I have been turning for a year or so on an old craftsman tube lathe, it is not a very good piece of equipment to say the least. I am going to upgrade but I don't know what to buy. I am looking at spending no more than 800. I am looking at the jet 1221vs for 799 or the delta 46-460 for 699 that includes a stand. any advise would be greatly appreciated. I turn mostly green would and dry to finish turn. I have been making bowls and boxes. Thanks for any help. Jesse
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new lathe advice
- Thread starter Jesse J Sutterfield
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Both are very good choices. I have turned on the Delta on several occasions and am very impressed with it.
I would buy the Nova 16-24 on sale for $799 or the Jet but would not buy a Delta they are in a mess right now and it's hard to get parts.Delta's name right now is being used as a tag for the Chinese or Taiwanese company that bought them. There junk, Delta's tag, you lose.
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The jet and Delta are both good machines.
I would give an edge to the Jet. I have worked with the delta and the jets predecessor quite a bit and both do what they should.
Haven't had a chance to turn on the new jet but did get to see one up close. I just saw the jet on Amazon for $679
The jet is a little heavier. I like the controls a lot more on the jet. On the delta I find myself reaching over the work too much.
If something is going south it isn't good to have to reach past it to shut off the machine.
I like the tool rest lock on the jet more and the machine itself has a very nice look and feel.
Also you can get a years membership to AAW with a proof of purchase on the Jet -
http://content.jettools.com/content/JET-1221VS-Lathe-AAW-Membership.pdf
Al
I would give an edge to the Jet. I have worked with the delta and the jets predecessor quite a bit and both do what they should.
Haven't had a chance to turn on the new jet but did get to see one up close. I just saw the jet on Amazon for $679
The jet is a little heavier. I like the controls a lot more on the jet. On the delta I find myself reaching over the work too much.
If something is going south it isn't good to have to reach past it to shut off the machine.
I like the tool rest lock on the jet more and the machine itself has a very nice look and feel.
Also you can get a years membership to AAW with a proof of purchase on the Jet -
http://content.jettools.com/content/JET-1221VS-Lathe-AAW-Membership.pdf
Al
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Harry, I understand your concern, but I think that the news is not quite as grim as you suspect. The new company, Delta Power Equipment Company is located in Anderson, South Carolina and appears to be making progress in getting the repair parts issues sorted out. Much of the problem was created when Black and Decker bled them dry and booted them out of their Service Net spare parts business. The parent company is based in Taiwan and built much of the Delta machinery before B&D spun them off. At least I think that the new parent company has more of an interest in making Delta a viable company than B&D did.
Personally, I would stay away from Delta because of the difficulty in finding parts. My brother works for Woodcraft and he says they dropped the entire Delta line because of this issue. We just had a speed controller go out on one of our Delta lathes in the club, and haven't been able to find the parts yet.
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There is a big difference in how DELTA and WALTER MEIR (jet/powermatic) approach the manufacture and sale of lathes.
For delta it is a tiny part of their bussiness. Walter Meir has made it cornerstone of their business.
Companies that are serious about building and selling quality lathes have booths at the AAW symposium (maybe not very year but at least when it is in the company's region). Jet/powermatic are there every year and the company has been extremely generous to the AAW and it members.
When I was organizing the AAW symposium, Delta begged and begged to have the youth classroom to promote their midi. As way of gauging their commitment, AAW offered them a presence with the Learn to turn. Two years running they backed out of supporting the LEARN to turn.
Imagine the disaster if they had somehow been given the youth program.
Al
For delta it is a tiny part of their bussiness. Walter Meir has made it cornerstone of their business.
Companies that are serious about building and selling quality lathes have booths at the AAW symposium (maybe not very year but at least when it is in the company's region). Jet/powermatic are there every year and the company has been extremely generous to the AAW and it members.
When I was organizing the AAW symposium, Delta begged and begged to have the youth classroom to promote their midi. As way of gauging their commitment, AAW offered them a presence with the Learn to turn. Two years running they backed out of supporting the LEARN to turn.
Imagine the disaster if they had somehow been given the youth program.
Al
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Al, you have part of it backwards. Delta is now a very tiny company and has been so for a number of years. WMH, on the other hand is a massive conglomerate and woodworking lathes are just a drop in the bucket for them. In fact, if you go to the WMH main website, you will not even find any mention of woodturning lathes. The main focus of their business is large industrial machinery.
What you have said about the symposiums is correct, but it was not really an attitude problem with Delta -- it was a B&D attitude issue. Each B&D unit has to operate as a cost center with budget constraints that fit the the B&D business model. Fortunately Walter Meier Holdings is a much more enlightened management company that sees the benefits of supporting its customer base as a way to enhance future business.
It is sad that because of circumstances, Delta has lost much of its loyal customer base. If they are to survive, it will be essentially starting from scratch.
