Some Bad Apples in the Jet 1220VS Production Batch!

[Jack Gaskins]

Back in May I posted my discern with Woodcraft and Jet over having to wait so long for my Jet 1220vs to arrive after I ordered it during the 20% sale at Woodcraft. Well, After 5 weeks if finally arrived. Pluged it in and ran it for only a few minutes and the bearings and spindle were hot. Took it back and asked them for a replacement. After another 2 freaking weeks I finally get another 1220.

Again, plug it in run it for a few minutes and this time I can barely hold my hand on the spindle because it is so hot. Both times I had no load on the spindle, belt tension was fairly loose, not tight. I ran the lathe on all settings and spindle settings and still the bearings were over heating.

Has anyone else purchased a 1220 in the past few months and noticed this problem? I am going to return it tomorrow and ask for a refund. I am tired of getting screwed.

The Woodcraft manger told me today when I picked up my lathe that he is not going to carry anymore Jet 1220vs lathes because of the 1220s he sold during the sale in May he has had 3 returned and several others going back to Christmas last year.

I hear so many good things about the Jet lathes but this is getting rediculous! I know their production line probably ran into some faulty hardware but give me a break!

Something told me to wait and order the Nova 1624! I Should have waited...........:(

[robert hainstock]

Or lack of it. I bought my 1220VS last Septenber, and have never had any "heating " issues with it. It did however have a power switch go bad about the fourth time I turned it off, (it just kept running). Several others poisted switch problems here on the "creek" at that time. It is obvious to me that not only Jet, but all american Companies that have sent our jobs to China to improve thier bottom line are going to have to pay for the move in quality control issues. I recently tried to purchase a piece of electonics for my church, and was told that it "wasn't available", as the Chinese Co. that was to manufacture it had gone bankrupt and locked up allcthe american Companies tooling. It would seem that not only quality control but totally differant legal issues are part of the package. Good luck on finding a decent replacement. :eek::eek::)
Bob

[Jack Gaskins]

Or lack of it. I bought my 1220VS last Septenber, and have never had any "heating " issues with it. It did however have a power switch go bad about the fourth time I turned it off, (it just kept running). Several others poisted switch problems here on the "creek" at that time. It is obvious to me that not only Jet, but all american Companies that have sent our jobs to China to improve thier bottom line are going to have to pay for the move in quality control issues. I recently tried to purchase a piece of electonics for my church, and was told that it "wasn't available", as the Chinese Co. that was to manufacture it had gone bankrupt and locked up allcthe american Companies tooling. It would seem that not only quality control but totally differant legal issues are part of the package. Good luck on finding a decent replacement. :eek::eek::)
Bob

I took the lather back to Woodcraft and they called JET to get the authorization to return in and would you believe the MORON from JET said I could not return it since there are several authorized repair shops in the city. What a GOOBBERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! I told the Jet technician what was going on with the lathe and he said my handle was to tight on the tail stock. I REPEATED OVER AND OVER that the lathe was brand new and it had never had a piece of wood on it. The tech said well if there were a bad batch of bearings then everyone would be calling me and you are the first one to complain about bearings so he told me to take it to a service center and get it looked at. A brand new lathe and I have to take it to a service center. What a crock of S&*(!!! The Woodcraft manager has three returned JET 1220VS lathes sitting in the back all with bad electronics. I hope when I order my large lathe I dont have any problems like this. And the large lathe will not be a Jet.

[Aaron Wingert]

That stinks that you're having problems with these lathes. I've had mine since December and have had zero issues with it and I use it daily. Sounds like they had a bad batch that are hitting the market and they haven't realized/recognized it yet.

Despite that, the Jet mini's are probably the most popular mini lathes on the market and for good reason. Hopefully this is a hiccup in the QC department.

[Jerome Hanby]

If you got the name of the representative at Jet to whom you were talking, it would probably help make the whole process better for future problems if you could alert their manager. I've seen this over and over, your quality of service depends on who answers the phone. When I did tech support, one of my managers favorite sayings was that one "oh s&^%" wipes out ten "atta boys". Maybe you could wipe out a few "atta boys" for that rep!

[Jake Helmboldt]

If you got the name of the representative at Jet to whom you were talking, it would probably help make the whole process better for future problems if you could alert their manager. I've seen this over and over, your quality of service depends on who answers the phone. When I did tech support, one of my managers favorite sayings was that one "oh s&^%" wipes out ten "atta boys". Maybe you could wipe out a few "atta boys" for that rep!

Jerome points out why I am reluctant to buy any WMH products (Jet, Powermatic); I have a PM contractor's saw and customer service was a joke. I wrote a letter when in the market for a bandsaw expressing reluctance to buy a PM but that I liked the product. Not a word in response (I didn't buy the PM bandsaw as a result). Because of that I am very reluctant to upgrade my lathe to a 1642 or 3520, even though they are both apparently great products. Of course I could get the new Laguna and have an even worse experience if current feedback is indicative of their quality of product and CS.:mad:

[Al Stramiello]

Jerome points out why I am reluctant to buy any WMH products (Jet, Powermatic); I have a PM contractor's saw and customer service was a joke. I wrote a letter when in the market for a bandsaw expressing reluctance to buy a PM but that I liked the product. Not a word in response (I didn't buy the PM bandsaw as a result). Because of that I am very reluctant to upgrade my lathe to a 1642 or 3520, even though they are both apparently great products. Of course I could get the new Laguna and have an even worse experience if current feedback is indicative of their quality of product and CS.:mad:

Speaking of Laguna . . . my new18/47 is just humming away as sweet as ever. So far so good. I'll keep y'all posted as I put more miles on it.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Speaking of Laguna . . . my new18/47 is just humming away as sweet as ever. So far so good. I'll keep y'all posted as I put more miles on it.

How come you never updated us on the Laguna? I've been waiting for and update!

How is that doing, other than what you just said? Customer service any better?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Jake I am a little late here but I have the 1220 and have not had a problem with the bearings heating up the headstock. I turned 3 cherry lidded boxes, a small HF vase and roughed a bowl today for about 5 solid hours and the headstock was cool. There was not even a hint of heat.

[Brian Novotny]

Speaking of Laguna . . . my new18/47 is just humming away as sweet as ever. So far so good. I'll keep y'all posted as I put more miles on it.
My friend has four of them and they seem to be pretty hot right now in the la/orange county area. I would take that over a jet any day. ACTUALLY i'm going down a couple days this week to turn a few big bowls on one of them and I'll post a review/ NooB review that is! I don't have a doubt in my mind about them right now. best 18" lathe value based on performance and price.....any takers???? I gotta go get some olive and carob.

[James Roberts]

I ordered my 1220vs the day before New Years last winter and It runs like a top. Only problem I had was the power switch (lathe wouldn't turn off) but the Rockler dealer who sold it to me couldn't have been more happy to help with a new switch and I was back up in no time. He told me the JET tech he spoke to said there must have been a bad batch of switches at that time because mine was not the only one during that time frame. Overall I'm pretty happy with my 1220.

Jim

[Mauricio Ulloa]

Hey!

I also had a very bad experience with my new 1442. In my case, the local supplier couldn't do much dealing with the Jet Company in the US to get the supplies here. It was a living hell. To keep the story short, I had to wait for 3 months for the spares. I wrote to customer service and their answer was that they couldn't do anything...! Great service!!!!

I believe that Jet is lowering their quality and customer support. I wished I was able to get a better brand in my country. For you that have the chance to buy really cool stuff in the US, it would be better to get some other cool brand with better customer support.... I really wished I was able to get the Nova... I saw is an a demonstration in the US last year and it was very smooth and powerful!

[Louis Harvill]

I have had my jet 1220 close to a year and turn mugs, vases, bowls on it nearly every day. Most of the mugs / goblets have at least a 2 inch diameter hole and are 10-12 long. Most of the vases are 12-14 inches and most of t he bowls are 8-10 inch diameter 3 to 4 inches deep and no problems. I am pretty much a production turner and use two other lathes, a jet 1642 2hp and old nova 3000. The shop has no air conditioning except for a 3 foot fan. Some times the motors get a little warm but not the head stocks. The abuse I hand to the lathes on a daily basis is shame full, because I only turn dry wood, mostly fire wood. I honestly can't believe how well they hold up.

Weekends I am a production turner on 3 CNC lathes and am well aware of quality issues and the damage one operator can pass down the line before it is corrected. It can take months once the problem has came to light the operator is long gone, to get all his work out of the system. A lot of the machines are capable of running 30,000 pieces a week. If one bad operator passes on junk for 2-3 months, it can be a night mare to correct.
Give them a chance and don't be afraid to talk to more than one rep. that is what the customers can do to help maintaining high quality standards, we every one wants.



louis