Jet 1221VS Review and Tips

[@zachtubbs]

Good review. I’m in the market for a lathe and I think I’ll get this one or the LaGuna model from my local woodcraft. Also, a little tip, you mentioned that tool rest can move and that it was bothering you. The tool rest moving isn’t always bad. That is so that it a work piece catches the chisel it doesn’t brake the chisel, your hand, or the tool rest it self. If you are putting large amounts of pressure on the tool rest to the point that it is moving you are probably doing something wrong. Not to say that you are doing something wrong but if there is something wrong then that is probably the issue. My guess would be either, dull chisel, bad chisel angle or bad hand form. All of which are very easily fixable. Thank you so much, this video helped a lot.

[@SirFency]

This is the lathe I am looking at buying. It's a grand right now. thanks for the review. Now I can expect to upgrade the tool rest.

[@oldandfound1]

Do not yet have a lathe. Almost 72 years old, so not a lifetime to make enthusiastic hobbyist purchases with inbuilt shortcomings on a fixed income. The 1221VS will stay in my shortlist just now, but it will be helpful collateral hobby lathe information to look for in the second hand market. I hear of those who have striped threads in cinch levers. Appreciate your video.

[@MrDancampbell60]

I have this lathe and I have a Jet 1442 VS lathe (much larger), I find both lathes to be very good for their price range. Yes, there are better lathes out there but unless you're going to get into advanced large turning, these lathes will do the job well. Improving your turning skills is the best way to attaining satisfaction.

[@JoelFinkel]

Thanks for the very useful, honest review.

[@rimofheaven]

Thank you for the excellent review. I'm about to buy my first lathe, and I found this very helpful. I'm looking at rikon and jet right now.

[@czellner5894]

Hi David, Thanks for your thoughts on the 1221VS. I bought one several months ago and so far have had no problems. As you stated, there isn't much chatter on KZbin about them. I went solely on the Jet reputation and the restrictions of my small shop area when deciding on a lathe. I do plan on buying a full size machine in the future. Your bearing issue is disheartening however. It most likely was due to a bearing issue as opposed to your turning large bowls. As with everything, bearings have multiple levels of quality within every size. I do wish I had bought the bed extension though. It's almost impossible to make tool handles on the 1221 because a lot of the 21 inch bed length is eaten up by using a chuck in the tailstock for boring. All in all, I think the lathe is a quality machine that will give us many years of service. I'd probably rate it 8.5 to 9.0 but my bearings haven't failed. LOL Best regards, Charlie

[@cornwasher]

Just got my Jet 1221VS the other day. Fired it up and the bearings in the head stock sound like a rock polisher when it's running. Called Jet service for replacements and they said to fill out a form. Did that with no response back from them. When you spend $799 on a tool it shouldn't arrive already busted, but that seems to be my luck. Suppose I'll have to take it down to the Jet dealer and have them fix it. I could do the repair in 10 minutes, it'll take them two weeks, atleast.

[@mrPauljacob]

I'd say good advice rounding the edges of the tools

[@Thom4123]

Thank You for your information. This is the lathe I’m going to buy for the price range I don’t see any even close to Jet’s lathe/price. Thanks again

[@mrharlemike28]

great review video. Thank you!

[@JimmiePorterAtStuartArts]

Great tip on founding sharp tool edges. I'm gonna do that. Thanks!

[@seniorchiefharris]

David...I totally appreciate and agree with everything you mentioned on your video except that you failed to mention that this is one of the very few lathes that fits between the relatively inexpensive lathes (i.e.; Jet 1015, etc.) and the more expensive and larger lathes (i.e.; PowerMatic 3520B, Jet 1621, etc.). It is a 'midi' lathe and I haven't found another midi lathe that will perform like the Jet 1221VS for the price and parts availability/service (i.e.; Delta, etc...). I too wish I could afford and had a larger more expensive lathe but alas that not's in the budget for the foreseeable future... Thanks for your review, it's spot on and covers most of the wonderful features of the Jet 1221VS! Safe turning to you always!

[@jeffoldham3466]

david thank you for answering,,,i did that and it worked,,,have you found out this lathe is slightly underpowered,,i have the jet 1642 and i guess im use to that one,,but it says this is a 1hp,,seems like not enough torque when you apply pressure to the turning

[@ericgeorge76]

Thanks for taking the time to do a thourough review. I'm considering this lathe since it seems to be the best in this price range and was wondering if Jet replaced your parts free under warranty or if you had to pay.

