thoughts on 'upgrading'

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nates02gt

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I have had my PSI 12" vs lathe for about 1.5 years now. There seems to be some play in the tailstock that I believe is responsible for improper alignment that I was asking about in an earlier post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckVExgjzZnM&list=UUZWRWJwiTfVlRIYI96M-ldA

Anyway, I noticed that Jet is offering 15% for Black Friday. I have been looking at the 1221VS and am wondering what everyone's thoughts are on moving from the PSI to the Jet. I think I could get $200-$300 for the PSI lathe which will make my cost between $400-$500. I am not really looking for a review on the 1221. I have read plenty of those. I am just trying to determine if it is worth upgrading. Any thoughts or feedback would be great. Thanks!

Nate
 
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Having had the 1220vs, I can say....I sort of wish I still had it(along with my Nova 1624).

Being the lathe you have now is a 12" swing and variable, with only a bit of concern with a tailstock. Is the added expense for the same swing and a tailstock that will probably be better(or maybe not)?


Have you considered any other lathes? Larger swing? Bigger motors?





Scott (Jet is a fine product) B
 
I have that lathe and am very happy with it. I hardly ever use my 1642 Jet any more. I think that you will not be disappointed.
Craig Chatterton
Puyallup, WA
 
I would have bought the 1221 but cannot lift it to the bench and have no one to help. (what a sob story). Buying it on Black Fri is the way to go. Ya want it...buy it.
 
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I currently have the 1221. I would definitely recommend upgrading! The Jet will last you a life time and getting 15% off is even better.
 
SDB777 said:
Having had the 1220vs, I can say....I sort of wish I still had it(along with my Nova 1624).

Being the lathe you have now is a 12" swing and variable, with only a bit of concern with a tailstock. Is the added expense for the same swing and a tailstock that will probably be better(or maybe not)?


Have you considered any other lathes? Larger swing? Bigger motors?




Scott (Jet is a fine product) B
Click to expand...

I have looked at larger lathes and was debating between getting the Jet or waiting and getting a bigger one. The reason for looking at the Jet is that I have been turning for a little while now and have never felt like I needed a bigger lathe. Space is also an issue. I could fit a larger lathe in my garage but not much larger. A larger swing would be nice in the event that I needed it and you can never have too big of motor, as long as it will run on 110v. =)

Nate
 
Tail stock trouble

nates02gt said:
I have had my PSI 12" vs lathe for about 1.5 years now. There seems to be some play in the tailstock that I believe is responsible for improper alignment that I was asking about in an earlier post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckVExgjzZnM&list=UUZWRWJwiTfVlRIYI96M-ldA

Anyway, I noticed that Jet is offering 15% for Black Friday. I have been looking at the 1221VS and am wondering what everyone's thoughts are on moving from the PSI to the Jet. I think I could get $200-$300 for the PSI lathe which will make my cost between $400-$500. I am not really looking for a review on the 1221. I have read plenty of those. I am just trying to determine if it is worth upgrading. Any thoughts or feedback would be great. Thanks!

Nate
Click to expand...
I had that same problem with PSI's Commander .You have to try and shim the headstock. theres no way to perm. shim the tail stock . If you haven't had it to long, ask them to trade. You may have to upgrade. I did
 
I just came across the new Rikon 220VSR after seeing it in a review in a magazine. Does anyone have any turning time with it? It looks like it would be a close contender with the Jet. The Wood magazine actually has it beating the Jet and it is currently $250 cheaper than the Jet at Woodcraft.

I have had the lathe for going on two years. I guess I could ask them about trading, though I have not been very impressed with their customer service so far.


Nate
 
So are you still having out of round issues? I thought it sounded like you found the problem. You might or might not get a better fitting tail stock but if you are wanting to upgrade by all means go for it. I have no knowledge of either lathe. Just curious if you were still having a problem with run out.
 
Sawdust1825 said:
So are you still having out of round issues? I thought it sounded like you found the problem. You might or might not get a better fitting tail stock but if you are wanting to upgrade by all means go for it. I have no knowledge of either lathe. Just curious if you were still having a problem with run out.
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I am still having out of round issues. If you look at the Youtube video that is in the first post of this thread, you can see the play in the tailstock. I didn't take the time to measure how much it is but I would venture to say it is substantial. After the tuning I did from the feedback on my original thread, the out of round got better but it has still been there. I am quite certain that the play in the tailstock has some if not all to do with it. If I twist the tailstock counter clockwise right as I lock it down, I can get pretty close to round. If I twist it clockwise, it is way out of round, thus I think that is the root of the problem. I am kind of glad that the problem came up as it taught me a bit more about the machine.

