Wood Carving Lathe Discount

Reviews

Impressive little lathe. I bought mine about a year and a half ago, (March 2008) and I've been using it almost daily ever since. I love the way that its so quiet. I also have a Shop Smith Mark V and when running it in lathe mode, ( or any other) it makes so much noise that you can't hear anything else over it. this little lathe is whisper quiet at all speeds. All you hear is a soft hummm. I've been turning mostly pens so I don't know how well it would perform turning something larger but its half hp motor should be able to handle almost anything that will fit between centers. The variable speed on it has definitely spoiled me. After having it I can't imagine trying to run the lathe without it. It does have a 3 step pulley in it giving it 3 speed ranges. For the smaller items leaving it in the mid range or high will still give you enough speed variation to run a complete part from rough turning to finish polishing without having to change speed range. The only complaints that I have about it is the live center that it came with for one. The bearing went out in it after only 6 or 8 months of use. And the on/off toggle switch for another. I've had to replace it once, about six months ago and its starting to go out again already. Its definitely been worth the investment and I would recommend it to anybody wanting to get started turning wood on a low budget. Don't waist your money on a cheaply made machine. After trying this little lathe if you decide that your not that interested in wood turning it should still have a high resale value and you will be able to get most of your money back out of it.

This is a good piece of equipment. The variable speed option is worth the money. If you are a newbie, get ready to spend some money for related tools. Woodturning is a great hobby, but good tools make it much better.

I now have 4 Jet tools. I had a 6" jointer, a 14" bandsaw, and a 16" wood lathe. I was so impressed with them that when I wanted a 10" wood lathe for my basement that I bought this lathe. Again I am so glad for my choice. It is plenty powerful and super quiet and smooth. I also like the fact that it uses a #2 morse taper just like my large lathe so the attachments are interchangeable. Like all my Jet tools the fit and finish was excellent. Jet tools are an excellent value!

After yutzing around trying to save a penny here and there, I finally aborted the Grizzly mini lathe and bought a REAL tool. This lathe works terriffic and is well worth the money. I have learned my lesson. No more Grizzly or the other junk, just go ahead and buy the Jet products. If you woodwork for money, you'll make a lot more because of the time you will save NOT being on the phone with customer service for days at the time. Amazon did a terriffic on price and getting this lathe to me quickly. It works 3-5 hours daily and has been FLAWLESS!

I also have the same lathe that is not a variable speed. They are both fine products. I recomend the variable speed if you turn differant sizes of wood. Well worth the money.

Reviews

This is a truly nice piece of equipment for my use which is making fishing lures. I don't have the variable speed control which I now wish I had purchased. I would recommend you get that Jet lathe model because it will increase the projects you can do (such as painting).

This is an older model lath requiring manual changing of the belt. The newer model has an automatic speed changer. The product is cast iron and very stable. Has the ability of being attached to a bench. The packing used to ship the lath is too light for the weight. My unit had been dropped and the slide arm jammed into the rest.

I looked for some time before purchasing the Jet Mini Lathe. I am very satisfied with my dedision to buy. Great quality with close tolerances in all moving parts. Wood recommend highly. I do wish I would have bought the lathe extension. I can still do it but should have at time of lathe purchase.

I did a fair amount of online research before purchasing this lathe. It seems that most opinions were pointing to the Jet mini lathe over other makes by the usual well-known names. Most of my home woodworking tools are Delta, but I skipped the Delta lathe and purchased this Jet instead. The Jet seems to be a cut above most other Chinese-manufactured power tools I've seen recently. The major components (base, head stock and tail stock) are cleanly cast iron, well-finished, with excellent alignment. The tool rest moves smoothly and locks positively. In fact, all the tool hand locks work well. The only item I'd like to see improved a little is the friction lever that locks the motor in place. It's a little hard on the fingers, and the rubber handle cover doesn't stay put. The operation is very quiet (you can speak to someone while the motor is running without yelling), and as many others have noted in other reviews, it is very solid on the bench, with no vibration. I use it on my workbench, but I intend sometime in the near future to purchase the Jet stand. At 72 pounds, it's quite a load to have to move around the shop from shelf to bench and back. I think the stand will help alot, so my recommendation to anyone contemplating its purchase would be to seriously consider buying the stand as well.

