Craftsman 15"

[Rex Guinn]

Has anyone used the Crafsman 15" variable speed lathe? I was thinking of picking one up and trying it out. If it's not what I want I can always take it back to Sears after Christmas.

I also called about the Nova 1624-44, woodcraft said it won't be available until after the 30th. But will ship with a Nova G3 chuck.

Thanks

[Mark Pruitt]

I have no interest in getting into criticizing Craftsman tools, and in fact John Hart seems to be doing an outstanding job with his, but in all honesty if it's between a Nova and a Craftsman, IMHO the Nova gets the nod without even thinking twice. Even if it means waiting a few more days. I would definitely consider adding some weight to further stabilize it.

[John Hart]

Bernie Weishapl has that C-man lathe so he's prolly the best critic. Mine is slightly older and uses a direct drive motor and electronic speed control. The newer ones, I believe are belt driven...Reeves drive maybe? Dunno.

Mine has served me well. It's a 2 HP (developed) machine...which means "Not really 2HP" . When I turn a 14" diameter chunk of wood that is, say, 12" long, I have to make pretty light cuts until I get it rounded out and hogged out to the point that it doesn't weigh so much....otherwise, the circuitry trips due to overload. No big deal...I just flip the switch off and on and it comes back up. But that's it's limitation. When I think about what I paid for it ($400 on sale) I think I got an awesome deal. My next lathe will be homemade...and my next purchased one will either be mayo or mustard...or maybe a DVR....or perhaps a Stubby.....so many choices and so little money.

[Jon Shively]

I own the 15" Professional (for what that name is worth) lathe. Really like the variable speed, the only thing I have changed, is to lock the motor up to unscrew my chuck I have to open the top and it had a recessed allen screw. I put in a longer bolt with double nut so I don't have to get the allen wrench and mess around. Made it toolless. Otherwise I have greatly enjoyed working with it and have found it user friendly. Now I am not a professional woodworker, nor am I harboring years of lathe use. I am a newbie to a lathe but have turned quite a few pens, six kaleidoscopes last Saturday, a few bowls now, and to many tops to mention. So I vote yes for the Craftsman lathe.

[Daniel Heine]

Rex,

I have the Palmgren 15" lathe. This is exactly the same lathe, just a different name on it. Palmgren makes this lathe for Sears. I am very happy with mine. I use it almost every day, and it is a joy to use. I do not know if the variable speed is a Reeves drive or not, but you simply turn a dial to change speeds. Works very well for me, and I could not be happier. It's also a heck of a lot less money than the Nova.

By the way, Amazon has the Plamgren on sale right now:
http://www.amazon.com/Palmgren-84315...6?ie=UTF8&s=hi

The shipping is a bit stiff, but if you coudl arrange for pick up, it woudl be a great deal. Maybe even get Sears to price match it!!!

Finally, if you have questions, or need technical assistance, I would contact Palmgren directly. I went to sears last week looking for a key to my drill chuck, and I had to speak to 3 different people in the tool department before I found someone who knew what a drill chuck was!! The standard response? I don't know, I just work here. No wonder Sears is struggling so badly.

Good Luck,
Dan Heine

[Bill Grumbine]

Rex, I am not all that enamored with Craftsman power tools. Of course, I will confess I just got off the phone from buying a new shop vac, since the old one is about to expire. But shop vacs are one of the few things they do well in my opinion.

Sears has lots of ideas that are just about but not quite when it comes to tools. If they put the quality into the machines instead of building them to meet price points, I think they would do a lot better. But what do I know? It has been a while since I looked at one of their lathes, but in my experience, while the lathe might be worth what they are asking, the hassles you will endure if you need service will boggle your mind. No one, and I mean no one is going to know what you are talking about if you call the store, and if you get trapped into their Soviet style customer service department, and the answer does not pop up in front of the person on the other end of the phone, you are doomed.

The only things I buy at Sears anymore are a very few hand tools, and shop vacs. I consider them all pretty much disposable - even the hand tools. You should have seen the rigamarole I had to go through the other day to get warranty replacement on a 13mm Allen wrench. It is just not worth the hassle for big expensive complicated stuff that is going to break at some point and need service.

Bill

[John Hart]

I do not want to get into a craftsman bashing debate, but but with all due respect for Mr. Grumbine, I would like to offer the converse opinion that while many people have complaints regarding the quality of service at sears, I personally feel that I have received exemplary service. I can not think of a time where the response time or shipping of replacement parts has been less than excellent. I generally order replacement parts online and fix my own stuff, but in the couple of instances where I could not, I received good care...either with maintenance or with replacement equipment. I buy a lot of craftsman stuff. I do it carefully and according to specifications first, rather than price....but the price is generally palatable. I never buy extended warranties but their standard warranties have been honored without question and even past their expiration.

disclaimer: I have no affiliation with sears or any other retail store of any kind, for that matter....other than as a customer.

[Jon Shively]

Daniel, funny you mention that about people only working there. Get that all the time when I go to Menard's or WalMart. Not at my local gun shop though! But believe it or not, happened yesterday to me when I called a Woodcraft store about Euro pen kits and if they had any. First guy said I don't know, here and handed off the phone. Its rampant.

[Bill Grumbine]

I do not want to get into a craftsman bashing debate, but but with all due respect for Mr. Grumbine, I would like to offer the converse opinion that while many people have complaints regarding the quality of service at sears, I personally feel that I have received exemplary service. I can not think of a time where the response time or shipping of replacement parts has been less than excellent.

No debate from me John. We all have our own experiences with Sears, or any other company, and one person's experience does not negate that of another. I have had great service from companies that other people trash on a regular basis. I am only reporting on my own experiences with Sears, both as a customer and at one time as an employee. Yes, I have had good experiences with Sears, but overall, the bad has outweighed the good, and my experience with their power tools, both as a salesman and as a user tells me there are better options out there.

Bill

[Daniel Heine]

Hello,

If you look at my earlier post, you will see my comments about my latest experience at Sears looking for a key to a Craftsman drill press chuck. After I got home I called the service center in Chicago. The woman who answered the phone said she was the only person in the building, and she did not know what a drill press chuck was. I called the service center in Bridgeview, Il next, and was told "No, we do not have one, we do not stock anything here. It will have to be special ordered". I then called McMaster-Carr, and picked the nright part up the next morning. God help you if you need anything from Sears. Their employees are incredibly incompetent, and it is not their fault. They are obviously not trained.

Also, as I stated Earlier, Palmgren makes the Craftsman lathe, and I have received nothing but the best possible service from them. Don't even bother calling Sears, call Palmgren.

Good Luck,
Dan Heine

[Jim Jakosh]

I have 2 15" Craftsman lathes with the Reeves drives the first one had to be taken apart twice a year to free up the sheave on the top of the drive, then it kept blowing the breaker so I bought another 2 yr old one that was literally unused - just sitting in this guy's basement. It worked for 5 days and then it started making this shining noise that drove me nuts and Sears would not take it back or off to make good on his purchase and he is a Craftsman Tool Buyers Club member. I had to pull the top sheave off that one too because it froze up on the shaft. Also, when I went to use the indexing pin, it would not lock in any hole and I found it to be out a line by 1/16 with the holes in the sheave. The quality of their newer tools really sucks. Then I went looking for a electronic speed controlled head to replace mine and found a lot of guys on Lumberjocks have them and have nothing but problems with them.
No question on it- Buy the Nova lathe with electronic speed control. I was considering the 16" myself. I read about a place in Ohio where they teach wood turning and they have had a bunch of Nova lathes for 10 years they all still work fine.

Jim