Nate
 
I think the live center could be at fault. What method do you use for truing your blank ends before turning? Those are things that come to mind as potentially being a cause. Mismatch between centers will not cause out of round. Before I moved my employment years ago I spent the first half of my working career as a Tool and Die maker. On an engine lather if you needed a taper you shifted the tail stock off center to accomplish this. This was built in just for that purpose. So we turned a taper between centers but never out of round. That's why I believe the out of round is coming from elsewhere. I know I am not the only one that said you wouldn't get out of round from a center to center mismatch. Just something to think about and maybe check in to. As for the Jet Lathe they sound sweet and I am sure you would be pleased with it. Good luck and happy turnings.
 
Sawdust1825 said:
I think the live center could be at fault. What method do you use for truing your blank ends before turning? Those are things that come to mind as potentially being a cause. Mismatch between centers will not cause out of round. Before I moved my employment years ago I spent the first half of my working career as a Tool and Die maker. On an engine lather if you needed a taper you shifted the tail stock off center to accomplish this. This was built in just for that purpose. So we turned a taper between centers but never out of round. That's why I believe the out of round is coming from elsewhere. I know I am not the only one that said you wouldn't get out of round from a center to center mismatch. Just something to think about and maybe check in to. As for the Jet Lathe they sound sweet and I am sure you would be pleased with it. Good luck and happy turnings.
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It is possible that it is the live center. I am definitely no machinist. The reason I haven't thought it was the live center is because I have used both the cone center as well as the mandrel saver center and the results have been near identical. The out of round is probably a thousandths or two and I doubt many other than myself would notice. =) It is very possible that the play in the tailstock is not the culprit. When you say that you made a taper by offsetting the tailstock, what that taper the same all the way around the blank. For example, if you were trying to get the taper on a pen blank, would that taper be the same all the way around the blank, causing a lip that you could feel between the blank and the bushing? The lip that is created on my lathe can be felt only part of the way around the the blank. It is flush with the bushing about 60-75% of the way around and then not flush the remaining amount. It may be that the word 'taper' better fits the issue that I am having.

As far as the Jet or the Rikon, the specs seem almost identical. Two big factors that are different though are speed range within belt settings and quill travel. The Rikon has 2.5" quill travel which would be great for drill blanks. The jet has 2 3.8" quill travel so it is close. The Jet has a bit more range within belt settings that the Rikon seems to. The Jet midrange it 110-1800 while the Rikon is 550-1650. According to the Wood magazine, the Jet has vibration problems. I had not read anything about vibration problems with that model until reading the magazine article. If vibration was not an issue, I think I would probably lean towards the Jet but then price is also a factor and with it being around $100 difference with the current or soon to be sales going on, it is a tough call, at least for me. =)

Nate
 
When you offset the tail stock on an engine lathe to turn a taper the net effect is that you normally move the center closer to you. Understand that the carriage will always follow the bed ways the same time after time. This would parallel your tool rest being set square to the head stock center line. As for is the taper the same around the circumference of the work piece yes it is. Picture it like this. As you begin turning depending on how much taper you have your tool will contact at the live center end first. It may take multiple passes to get the the piece turned at this taper all the way to the head stock. The beauty of turning between centers is that the work piece will turn true to the center. Of course you have to remove enough material to make that happen. Hope this makes sense.
 
Sawdust:
I think it makes sense. =) I am sure if you looked at the machine, you could have it figured out pretty quickly. I ended up ordering the Rikon. I figured it couldn't be beat at $550. It will hopefully be a good step up from the PSI lathe. Thanks to everyone for their input. I will report back when the new lathe gets here.

Nate
 
nates02gt said:
Sawdust:
I think it makes sense. =) I am sure if you looked at the machine, you could have it figured out pretty quickly. I ended up ordering the Rikon. I figured it couldn't be beat at $550. It will hopefully be a good step up from the PSI lathe. Thanks to everyone for their input. I will report back when the new lathe gets here.

Nate
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Congrats and enjoy.
 
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