JET 12" x 21" Variable-Speed Woodworking Lathe, 1 HP, 115V 1Ph (Model JWL-1221VS)

Hello!My new favorite hobby would not be possible without this amazing tool. I love this Lathe, but it is the only one Ive ever owned, so take that lightly. It is wonderful for beginners because it has enough power to do almost anything I want/am capable of doing yet not enough to completely destroy me if I make an error. I don't know if I'd call it a beginner lathe or not, but I don't care. I love this tool.The centering was right on point. Everything fired up without any problem. It is also very heavy, so it doesn't get thrown around much.The speed changeover for belting up and down is a GOD SEND. I wish more of my older tools used this ratcheting system because it is soooo nice. Simply press, lift, change, and press again. Click, click, click and you are ready to roll. Amazing.The rests are pretty nice and everything on the tool can be tightened down nicely. The only issue I had was that the slide would occasionally catch when I was backing it off but it was an easy fix. Overall finish is very nice.My only complaint is that it occasionally reads the wrong RPMs on the digital readout. Its documented that this is caused by low voltage, but it changes on the ON/OFF cycle, sometimes within a few seconds. It's never random-for example, it will either read 1900 or 3600 at max, never anything else. My power where I am is pretty dicey as far as voltage is concerned, so I am assuming that is the problem, but it's pretty annoying to not have a believable readout on RPMs. It also fails slow, not fast, which can be dangerous at low speeds with Cole Jaws. Luckily, I'm aware of the issue so I plan for it. This issue and that the speed knob is a little lower quality than I would like are my only issues. The whole machine is so awesome that it makes me a little sad that they cheaped out on the controls. Again, the RPM issue may be my fault. I have checked my voltage before though, and it reads fine.Given all that, I absolutely love this tool and am planning on having it for a long time.

Quality wood lathe - I have been turning wood for some time and this lathe is well made and does a great job. Great value as well

This is an amazingly solid product, it's perfect for the new turner but high-quality enough for you to use year after year after year. You'll grow into it but won't wish you would have bought a more expensive lathe. I absolutely LOVE this thing.

The drive motor screws holding it to the tension bracket where hand started and was left hanging like they forgot to finish. The set screws on the drive and headstock were both loose and miss aligned throwing the belt and not able to lock the chuck in a holding position till I readjusted the alignment. Good machine but someone was not doing their job at the factory and should be addressed in the company office.

I never owned one before, but I've been using this for a year to make some pretty nice bowls. My son and I are both pleased.

New to woodturning; having a blastProduct delivered by UPS in perfect condition.Setup simple - no adjustments needed.

The media could not be loaded. Used it for about 6 months and it worked okay. Was turning a bowl yesterday and heard a loud pop and the 20 amp circuit breaker that the lathe was plugged into blew. Reset the breaker and tried again with the same results. Tried plugging into a different circuit with the same result (loud pop and the breaker blew) and this time the lathe shocked me when I turned on the switch. Obviously a very dangerous situation. Tried calling customer service but they are only open Monday through Friday and it was Saturday morning when this happened.. Finally got through on Monday morning and spoke to somebody in Technical support who was clueless. I could barely understand what he was saying and he had no advice other than maybe it was a pinched wire or something which I had already checked. It is still under warranty so I took it to the only service center where I live and they told me it would be a couple weeks before they could look at it and probably a month or two to get it repaired so now I have no wood lathe for a month or two. Jet charges a premium price for these lathes but they are still just Taiwanese junk. They have a little better warranty on the garbage they sell but at the end of the day it is still Taiwanese junk. Their lack of quality could have got me injured or killed and they don't seem to care at all.Update 06/09/2011- Got a call from somebody representing JET. He said they want to have the service center send my lathe in to them and they will ship me a new one. I thought that was a good idea given the lathes history of trying to electrocute me. Unfortunately the same individual called back about an hour later and said they do not have any of the lathes in stock but they are expecting a shipment the following week. He also said that they have to ship it truck freight because small package carriers destroy the boxes most of the time. They just don't seem to get the fact I purchased this lathe to use not sit around waiting for service because of poor quality. Certainly a dealer somewhere in Arizona must have one they could get for me but again they just don't seem to get it.

This is my second Jet 12 X 21. Very good lathe for what I turn.