What you have said about the symposiums is correct, but it was not really an attitude problem with Delta -- it was a B&D attitude issue. Each B&D unit has to operate as a cost center with budget constraints that fit the the B&D business model. Fortunately Walter Meier Holdings is a much more enlightened management company that sees the benefits of supporting its customer base as a way to enhance future business.
It is sad that because of circumstances, Delta has lost much of its loyal customer base. If they are to survive, it will be essentially starting from scratch.
thanks for the advice
I am now a little better educated and a little more confused about what to buy. the delta gets great reviews I looked up some old forums on some other turning sites and people seem to love them. But maybe that was the before this parts issue? thanks for any help though I really appreciate it, I do not want to have to switch lathes for at least a couple years
I am now a little better educated and a little more confused about what to buy. the delta gets great reviews I looked up some old forums on some other turning sites and people seem to love them. But maybe that was the before this parts issue? thanks for any help though I really appreciate it, I do not want to have to switch lathes for at least a couple years
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That does muddy the picture a bit, but I do not know of any problems that might cause you to need repair parts. The only thing that you might need to replace every few years is the belt and occasionally you might need to replace the bearings. Both of those things are off the shelf items. As a good rule of thumb, getting repair parts from the manufacturer should be the last resort if it is something that can't be found anywhere else.
The Jet midi is fairly new on the market so you won't find as much in the way of user feedback or reviews. I have not seen the Jet midi in person so I can't comment on the overall fit and finish, but for some reason the Jet mini has gone way downhill in that respect from the time that I bought mine about seven years ago. One of the things that attracted people to the Delta midi was the great attention to detail and quality in the castings and paint job as well as how smoothly everything operates and and how quietly it runs. If at all possible, I would try to look at both of them so that you can do a hands-on comparison. I would say that either one is great, but the Jet might give you less heartburn about the future.
The Jet midi is fairly new on the market so you won't find as much in the way of user feedback or reviews. I have not seen the Jet midi in person so I can't comment on the overall fit and finish, but for some reason the Jet mini has gone way downhill in that respect from the time that I bought mine about seven years ago. One of the things that attracted people to the Delta midi was the great attention to detail and quality in the castings and paint job as well as how smoothly everything operates and and how quietly it runs. If at all possible, I would try to look at both of them so that you can do a hands-on comparison. I would say that either one is great, but the Jet might give you less heartburn about the future.
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Delta had an advantage for a while when they conquered the low speed on the variable speed lathe. It used to be around 500 with no power and delta came out with one that went down around ?250 rpm ? with power. Now jet has a 60 rpm low end.
As a practical matter there isn't much you would need a speed below 250? for maybe some sanding, and some thread chasing.
Jet has many other advantages like indexing, more weight, controls
When the jet is cheaper it is a no brainer get the jet.
It is a little like CANON having the fast sensor 10 years ago and capturing the journalist market from Nikon.
Al
As a practical matter there isn't much you would need a speed below 250? for maybe some sanding, and some thread chasing.
Jet has many other advantages like indexing, more weight, controls
When the jet is cheaper it is a no brainer get the jet.
It is a little like CANON having the fast sensor 10 years ago and capturing the journalist market from Nikon.
Al
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LOVE my new Jet 1221VS...
I have to admit, I've never used the Delta 460, but I find that I love my new Jet 1221VS more each time I turn a project on it!!! It's heavy, steady and very smooth running! I just finished a small 5" Sasafras Vessel on it this afternoon and really appreciated the VS feature... I can slow the speed down to sand, apply sealer and then speed up to apply finish. It's range of speeds even when running on the middle pulley is wonderful and so far I haven't had to change pulley positions to turn hollow or smooth finish anything yet. Love the safer position of the on/off, speed and reverse switch...out of the range of fire and nice bright digital readout! My ONLY complaint is the same as several others, for the price (definitely buy it on sale w/free shipping!!!) the paint should be 'powder coated' but once I wear the paint off the bed rails, I'll repaint to keep it sparkling! ;>) Needless to say, I can't say enough nice things to say about the JET 1221VS!!!!
I have to admit, I've never used the Delta 460, but I find that I love my new Jet 1221VS more each time I turn a project on it!!! It's heavy, steady and very smooth running! I just finished a small 5" Sasafras Vessel on it this afternoon and really appreciated the VS feature... I can slow the speed down to sand, apply sealer and then speed up to apply finish. It's range of speeds even when running on the middle pulley is wonderful and so far I haven't had to change pulley positions to turn hollow or smooth finish anything yet. Love the safer position of the on/off, speed and reverse switch...out of the range of fire and nice bright digital readout! My ONLY complaint is the same as several others, for the price (definitely buy it on sale w/free shipping!!!) the paint should be 'powder coated' but once I wear the paint off the bed rails, I'll repaint to keep it sparkling! ;>) Needless to say, I can't say enough nice things to say about the JET 1221VS!!!!