Looking at getting a new lathe

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SteveJ

SteveJ

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Jul 11, 2012
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Grand Junction, Colorado
I will be retired as of August 15th and my children want to buy me a special retirement gift. I presently use a Shopsmith that I inherited from my father but will almost certainly downsize and either gift the Shopsmith to one of my sons or sell it. Knowing this, the kids want to buy me a new lathe. I get to choose which one. Due to size considerations I'm looking at a mid sized lathe. The upper end of the price range will be $1000. What do you recommendations and why? (I've got a Taig lathe which I will keep!)

Thanks in advance!
 
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Greetings from Nebraska.

I love my Jet 1221VS; however, the only thing I can compare it with is my first lathe which was a Harbor Freight. Although there is a stepped belt system for speed ranges, the range I use gets me from about 500 to 3600 RPM without needing any belt changes. It has a tachometer display that shows the speed. It also has a forward and reverse switch, but that is a feature that I use very infrequently. It has a 1 HP motor which is more than enough power for the little projects I turn. It uses MT2 in both the head and tail stocks. It also has an indexing head, but again a feature that I have not used thus far. It has a cast base and machined ways and probably weighs 125 lbs. or so. I think the cost is right in there with your $1000 target.

I should also mention that I added a Rockler dust hood and Rockler Tool Rests as the lathe did not have a dust hood and the tool rest was just icky-er than I wanted.

I'm sure that most lathes that are in the $1000 range are pretty high quality, so I'm sure that you will be pleased with whatever you wind up with.

Dave
 
Jet 1221VS. I have a Jet 1013 and it's pretty much perfect for small and mid sized projects, but just a little more size would be nice.
 
Not sure how small you want to go, but I have a Nova Comet II DR lathe that I love. Great for pens and smaller bowls, peppermills, etc. Pair it with a good Nova chuck and you hit your cash goal. Variable speed, good power, small footprint but has a 12" swing, and well made. Enjoy your retirement!!
 
IF you think you might want to turn bowls later own, look for a larger swing (14" or so). If pens are your goal, the 12" will do great.

For bowls or plates, 12" will yield 11" at best but usually 10" or 9" bowls; A 14" lathe will usually yield 12" at best. The reason is that rough cut blanks are not perfectly round and allowances are a necessity.
 
I have a Turncraft commander and it's been great except for the tool rest and tailstock. It's the exact same lathe as the Jet brand only its sold by PSI. If you get a Jet or Turncraft, there is a guy here who makes parts for them to fix a common issue with the toolrest and tailstock.
 
I have a 12" Turncrafter that I've been very pleased with. But if your budget extends to $1000, I suggest looking at either the Jet 1221 or the Laguna - both seem to have great reputations. However, you also should understand that the buying a lathe is just opening the door - once you go through that door, the list of stuff that you 'need' becomes very long. So the budget has to allow for a lot more than just the lathe.

The Delta is supposedly a good lathe - and it's been around for a very long time. Unfortunately, Delta (the company) has changed hands numerous times, and the spare parts part of the business has not always been transferred along with the new product part. As a result, in recent years there have been a number of reports of people having difficulty getting replacement parts for Delta lathes.

Another lathe that is supposedly very good is the Nova Comet - and it was on my list of possibles when I was shopping. Recently, someone posted about a problem replacing the belt on a Comet and reported that it was necessary to disassemble the headstock in order to remove the old belt. I don't have any personal experience with Comets, but I will say belts are consumable items that have to be replaced regularly, and if the design of a particular lathe makes that difficult, then that would be a good reason to avoid that model.
 
SteveJ said:
I will be retired as of August 15th and my children want to buy me a special retirement gift. I presently use a Shopsmith that I inherited from my father but will almost certainly downsize and either gift the Shopsmith to one of my sons or sell it. Knowing this, the kids want to buy me a new lathe. I get to choose which one. Due to size considerations I'm looking at a mid sized lathe. The upper end of the price range will be $1000. What do you recommendations and why? (I've got a Taig lathe which I will keep!)

Thanks in advance!
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I have both the Laguna 12/16 and the Jet 1221. The Jet was the first one I bought, love it. The only reason I bought the Laguna is I wanted the ability to turn on the outboard side. That being said, I haven't ventured there yet. The Laguna is a beast, very heavy duty. To utilize the outboard turning requires an addition expense to buy the bed extension, comes with a banjo and an spindle adapter. I bought my Laguna in early spring, since then, the price has jumped up $200.00. I paid $799.00 and now I see it advertised for $999.00. Both lathes are very stable, but I think Laguna edges out the Jet by just a little, in quietness and stability. The indexing feature is easier to get to on the Jet. Both lathes are very easy to access the belt for speed range changes. The tailstock on the Jet has a small amount of slop between the ways. The Laguna has virtually none. I like the way the tool rest tightens on the Jet better than the Laguna, but both work so really that's just a preference. Congrats on the retirement. I'm about 3 years away :)
 
KenB259 said:
I have both the Laguna 12/16 and the Jet 1221. The Jet was the first one I bought, love it. The only reason I bought the Laguna is I wanted the ability to turn on the outboard side. That being said, I haven't ventured there yet. The Laguna is a beast, very heavy duty. To utilize the outboard turning requires an addition expense to buy the bed extension, comes with a banjo and an spindle adapter. I bought my Laguna in early spring, since then, the price has jumped up $200.00. I paid $799.00 and now I see it advertised for $999.00. Both lathes are very stable, but I think Laguna edges out the Jet by just a little, in quietness and stability. The indexing feature is easier to get to on the Jet. Both lathes are very easy to access the belt for speed range changes. The tailstock on the Jet has a small amount of slop between the ways. The Laguna has virtually none. I like the way the tool rest tightens on the Jet better than the Laguna, but both work so really that's just a preference. Congrats on the retirement. I'm about 3 years away :)
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It's always nice to hear of comments (pro and con) from folks who have actual hands-on experience with the tools/equipment in their shop vs those that 'have read' comments.
 
Nothing wrong with a Jet 1015 if it fits your needs. Can add base and extension. I have the 1015 & 1221. Both are 1st class
 
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