I need a new lathe **

[Todd in PA]

Well, my Central Machinery lathe from Harbor Freight has probably run its course. It's been making some racket for a while and I've taken it apart and changed the belt and lubed things and it's been limping along, inching slightly noisier each week. When I try to change the gears, it gets hung up at the same place at around 1500 rmps. Yesterday as I worked on my first real kitless pen, it threw the belt at 1500. Twice. I pulled out the gear shaft and find it's chewed up. I got this one with a HF coupon for around $350, and I think I got my money's worth out of it. I won't repair it, but might see if I can get it into a gear at a good polishing speed for single use...

I finished my pen (sort of) while staying in the upper half of the gears. I don't recommend drilling at 1500, HaHa. It's what I call my long-capper! I didn't bother to polish it. I'm going to modify the cap first for obvious reasons. I'll also take some advice on polishing the threads at a later date. It's a rhino blank (polyester resin) which didn't thread so well. I bought some good acrylic rod, but amy trying to make my mistakes on the stuff I have in a dusty drawer. I'm going to say it's not bad for my first one.

Anyway...I digress.

SWMBO has been urging me to get a better lathe for a while. With the wife giving me the go-ahead, I'm ready to . I feel my hobby is worth spending some money on at this point.

The Jet 1221 is $150 off at woodcraft, but sale ends today. https://www.woodcraft.com/products/jet-1221vs-lathe
I'm *this* close to shipping it, but wanted to take an opinion or two here first. Maybe there's another lathe I should be considering?

 

[Todd in PA]

Should I seek out a full size lathe? I don't know when I'll get another one, so maybe I should get the one with the most versatility?

 

[Velcrodog]

Should I seek out a full size lathe? I don't know when I'll get another one, so maybe I should get the one with the most versatility?

Have a 1221 for over a year. No prob
lems and is easy to use. The 150 off is a pretty good deal.

 

[Liveinmyshop]

Should I seek out a full size lathe? I don't know when I'll get another one, so maybe I should get the one with the most versatility?

I just purchased a Laguna Revo 12/16 and I absolutely love it. It is so quiet you hardly hear it running, with the added extension bed, stand, and light, it is still way under $2,000 all in.

 

[Woodchipper]

Had a HF lathe and had to scrap it. Bought a Rikon 70-050VS which is obsolete and replaced by another model. It's a short bed but serve my purpose. Size is determined by what you want to turn. Smaller lathe is OK for pens but if you turn bowls, you would need one to handle the blanks. However...there a number of choices on the market. Good luck.

 

[leehljp]

A phrase that a few people use on Bandsaws - buy your last saw first, and you won't have to buy another.

Do you feel like you will want to turn a few bowls in the future? Something larger than a pen on occasion? A 12" lathe will effectively limit you to about 10" bowls. I have a Grizzly 16" and it does pens well, plus lets me do some large items on occasion. I had a request to make some capitals (ornamental rings) at the top of a set of columns (12" bottom, 10" top) last year. I also made the bases. I did this as a donation to a church in which those 4 items were going to cost about a $1000.

I had no idea that I would do that 8 years ago when I bought that lathe. It was a little time consuming and a challenge but worth it. BTW, I made them out of segmented pressure treated pine. Wasn't easy working pressure treated pine segmented, glued and 15" finished diameter at the base and 13" finished diameter at the top.

And it makes good pens!

One never knows what a larger lathe or saw will allow one to do. Of course, I have been around woodworking since I was a kid in the '50s, so for me, a saw or lathe or shop tool is not a temporary item even though those have not been my primary work source.

 

[egnald]

I had a HF then I updated it with a variable speed motor and finally gave it up for a Jet 1221VS. I sometimes wish I had the bed extension but I just don't have the room in my shop. It works great for pens and small handles and stuff, but I haven't been bold enough to try a bowl yet. - Dave

 

[sorcerertd]

I just bought a Jet 1221VS yesterday. I was down to that or the Laguna 12/16. The 15% off was a pretty good deal, so I jumped. Haven't used it yet as I'm rearranging the shop because of it.

 

[Todd in PA]

I appreciate each of your comments and feedback. I've had a dozen bowl blanks in a box for several months and havens chucked any up. They're 8x8x4, so I'd still be able to turn them.

