Lathe by devenjarvis
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 6 AI tutors
Generates interactive tutorials that keep you doing the learning rather than skipping past it. Critics say the tutorial deliverable format is not useful to them.
Generates interactive tutorials that keep you doing the learning rather than skipping past it. Critics say the tutorial deliverable format is not useful to them.
21 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 18
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 86%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 18 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Keeps you doing the learning
“this having more focus on actually doing stuff by yourself seems right up my alley”
Comment from 7 Jun 2026 in “Show HN: Lathe – Use LLMs to learn a new domain, not skip past it” “using LLMs to stay in contact with the material, not to skip past it”
Comment from 8 Jun 2026 in “Show HN: Lathe – Use LLMs to learn a new domain, not skip past it” “I like the focus on learning rather than replacing learning.”
Comment from 9 Jun 2026 in “Show HN: Lathe – Use LLMs to learn a new domain, not skip past it” - Comment from 7 Jun 2026 in “Show HN: Lathe – Use LLMs to learn a new domain, not skip past it”
Generates tutorials you can complete
“It generates tutorials for you, and serves a webpage that lets you complete them. It does a remarkable job.”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “How I use LLMs to learn complex topics” “I have been using this project recently to make myself tutorials on things I want to learn”
Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “LLMs reward expertise”
Other AI tutors people recommend
The four most recommended other AI tutors, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lathe by devenjarvisThis page | 18 | 3 | 86% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Ello AI tutor | 11 | 5 | 69% | 1 | — | — |
| Primer | 9 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Academa | 7 | 4 | 64% | 1 | — | — |
| Khanmigo | 5 | 18 | 22% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
22 of the 25 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Sherline was one of the rare sane size manual machines that weren't just rebranded Sieg.”
“the motor didn't turn on when i plugged it in”
“Sadly their products have changed little in 30+ years.”
“Sherline CNC mills were never as solid as Taig, but the mini-lathes were workable for small hobby projects”
“they've been great for making replacement parts for antique clocks”
“they actually worked really well in my experience for their size”
“They are really nice little machines, great for hobby use.”
“I have their manual lathe and mill and have made a lot of things it would have been impossible to make without the ability to machine”
“It generates tutorials for you, and serves a webpage that lets you complete them. It does a remarkable job.”
“I have been using this project recently to make myself tutorials on things I want to learn”
“I have been very pleased with the results so far.”
“I like the focus on learning rather than replacing learning.”
“I think this is quite a refreshing idea”
“using LLMs to stay in contact with the material, not to skip past it”
“It's very cool, and I can really see myself use that, but not in that form of deliverable.”
“it's helped ground the content in reality more than an open ended prompt usually does”
“it will still serve you content from humans, but without any attribution.”
“The value I'm seeing is in the reusable skill/prompt to structure tutorials in a way that help me think and learn a new concept”
“this having more focus on actually doing stuff by yourself seems right up my alley”
“Not sure why I would try this over a hand-written promot.”
“feels like a sane way to use LLMs in this crazy time”
“I also bought a large lathe from a government surplus site, it's by far my favorite tool.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.