I am ready to buy my first lathe. I am trying to decide b/w a Jet Veriable Speed Mini and a Grizzly 12" x 35-1/2" Swivel Head Lathe. The Grizzly is on sale for $265 right now and I geuss the Jet is around $300. I am leaning towards the Gruzzly because of the cost and the swivel head capablity but I haven't heard from anyone that has a griz.
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Jet vs Grizzly????????
- Thread starter Swampfox
- Start date
The Best...
Swampy, as many of us that turn wood have found out, buy what you think to be the best lathe you can afford at the out-set. Several of us have up-graded 3 and 4 times and that can be costly especially if you can't sell the existing lathe. Anything that can be turned on a mini lathe can be turned on a Powermatic.
Constraints: 1. Dollars, 2. How much room do you have for a lathe? 3. What do you expect to be turning in, say, 2 years?
There are many good lathes out there but the best lathes are expensive. If you have the financial means then do it right at the out-set and avoid the "up-grade" blues. The piper will be paid one way or another.
Swampy, as many of us that turn wood have found out, buy what you think to be the best lathe you can afford at the out-set. Several of us have up-graded 3 and 4 times and that can be costly especially if you can't sell the existing lathe. Anything that can be turned on a mini lathe can be turned on a Powermatic.
Constraints: 1. Dollars, 2. How much room do you have for a lathe? 3. What do you expect to be turning in, say, 2 years?
There are many good lathes out there but the best lathes are expensive. If you have the financial means then do it right at the out-set and avoid the "up-grade" blues. The piper will be paid one way or another.
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SwampFox,
Forget the Grizzly. The Jet is the one (by far!) you want of the two choices. I've seen far too many of the Grizzly wood lathes come back with the same problems and complaints. The frustration factor with the Grizzly lathes in general (the the one you listed in particular) is quite high. I owned 2 Grizzly lathes and still own one (it's a buffer now). I've used dozens of them and worked on many many more. Sure, there are those owners that are happy with it and that's fine. But I wouldn't recommend taking the big chance on those lathes.
The Jet mini is a quality machine (the Delta Midi being less so but still quite good and a very similar machine) that will hold its retail value if you ever do decide to sell it. Frankly, even if you decide to upgrade in the future to a bigger machine, you'll likely want to keep the Jet Mini too. I know of many professional woodturners where the Jet Mini is their only lathe. You can do a LOT with it. It's a fantastic first lathe because you're not fighting the lathe or wondering if it's you (which it almost always is 😉 ) or the lathe having the problem.
Why do you think you need the swivel-head "feature" on a lathe?
- Andrew
Forget the Grizzly. The Jet is the one (by far!) you want of the two choices. I've seen far too many of the Grizzly wood lathes come back with the same problems and complaints. The frustration factor with the Grizzly lathes in general (the the one you listed in particular) is quite high. I owned 2 Grizzly lathes and still own one (it's a buffer now). I've used dozens of them and worked on many many more. Sure, there are those owners that are happy with it and that's fine. But I wouldn't recommend taking the big chance on those lathes.
The Jet mini is a quality machine (the Delta Midi being less so but still quite good and a very similar machine) that will hold its retail value if you ever do decide to sell it. Frankly, even if you decide to upgrade in the future to a bigger machine, you'll likely want to keep the Jet Mini too. I know of many professional woodturners where the Jet Mini is their only lathe. You can do a LOT with it. It's a fantastic first lathe because you're not fighting the lathe or wondering if it's you (which it almost always is 😉 ) or the lathe having the problem.
Why do you think you need the swivel-head "feature" on a lathe?
- Andrew
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I too owned the Grizzly lathe you mentioned (for 5 years). I sold it to a guy who is using it to buff pool cues. A fitting life for the machine.
My problems with that particular lathe were:
1) The headstock would not lock in place. I had to drill & tap the bed and headstock casting to bolt it down with a strap. Needless to say this hindered swiveling the head, which I did every so often to turn larger bowls.
2) The drive belt shredded after 6 months. An American-made (Gates) belt solved that problem.
3) The switch shorted out (after warranty).
4) The tail-stock was sloppy on the bedways and could not be reliably aligned with the spindle no matter what.
5) The hardware (screws, bolts and levers) were soft steel, unworthy of being used on any machine tool. The lock-down lever for the tool rest stripped out. Once again a USA-made replacement part (from Carr-Lane) solved the problem.
6) The spindle is not plated. The spindle is not hardened. The spindle taper is not precision ground. The spindle is wobbly with run-out. Bummer.
7) The lathe motor is under-powered for outboard turning. Sure you can do it, but the motor stalls on all but the lightest of cuts. The slow going makes roughing out a drag.
I was "upgrading" my lathe to the end. I had to replace the screws on the belt cover (the heads stripped out). I figure I spent more time and money fixing up the Grizzly than if I had bought the 12-36 Jet to begin with.
To Grizzly's credit, they sell people what they want: cheap stuff. Then you either learn not to fall the "too good to be true" deal or you live in a constant state of dismay. I have to thank Grizzly. Almost from the moment I bought the lathe I wanted a better one. Each time I used it it drove my desire to get rid of it.
