Jet haters

[Hosspen]

Oneway preference

For me, I'll do my research on each product not the manufacture. I own the Jet mini and find both pros and cons with it. If I had my way I would have bought the highend Oneway but I wanted to keep the wife. She only has Pros and constantly reminds me that she is NOT my property (her only downside).

lr


You are cracking me up Hayseedboy! Sounds like you made good choices in life and lathes.
I got the lil Rikon lathe (made in China too, maybe with lead paint?) and I also am happy with my wife. She is very dependable, variable speed and a "Oneway" lady. I figure since woodturning is a hobby it wouldn't be wise to strain the family over a $5000 lathe. It's good to see others out there with the same ideas.

 

[gwilki]

Jared: I know that Jet minis seem to be the standard to many people. On my VS, the controller packed up within a couple of months. Since then, the headstock bearings have gone. My main bitch with WMH is that they allow their tools to be sold by US retailers to Canadians, but as soon as the machine crosses the border, WMH will not honour the warranty. Worse still, they will not even sell me parts if I'm willing to pay for them. It seems to me that if WMH doesn't want their equipment in Canada, they should damn well make sure that their retailers in the US know that they are not to sell them to Canadians. Or, at the very least, their retailers should be to told to warn Canadians that they are buying a machine with no warranty and no parts available.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have a Jet mini and so far it works for me. When it becomes a problem i will be sure to come to this post and tell everyone what a piece of crap it was. Until then im just enjoying it.Of course my band saw isn't a grizzly(it's a Ridgid) my table saw and drill press isnt a Grizzly(Craftsman, can i hear the shudders! ) and my dust collector(Workshop) still pulls the dust away from my work. I think we put to much faith on any one brand just because that is all we know from experience.(yes i know some of you have actually talked to people at the company for which your tool came from ; but what do you expect them to say? Yeh that Jet is a whole lot better than our Grizzly!Let's be real people, do your own research, check out the equipment,(oh! thats right ,Icant check out the Grizzly because they dont have but like 2 stores , and none are near me!) 4 of my 5 or 6 major tools were bought because i could look, touch, and run them to see how they operated and if in the long run they didnt hold up i didnt have to pack them in a box and send off to wait for repair!Just my opinion and remember.......I still love you guys!:tongue: Just remember difference of opinion is what made our country what it is. Oh and especially the right to express it.:cowboy:

Grizzly has three stores. And one is near me. Joking aside, that is a big factor in my decision making process.

 

[philthephlier]

Happy with the Jet

I am a fairly new turner (5 months) and I bought my Jet at the local Rockler store for $225 after $25 rebate. It turns very true to the tailstock. I thought it would be nice to have the VS but I turn everything at the lowest and second to highest speed which would still require a belt change with the VS. The learning curve I rode to precision turning involved proper use of mandrels. The lathe would do it's job beautifully but 7 & 8 MM mandrels with two barrels being turned at a time left me unhappy with the inconsistent results. I now turn with one of the adjustable collet style mandrels and turn only one barrel at a time. The results are always predictabe, round, and true. I also have switched to using calipers for precise diameters, no more bushings that keep getting sanded smaller & smaller.

 

[Fred]

I really like my JET equipment and have a shop full to prove it. I don't think anyone turning wood is going to need the high end performance of some metal turning lathe. For goodness sake don't we all use a little sandpaper to make a minor fit adjustment. That would not really be the proper way to do it if we were turning parts for the space industry or any other industry that requires 1/10,000" tolerances for instance.

I would recommend to anyone buying a lather to visit several dealers and examining first hand the many different brands offered. I certainly would not tell some newcomer to buy anything based on some catalog picture.

Gather opinions and see whats what from those of us that use such equipment. Is that not what this Forum is for? I certainly come to to read what others have to state and offer my opinion and I still want anyone doing the same to go and see for themselves what is what.

I bought my JET 1642 and it replaced my JET mini. I am still planning on getting me a VicMark or a OneWay in the very near future and either of them will be bigger than the 1642. I can still turn all the pens I ever want to turn on the 1642 and be happier with the extra working room over the somewhat smaller mini. Life for me is far easier using the 1642 vs the mini. I am very glad I made the up grade and would do so again.

 

[workinforwood]

I know not what the best is, but when I had the PSI turncrafter pro, the spindle head holes became elongated when inserting the pry bar which came with the lathe. That tells me the metal is too cheap and soft...I sent the lathe back and bought the jet which has not had that problem.