I bought this lathe as a "2nd" lathe, primarily to support the turning of lace bobbins and pens. It is solid lathe, well usable within it's limits. Don't expect to turn 8 inch (dia) 10 inch long, rough cut, hollow-forms. It's ain't designed for that. The only down-side, is changing speeds. But then I leave the lathe at high-speed, as all I turn with it are small spindles.

Reviews

i purchased this VS lathe after many hours using a 10" non variable speed jet. this was the cheapest price i found after comparing to other places. unfortunately, the customer service has been the pits- which i expected the service to be bad, but did not think i would NEED customer service! the tail stock started EATING my live centers.... i had to pound 2 out (obviously destroying both) and finally BOUGHT a new tail stock shaft and replaced the one that came with it. the original shaft had several tiny tiny burrs that caused this problem. i still have issues with it sticking as i unwind to disengage the center, but i love turning and don't want to fork out big bucks for a power matic. oh well- live learn, right?

After a lot of research and looking at mini lathe's I finally broke down and bought this one, and with no regrets, It is a fine lathe in all respects. Set-up was a breeze and the lathe performed seamlessly. Only one problem ,one of the rubber feet was smashed in shipping and needs to be replaced, had to rermove the others to level it out, very minor, other wise great,. B. Tomblin Wv

I have been using my 1220VS for nearly a year and have noticed several disappointing shortcomings. First the electronic speed control is marginal. I'm on my third on-off switch (when they fail you can't turn the lathe off which is dangerous), the latch will not hold the control box in place and the lathe speeds up uncontrollably at times under heavy load. Note that you still have to change belt positions for a wide range of speed. The belt change is fast and easy. Secondly the lever tighting screw used to hold the tool rest in place has a short lever and will not hold the rest securely. The internal splines strip if you use something to increase your leverage. A proper adjustable tension lever like the KIPP is a major inprovement, but will set you back $21 (Grainger PN 3GKG5). Finally the adjustable neck on the light is too short making the light useless for anything other than simple spindle work or the exterior of a bowl. The knockout rod knob broke because it is cheap plastic and had bottomed out when screwed on the rod - the top just popped off. Is this a terrible product? No; it is very usable for a first lathe for the hobbiest. What this is - is a typical, cost compeditive, Chinese lathe. If you can buy a Chinese lathe with another label for a cheaper price, you might want to consider it. On the plus side Jet customer service is very helpful and supportive and will send you new switches, at no cost, as fast as you can burn them up.

I got my JET JWL-1220VS on 09/02/09. CEVA Logistics was very accommodating is setting up a delivery time and they arrived promply at 08:55 AM. The 1220 is well-built and well-aligned. In 2 hours I had it assembled and running. I made a lathe stand from structural lumber and plywood. The lathe stand is perfect for the tool and rock solid. The stand is 36x20x36 and made of 2×4s, 2×3s, and a top of ¾" plywood. I used 3 ½" and 4" deck screws to put it together. I actually sent for the follow accessories at the same time as the lathe: 1" x 8 TPI Self-Centering 4-Jaw Chuck Drive Center Set for #2MT Lathes 1/2" Drill Chuck #2MT8 Benjamin's Best HSS Lathe Chisel Set All of these accessories work well with the JET 1220 I had a 2×2 x 12 blank cut from an old surplus piece of wood. Using a roughing gouge, I seemed to get the basics of rounding the blank down quickly. Being a total turning novice, I was happy to see that I could do a simple operation without much trouble. When I was researching lathes, I got The Lathe Book by Eddie Conover and Learn to Turn by Barry Gross. These are both basic, but are good to learn about the lathe and the available accessories. A very useful chart of available lathes (119) is at Turner's Corner (http://www.nealaddy.org/pub/Lathe_List.html). I'm going to get the complete Ruffin collection of books and DVDs. Also, Norm Abrams Lathe 101. A turner also recomended DVDs by Bill Grumbine and Jimmy Clews.

I purchased the 1220VS lathe in early Jan. 2009, and I've used it for several hundred hours since then. I believe that this is the best lathe of its type on the market today! I did lots of researching and testing before buying the Jet. Pros: Solid construction - smooth vibration free operation - plenty of power for size of lathe - work light is helpful and well placed - extension bed and stand easy to assemble and heavy duty. Cons: Poor craftsmanship on bed of lathe for a "Jet" named product (has many very sharp corners and pieces that should have been filed off at the factory) - poor quality "on / off variable speed control box" (plastic box that won't remain closed when lathe is operating). I've tried adjusting metal friction latch with no success, so I "duct taped" it in the closed position {: