I made room for the JET JWL-1236,NOW HELP

[roy knapp]

Well i have been attacked by the turning Virus and as i was telling a friend of here at SMC that my wife said that i should get the larger lathe as it would be a waste of money if i was to get the mini and later after getting into this, say that i should have gotten the bigger lathe.

I just wanted to start cheap but she is right. So she said MAKE room so back i went and as i had toll my friend here i had 2 places that it might fit, well one was out but the last place with her suggestion moving a few things will make it work.

Now for your help please.
The JET JWL-1236 lathe will fit my needs and will fit in the shop afer a little moving.
What is everyones PROS and CONS on this lathe. I dont have any turning experience except High school shop so is this a good machine. Are there any falts or weakness.

Also Jet want $225.00 for there chuck and Grizzly has a 4 jaw self centering chuck- 1"*8 tpi for $ 89.95 is the grizzly any good and will it work properly on the JET JWL-1236.

[Andy Hoyt]

Roy - Before you jump. You might want to check this out. More money than you're likely contemplating but it is a sweet machine. I could pick it up for you tomorrow and get it as far as the woodworking show in Springfield Mass on Friday where we could meet up.

If not, just consider this a shameless plug for a friend of mine.

[John Hart]

I was just on the phone with the C-Coatings owner (Anchorseal guy) and he was saying that turning looks like a lot of fun and he'd like to try to give it a whirl.
I, of course, tried to talk him out of it. But, he insisted and he said that the JWL-1236 was very high on his list because of the reviews and the questions he had been asking.

So....you know...for what ever that's worth.

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Roy,

I hate to disagree with SWMBO especilally when she is supporting getting a bigger lathe; BUT, I have a 1236 and wish I had started with a mini and spent the extra ~$200 difference in tooling and lessons. The tools you buy can straight to the bigger lathe and the mini can either become a travel/pen lathe if you want a bigger lathe. If you decide you want a big lathe the 1236 is not big enough for big things and not small enough to be portable.

The cost of the lathe will soon be out stripped by the cost of all the goodies that go with it.

The mini will also be easily sold if you decide to sell it.

The slowest speed on the 1236 is 500 rpm, eletronic variable speed would be nice.

A ballast box would be the first thing I would add to the 1236. Mine is filled with assorted nuts and bolts from and estate sale. It helped greatly.

There was a recent post on a vacume chuck that was made for the 1236 also.

Just my opiniion and a lot of nice work has been done on the 1236.

My other suggestion is to RUN it is not too late.

for a chuck you should be able to get a talon for around $225 or less.

Good luck on what ever you decide.

[Bob Noles]

Roy.... Roy.... Roy....

You have come to the line in the sand and hoplessness is now setting in. You have been hooked and are being drawn deeper into the vortex. I tried to help you.... I really did, but you just would not listen. Now your own wife has even contributed to your apparent downfall There is simply no hope left.

Roy... think hard about the mini for now. You are getting good advice from folks that know what they are talking about. They have each been thru this themselves as well as with many others including me.

See.... I told you visiting SMC would get you in trouble... especially down here with the lathe crazies

[David Fried]

Roy,

I've got a 1236 and am very happy with it. My biggest grip is the speed control handle can get in the way when it is in its highest setting. I'll shorten the handle someday.

I considered a mini and still consider it a close call. I compared the mini with bed extension and stand to the 1236. The price difference isn't much (certainly not enough to buy lots of goodies and lessons!) and I felt the 1236 would be sturdier. To be honest, I have yet to turn anything on it I couldn't have turned on a mini!

I image you will be very happy with either.

I also went with the Talon chuck and love it.

Dave Fried

[Cecil Arnold]

IMHO I think you should listen to Andy. Otherwise you will only want to upgrade in a year or so.

[John Miliunas]

Roy, IMHO, if space and budget are constraints, the 1236 should be just fine. I've got a clone of it and have spun on the actual Jet before. Balast for sure, but then, you'd have to do that with about any lathe in that class! As for a chuck, look no further: http://www.woodchipshome.com/mm5/mer...egory_Code=CHU

Best pricing I've seen on this most anywhere and Nova makes a darn nice chuck. (No, I am not affiliated in any way with the above vendor!!! Just like good deals!)

BTW, welcome to the vortex with no end!!!

[Kent Cori]

I had a Harbor Freight 34706 that is a clone of the Jet and much less expensive at $180 and identical for all intents and purposes. I used it for two years before upgrading. You may want to consider it instead of the Jet.

If I were to do it all over again, I would have started with the Jet VS mini as Charles suggested. If I had one of those, I would have kept it even when I upgraded to the full size lathe.

[Travis Stinson]

Roy, I'm with Kent. If I had this to do over again, I would go for the mini. I started out on the Ridgid (HD just HAD to put it on sale), and thought I was upgrading with the Jet 1236. That lasted for about 9 months before I took the plunge again with the PM 3520.

[Sparky Paessler]

I have a jet 1236 and have turned quite a bit on it. Not the best but is very serviceable. You might want to look at the new Grizzly G0462. 2 hp with a 16" swing.

[Robert Mickley]

I'm in the opposite camp, I started out with a 1236 and wish I had bought bigger from the git go. But hey thats just me

[Cody Colston]

I have a 1236 and it has performed very well for me...no problems at all. That said, I wish I had also gone bigger from the start.

Without going outboard, a 11 1/2" blank is the largest it will accommodate and even with ballast it still wants to walk around. By the time that blank is finish turned, a ~10 bowl is what you get, depending on the amount of warpage you have to remove.

But, the 1236 is still a nice tool and I've had a ton of fun using mine.

Cody

[Kurt Forbes]

I hate to give to talk good about harbor freight but for $160 for the Harbor Freight 34706 (you can get it on sale all of the time and can usually get a 20% off coupon to go with that) compared to the JET I had to get the Harbor Freight lathe. Darn near the same lathe for 1/2 the price and then you can order a set of their turning tools while you are there once again for a fraction of the cost that you would get compareable name brand tools for. Once you start asking what chisels to get many here will chime in to order the Harbor Freight ones anyway.
I would say save your money for a GOOD chuck get some good chisels Bill Grumbines video and Keith Rowleys book and you will be all set
IMHO

[Joe Melton]

I would say it doesn't make a lot of difference if you start small or large, except that you should be sure they have the same morse taper and tpi on the spindle. Then, you can keep your accessories if you first buy the smaller and later decide to buy the larger. The smaller is a lesser investment, or course, and if it turns out you don't enjoy turning, you're not out as much. Also, used lathes seem to sell for close to the price of new ones, so you can recoup almost all of your investment (in the lathe), regardless of which way you go.
Maybe space should be a determining factor?
Joe