turners.

According to the Woodworkers Guild of America (WWGOA):

"Faceplates provide an easy way to get bowl blanks mounted on the lathe. One downside….the direction in which they spin is the same direction in which they tighten. That is, of course, a good thing when it comes to keeping the bowl blank on the lathe. But it can be a bad thing when it comes to getting the faceplate OFF the lathe. The more you turn, the tighter the faceplate gets. This can quickly lead to you trying to figure out how to free a stuck faceplate. No problem, we’ve got a solution for you.

BREAKING IT LOOSE
Some faceplates are faceted so you can put a wrench on them. Others have a hole in them somewhere you can put a rod into for leverage. But if your faceplate doesn’t, or you don’t have the tool for the job, there’s another tool that’ll work. Run out to the garage and grab your oil filter wrench. This tool works perfectly to free a stuck faceplate. They are, after all, designed to grab round things. You’ll have plenty of leverage and plenty of torque, making it very simple to get the faceplate off."
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The solutions I found on YouTube (Ernie Conover demonstrates how to free a stuck faceplate & Woodworkers Guild of America - How to Free a Stuck Faceplate) either didn't work for me or didn't really apply to this particular lathe. It is a good value wood lathe but with a current sticker price of $259 at Harbor Freight (before coupons), it's an entry level lathe.

Finally I found this Reddit thread which led me to the answer:   / help_stuck_faceplate_on_my_harbor_freight_...  

To help save other woodworkers some time, I made this short video to show what I did.

Cheers! Steve