Opinions on the very first Jet Lathes

[Brian Novotny]

I heard that Jet started blue, then green, orange, and now white.

I found a blue Jet JWL 1624 with outboard capabilities.
I was wondering what these original jets are like.

My friend Steve told me they're garbage, but he owns 3 Lagunas, 2 vicemarcs, with 2 lagunas on the way....man, are those lagunas nice!

I guess Jet switched from only metal in the early 80's and those were blue.....any comments other than, you really want more swing than 12, or the hp is too small. I heard that the banjo and rest are a pain. are lathe beds pretty standard, i.e. could I change the banjo and tool rest easily?.....just looking for basic information....basically buy or don't buy.

And, what do you guys think it is worth?

[david brum]

Hi Brian

Are you sure about the size of that lathe? I've only seen the 1236 and 1020 in blue. Also haven't seen any Jet colors other than blue and white.

I have blue 1236. The obvious difference that I see is that the older lathes don't have a locking index pin. Look pretty similar otherwise. Also the paint wasn't necessarily so good on the blue tools.

[Brian Novotny]

Yeah, I meant jwl 1236.

So it's a quality lathe?
they're asking $450
What do you think its worth?

[Mike Lipke]

What's it worth?
New one is $910.

So, it is about half of new cost.
I think if you move up, you will get your money back out of it. You will spend at least $450 on tools, chucks, etc.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Retail on the 1236 is a bit of a joke. You can find them all day long at about $500 (new) and a used one can and should be had for no more than half that.

I have the 1236 (first lathe, I've been using it about 6 months now). Good starter lathe and I got it new for dirt cheap. But I'm already thinking hard about upgrading. If bowls are what you want to turn then it has some real shortcomings. If spindle turning is primarily your intended use and the 36" length is adequate then it can do what you need.

[David Walser]

Yeah, I meant jwl 1236.

So it's a quality lathe?
they're asking $450
What do you think its worth?

Before you buy the used Jet 1236, drop by your local Harbor Freight and check out their #34706 lathe. It's a virtual clone of the Jet 1236 and will cost you a lot less -- particularly if you have one of their 20% off coupons. Here's a link to the #34706: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34706

Is the Jet 1236 a quality lathe? Yes and no. It was well made. In that sense, it was a quality lathe. However, the design is old and newer lathe designs are much better. The worst thing about the Jet (and it's HF clone) is its Reeves drive. The Reeves drive uses a set of expanding and contracting pulleys to allow the user to change the lathe's speed by moving a lever. This provides ease of use -- otherwise you'd have to stop the lathe and move the belt manually. However, Reeves drives are prone to breaking down. (Keep them clean and lubricated, and the drives should last a long time before needing repair.) Newer lathe designs allow the head to slide rather than swivel. This keeps the turning centered over the axis of the lathe's legs (providing more stability) and keeps the headstock aligned with the tailstock.

Despite the age of the design, the lathe is still a very capable lathe. It excels at spindles. If turning bowls, I'd recommend NOT using the capability to swivel the lathe's head. It's hard to get the head realigned with the tailstock and the lathe doesn't have the mass to deal with a lot of weight spinning off its side. A lot of turners use the lathe for turning larger than 12" bowls, so it can be done. It's just not the lathe's strong suit.

So, the Jet 1236 was a high quality lathe for its day. The HF clone is almost as well made as the Jet.

There are better lathes on the market today for the same money. The new mini lathes by Jet are considered better lathes than the old Jet 1236 and have about the same capacity with a bed extension.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Retail on the 1236 is a bit of a joke. You can find them all day long at about $500 (new) and a used one can and should be had for no more than half that.

Man. I just sold my blue 1236 to a guy on Craigslist with a 8pc tool set and a spindle steady for $600... You're making me feel guilty!!

[Brian Novotny]

What's it worth?
New one is $910.

So, it is about half of new cost.
I think if you move up, you will get your money back out of it. You will spend at least $450 on tools, chucks, etc.

jFor one thing I'm pretty sure I'll move up, because right now I'm moving down. Oh, I have my tools, 2 nova g3 chucks, a nova supernova chuck, multiple jaws, plenty of centers, faceplates, I even have a homeade boring bar setup with all the goodies. This next one will be my third lathe. I don't think I'll get my money back for it because they haven't been able to sell it in 2 months.....maybe theres a problem. I have 2 chainsaws in hawaii, so I guess that's all I need to invest in more as wood is a free thing...in the middle of LA! I just took a walk and found some madrone that after taking off the bark the figure on the outside was INCREDIBLE! The city trucks are parked there and waiting to trim there tomorrow.

Ok, I went off on a tangent......
Isn't it possible that a revolving headstock can eventually cause problems? And can't I buy a indexing wheel and put that on a lathe that doesn't have one? When you say a new one is $910 aren't these totally different lathes that just happen to have matching model numbers after the size of the machine? And last of all, is the banjo and the tool rest one of the old school give you a headache after awhile, or are they something that I want to use. I'm not a pen turner(not that theres anything wrong with that). and I spend at least 3-8 hours a day on the lathe so I don't want to be messing around with a bolt to move the tool rest. I'm no master by any means, but I'm probably one of the youngest people here. I like to do hollow form, bowls, boxes, and pedestals.....now I want to do lamps. Sorry for the rambling, but if you could just answer about the headstock, indexing, and banjo/tool rest I'd much appreciate it. One more thing, I sware, how much did you pay for yours?

[Brian Novotny]

Before you buy the used Jet 1236, drop by your local Harbor Freight and check out their #34706 lathe. It's a virtual clone of the Jet 1236 and will cost you a lot less -- particularly if you have one of their 20% off coupons. Here's a link to the #34706: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34706

Is the Jet 1236 a quality lathe? Yes and no. It was well made. In that sense, it was a quality lathe. However, the design is old and newer lathe designs are much better. The worst thing about the Jet (and it's HF clone) is its Reeves drive. The Reeves drive uses a set of expanding and contracting pulleys to allow the user to change the lathe's speed by moving a lever. This provides ease of use -- otherwise you'd have to stop the lathe and move the belt manually. However, Reeves drives are prone to breaking down. (Keep them clean and lubricated, and the drives should last a long time before needing repair.) Newer lathe designs allow the head to slide rather than swivel. This keeps the turning centered over the axis of the lathe's legs (providing more stability) and keeps the headstock aligned with the tailstock.

Despite the age of the design, the lathe is still a very capable lathe. It excels at spindles. If turning bowls, I'd recommend NOT using the capability to swivel the lathe's head. It's hard to get the head realigned with the tailstock and the lathe doesn't have the mass to deal with a lot of weight spinning off its side. A lot of turners use the lathe for turning larger than 12" bowls, so it can be done. It's just not the lathe's strong suit.

So, the Jet 1236 was a high quality lathe for its day. The HF clone is almost as well made as the Jet.

There are better lathes on the market today for the same money. The new mini lathes by Jet are considered better lathes than the old Jet 1236 and have about the same capacity with a bed extension.

For one thing I'm not going to buy the jet 1236. I just wanted a group opinion and the group opinion seems like a no. My friend who's probably showed me more about woodturning than anybody who had allan batty at his shop all last week knows my skill level and what I like to turn and he told me to absolutely not get it., but I wanted a second opinion because that's just about all I can afford today, and I turn everyday so I want a lathe and I'm not patient. He thinks I should be buying something with a 16-18" swing.......maybe cause he knows I'm not a "weekend warrior", or maybe because of my skill progression in one year with NO help other than the pointers I got from him. I offered them $300 a month ago for the jet and they wouldn't take it. And I'm sorry, but I refuse to deal with HF steel. I think theres a reason why i can find 5 of those lathes on craiglist for about $125......My last lathe was a NOVA 1624 and what happened to that is a long story. today I have $500, in a week I'll have close to a grand....so I might just wait. For anybody who hasn't been to deltas website lately should check it out.......after seeing their whole thing about their 12 1/2" midi lathes, I would not buy a jet mini. It looks like Delta just made another turnaround with their lathes......the sad thing is that my friend was going to sell me a Jet 1442avs for $500 a week ago......I didn't have the money and he had to pay rent. I guess I'll just wait it out or go for the 16" shop fox...either that or wait till my friend needs money and scoop one of those lagunas from him. How long till the first of the month???the jet mini mini for $225 isn't even selling. I just want something that I can sell fast and get my money back for. The only lathes around here that are selling fast are the delta rockwells and they're hard to get......you guys should check out the delta midi demo....it might change your mind about the baby jets. I need the stability and swing to handle big logs. just because I'm new here doesn't meen this is my first rodeo. for whoever suggested a mini lathe, I hope YOU have a mini lathe since you like them so much.....I don't like themif they're not bolted down, and even sometimes when they are they take off flying.
Does anybody know of any sources other than ebay or craiglist?

what do you guys think of the shop fox w 1758? Shoot, at this point I might as well just wait two weeks and buy another nova 1624.....man there are alot of choices, but everything seems SOOOO expensive compared to the NOVA., but I think I can get the laguna 16'' for the same price.

Thanks to all for your input, I thought it all was great except for "go with a mini lathe", but I can even see his point, it's just that there's no mass to them. You guys probably just stopped me from making a REALLY dumb mistake and buying that old jet for 450. I do appreciate it all and I think I'm going to see if my friend needs money or just wait 2-3 weeks and buy something with a 14-18 swing....It's only been a year, but this is my life and this is what I'm going to do with it......I have plenty to learn, but, suprisingly, I probably could teach a few of you some things too. Not how to take a standard non fingernail bowl gouge and put a ellsworth irish grind on it freehand.....that's just something I do without thinking.

[Brian Novotny]

Nobody mentioned this, but I've made up my mind even if it takes 3 weeks
http://www.lagunatools.com/lathe-1643

and I hope you guys are clicking ads, I sure am in appreciation......but only because I want to buy those things

[Dick Strauss]

Brian,
I apologize and don't mean to burst your bubble but...
The low speed of 600 rpms on the Laguna 1643s & 1443s is not slow enough for what you want to do. The 1643 also looks identical and seems to have the same specs as the Grizzly G0462 lathe that goes for $495 instead of $995 for the Laguna version. http://www.grizzly.com/products/Wood...-Readout/G0462 Laguna has had some poorly resolved customer service issues IMHO. Grizzly usually gets things resolved to all parties satisfaction from what I've read.

I'd go with the Nova over these two options without blinking even though I've never turned on the Nova 1624. I've seen that they seem to be very well engineered and machined. They also seem to have a good reputation for quality and a good warranty just in case.

The Jet 1442 is a good lathe...it has cast iron legs that make it better when compared to the Delta 1440 or Jet 1236 with the stamped steel legs. You might want to try to shoot for the Jet 1442 if you can find one used at a good price.

[Scott Donley]

I have plenty to learn, but, suprisingly, I probably could teach a few of you some things too. Not how to take a standard non fingernail bowl gouge and put a ellsworth irish grind on it freehand.....that's just something I do without thinking.

I would hope those "things" do not include buying a lathe with a slow speed of 600 for turning 16 inch bowl blanks

[Mike Lipke]

Before I'd buy a Laguna, I would take a hard look at a Jet 1642. Slow speed is not an issue. I had one and it was a great unit, only sold it cuz I had an opportunity to pick up a used OneWay 1640. Even used though, the OneWay was almost twice as much as the Jet 1642, and while it is heavier, more weight, bigger bearings, yada yada, yada, it is not twice the lathe.

If my shop burned down, and I had no insurance, and had to buy another lathe, I would prolly go out and get another Jet 1642. Don't get me wrong, I love the OneWay, but it is in an area where 10% better costs 200% as much.

[Jim Becker]

Jet went from blue to ivory in approximately 1998. There were no other "colors" in between those two.

[Brian Novotny]

The 1643 also looks identical and seems to have the same specs as the Grizzly G0462 lathe that goes for $495 instead of $995 for the Laguna version. http://www.grizzly.com/products/Wood...-Readout/G0462 .

Yeah, I've been looking at the shop fox w1758 which is the grizzly go462. I guess grizzly and shop fox are owned by the same guy and both lathes are EXACTLY identical. I'm sure that they're made in the same plant by the same people with the same parts. So are these sturdy lathes???? I had a cheap grizz mini and the tool rest kept snapping off and by the end ( not even a year) The tool rest would not even stay in place, I even changed the parts 5 or 6 times.....which makes me a litttle scared of grizzly, although costomer service is pretty good.
I really like the looks and the specs of that grizzly/shop fox.....if I get one I'm going for the shop fox. What problems might I be looking at with this lathe?
Right now I'm trying to be talked into a laguna 18/43. Brand new $1100 total for a short time. I don't know if you guys have used one, but they are WAY more solid than the jet models.....thesel things are HEAVY duty!!! and they're quiet and oh so smooth.

I'd really like to know more about the grizz/shop fox though. I've been looking at that one since day one..... and when I saw it in white it gave it a more respectible vibe.....that green says "cheap" somewhere in the back of my brain and the white makes me think that it's a jet. I think that i might go with this shop fox unless I can get $1100.