I now own a Jet 1642VS with a 2 HP motor. It cost way more than the Grizzly, to be sure, but I can sit down now because my butt is no longer sore from kicking myself. Did I mention that my work has improved dramatically? On top of that I can make better stuff faster. It's way way more fun to go out to the shop to turn on a good lathe with good tools.
BH
My problems with that particular lathe were:
1) The headstock would not lock in place. I had to drill & tap the bed and headstock casting to bolt it down with a strap. Needless to say this hindered swiveling the head, which I did every so often to turn larger bowls.
2) The drive belt shredded after 6 months. An American-made (Gates) belt solved that problem.
3) The switch shorted out (after warranty).
4) The tail-stock was sloppy on the bedways and could not be reliably aligned with the spindle no matter what.
5) The hardware (screws, bolts and levers) were soft steel, unworthy of being used on any machine tool. The lock-down lever for the tool rest stripped out. Once again a USA-made replacement part (from Carr-Lane) solved the problem.
6) The spindle is not plated. The spindle is not hardened. The spindle taper is not precision ground. The spindle is wobbly with run-out. Bummer.
7) The lathe motor is under-powered for outboard turning. Sure you can do it, but the motor stalls on all but the lightest of cuts. The slow going makes roughing out a drag.
I was "upgrading" my lathe to the end. I had to replace the screws on the belt cover (the heads stripped out). I figure I spent more time and money fixing up the Grizzly than if I had bought the 12-36 Jet to begin with.
To Grizzly's credit, they sell people what they want: cheap stuff. Then you either learn not to fall the "too good to be true" deal or you live in a constant state of dismay. I have to thank Grizzly. Almost from the moment I bought the lathe I wanted a better one. Each time I used it it drove my desire to get rid of it.
I now own a Jet 1642VS with a 2 HP motor. It cost way more than the Grizzly, to be sure, but I can sit down now because my butt is no longer sore from kicking myself. Did I mention that my work has improved dramatically? On top of that I can make better stuff faster. It's way way more fun to go out to the shop to turn on a good lathe with good tools.
BH
Watch out for the "lots of extra features, and cheaper too!" syndrome. Kinda like getting that $80 value for only 14.95 TV add item. Ya get what you pay for. The reason folks are pointing you towards the Jet, even though it is more expensive and has less "features" is that it is a much higher quality machine. If you feel strongly that you need the rotating head feature, look at Jets that are a bit more expensive and have that feature.
Grizzly is not a bad tool maker. Neither is Harbour Freight. They are inexpensive tool makers and you get what you pay for. If this was not so, there would not be so many $2000-5000 lathes out there (almost none of which have rotating head stocks).
Good luck and happy turns,
Dietrich
Grizzly is not a bad tool maker. Neither is Harbour Freight. They are inexpensive tool makers and you get what you pay for. If this was not so, there would not be so many $2000-5000 lathes out there (almost none of which have rotating head stocks).
Good luck and happy turns,
Dietrich
Recommend the Jet!
I believe that you will find dozens, if not hundreds, of happy Jet mini lathe owners. I am not sure that you will hear from many happy Grizzly lathe owners. I have used the Jet Mini hundreds of times and feel that it is an excellent value. It may have smaller capacity, but does very well on projects within its size limitations. The Delta Midi (??) is excellent too.
The variable speed should be a nice addition. I have no experience with the variable speed model, but most of the reviews have been favorable. The speed control may not be perfect and there may be some power loss at low speed, but those should be reasonable trade offs. I think that the purchaser of a Jet (or Delta) Mini Lathe will have a good machine to keep if they upgrade and will find a ready market for the lathe if they decide to sell. 🙂
I believe that you will find dozens, if not hundreds, of happy Jet mini lathe owners. I am not sure that you will hear from many happy Grizzly lathe owners. I have used the Jet Mini hundreds of times and feel that it is an excellent value. It may have smaller capacity, but does very well on projects within its size limitations. The Delta Midi (??) is excellent too.
The variable speed should be a nice addition. I have no experience with the variable speed model, but most of the reviews have been favorable. The speed control may not be perfect and there may be some power loss at low speed, but those should be reasonable trade offs. I think that the purchaser of a Jet (or Delta) Mini Lathe will have a good machine to keep if they upgrade and will find a ready market for the lathe if they decide to sell. 🙂
It just occurred to me, skip the variable speed (I have the belted one and it really isn't that difficult to change speeds. no power loss at low speeds either) and use the extra $100 to finance decent safety equipment (faceshield and respirator) and a tool or two. Even the down payment on a chuck. That way, when you are ready to buy a larger lathe, you'll have all the toys to go with it and a great little workhorse portable lathe to boot. Variable is nice but I've found that my mini won't hold a piece of wood large enough to require a starting speed below the 500rmp that is it's minimum. My next lathe is quite a bit larger and does have variable speed but will need it for those 50lb off-center logs. Either way, you're going to enjoy that Jet.
Good luck and welcome to the vortex
Dietrich
Good luck and welcome to the vortex
Dietrich