I'm pulling the trigger on the Jet 1221. The 15% sale puts it shoulders over the others I've shopped. The digital control seems like a big upgrade. And having a wheel stop is a major plus too. Plus, I generally think that harbor freight stuff is low quality, so any new lathe is going to feel like a new level of accuracy. Probably need to get another RHarrell tool rest.

 

[sorcerertd]

I bought a new stand (old solid wood desk) at Goodwill for $5, too. I was there dropping off a bunch of stuff and thought I'd check to see what they had. Now I have drawers to keep the accessories arranged in.

 

[egnald]

I'm a fan of the curved tool rests like the ones that Rockler sells. The dished out space supports my hand perfectly when I am turning. - Dave

PS If I needed new tool rests, Rick Herrell would be my first go to guy though. His stuff is top notch. I upgraded the clamp nut on my tailstock with one of his custom fit ones and it really helped take out slop in the tail stock.

 

[cl1237]

Ugh. Not happy that I found this thread I've had the Jet 1221VS in my cart for the same reasons. My excelsior is getting sloppy with the tailstock creeping (even with ricks upgraded clamp) it's been very difficult to turn spindles without getting enough pressure on the tailstock. Maybe if I read through the post a few more times the peer pressure will get to me and I'll pull the trigger

 

[Todd in PA]

It was $150 off. And shipping was… $150.

I went through Amazon and got the 15% off price and free shipping.

 

[BULLWINKLE]

I've had a Jet mini for about 25-30 years with no problems. I wish I had gotten the variable speed version instead of the change belt on pulleys but I seldom have the need to change speeds.
I'd go with a full size IF you have the room for it and the price is within reach as they can get expensive. Powermatic I believe are made by the same company as Jet.

 

[bugradx2]

It was $150 off. And shipping was… $150.

I went through Amazon and got the 15% off price and free shipping.

so this came back up in my "similar threads" today. Now that you've had the 1221 for a while how have you liked it? Is it true variable speed via a dial or do you have to change belts?

 

[Todd in PA]

Very happy with my purchase. There are belts, but since this is a dedicated pen late, I've never changed them since the initial set up. The dial will take me from a low number like 300 to a high number like 3500 without touching the belt.

If I wanted to switch to bowls, I would probably adjust the belt to have a lower high speed say 2000, but more torque. Changing the belt takes about 90 seconds.

It's a great lathe and I've gotten ver comfortable with it. Would recommend.

 

[bugradx2]

Very happy with my purchase. There are belts, but since this is a dedicated pen late, I've never changed them since the initial set up. The dial will take me from a low number like 300 to a high number like 3500 without touching the belt.

If I wanted to switch to bowls, I would probably adjust the belt to have a lower high speed say 2000, but more torque. Changing the belt takes about 90 seconds.

It's a great lathe and I've gotten ver comfortable with it. Would recommend.

that's really fantastic to hear Todd, thank you very much. I think when I go for a new one that's where I'll aim. If I have the ability to do variable speed across a single belt like you're describing it would work just fine for my needs.

Thanks
Kent

 

[egnald]

Very happy with my purchase. There are belts, but since this is a dedicated pen late, I've never changed them since the initial set up. The dial will take me from a low number like 300 to a high number like 3500 without touching the belt.

If I wanted to switch to bowls, I would probably adjust the belt to have a lower high speed say 2000, but more torque. Changing the belt takes about 90 seconds.

It's a great lathe and I've gotten ver comfortable with it. Would recommend.

That's great news. I know I went through the very same upgrade from a HF to the Jet 1221VS. I have my belt set on the 220-3600 and just use the VS knob so far. I hear you about changing it for bowls. (So far I haven't taken that leap yet. There is something still uncomfortable for me to have such a huge hunk of wood spinning around like that. - Someday I suppose).

I did a couple of the things to my 1221 that have really helped me out. First, I upgraded the tool rest. I got mine from Rockler, but at the time I didn't know about Rick Herrell's tool rests or I probably would have upgraded to one of his, probably the flat top one. I did buy one of his Tail Stock/Banjo Clamps to upgrade from the round one. On my machine it really helped take slop out of the tailstock when it is unlocked. The other thing that might seem insignificant but I really like is that the handle/knob on the tailstock crank on my HF had a sleeve that would spin when I was turning the crank, but the one on the Jet was just a solid post, so I swapped it out for the one on the HF. In my opinion it was a great improvement.

Enjoy your Lathe!
Dave