[@lmallard3788]

70% rating for the more expensive between laguna, rikon and jet. I need to look for another brand. Thanks for the honest review

[@armdaMan]

Hello there Am contemplating on either this or the NOVA. What's worrying is How ACCURATE is the TAILSTOCK for PRECISE DRILLING of my PEN BLANKS. Is it well fitted NOT SLOPPY or WOBBLY and well Assembled ??? At this point in time I don't have any another ideas for Woodworking U have used Yours well and should know Your Lathe better Do kindly let us know TIA ATB TC aRM

[@jeffoldham3466]

david i hope you can help me,,i just bought this lathe and it says you can turn a 21 inch piece of wood between centers,,i have a 19 3/4 piece im trying to turn and there is no way i can make it fit,,using a spur and drive center,,,can you help me out

[@holywatergum6890]

How do you turn it on

[@MrUsshuber]

why would i not be coring bowls on this? just curious... i core bowls All the time, and have been looking into getting this lathe, due to the fact that it has a higher horse power than the one i currently own. I was hoping to see how the speed adjustment system works. i know it's a VS, but in three increments, correct? Is it difficult to switch the belt on the pulleys?

[@jonny555ive]

Thanks for an honest opinion on this lathe, I've been hyming and hawing about buying this for a bit now but I'm not very educated on what good for a beginner turner. And I think I got my answer from you. So, again, thank you. I appreciate your help.

[@thewoodman6039]

thanks for your review.

[@amiddled]

Can you mount the head the reverse way around (turn 180) to turn things not over the bed?

[@Sludgepump]

Good to know... Thanks David!

[@J-D248]

Yikes, never use sandpaper on the bedways!

[@JeffOldham-c5e]

did you mount it to the table and how,,

[@DavidPx]

There are threaded holes on the underside of the lathe, the manual describes the pattern. I drilled oversized holes (to account for error) and bolted from the underside of the bench.

[@Jinxterman69]

Looks like it is 10,000x better than a POS Grizzly tool. Can't wait to try mine.

[@michaelogden5958]

I've had a 1221vs for 6 months now. It is my first lathe and I bought it new. A day rarely goes by that I don't spend at least an hour on it. I am on my third set of bearings, and I am no gorilla turner. Changing the bearings is really fairly simple, but 3 sets in 6 months? To be fair, I bought the second set of bearings thinking that all of the catches I had as I first started had damaged the bearings. Jet sent me the third set of bearings at no cost, although the process was more of a hassle than I expected. I do agree that the tool rests are junk. Even with "good" tool rests, I have to really reef on the little tightening screw to keep the tool from rotating. I rarely ever use the spur drive and have replaced the live center with a NOVA setup. Even so, I consider my 1221vs to be a capable little lathe. It may very well be the best you can get in this size and price range.

[@mikedeman5351]

That's scary - about the 3 sets of bearings in 6 months. I wonder would it be possible to get some really heavy duty replacement bearings from a specialist bearing company? Something that would last a lot longer?

[@michaelogden5958]

I did order and receive a set of bearings that are supposed to be "better" based on some forum consensus (I don't remember which forums). If/when the present set of bearings give out, I'll put those in and see what happens. All-in-all, replacing the bearings on the 1221 isn't the worst thing in the world. Aggravating, at most. Cheers!

[@mversantvoort]

Good review, subscribed!

[@ZieselRocks]

Have you implemented a solution for the revolving toolrest?

[@68HC060]

@@DavidPx I think you might be able to make dents in the 'axle' part, so it'd bite better. Those 'dents' should probably not be straight lines, but rather like a "knurled handle". I have not tested this and I can't predict if it will cause more problems than it will maybe solve, it's just thoughts that popped up in my head. Perhaps you could ask "This old Tony" what would be a good solution; he'd likely come up with a working solution.

[@68HC060]

@@DavidPx And thank you for your review. This is so much more valuable than an 'unboxing-and-first-try' "review". What I was interested in was how much noise it would make; especially after a year (or more) of use. I'll look at your other videos to see if you have a demonstration, because I'm not up for buying anything chinese, especially not lathes.

[@goodboyringo9716]

This lathe is $1040 today , not sure it's worth it may be better to go bigger.

[@MrUsshuber]

well, I use a Rockler Excelsior.. I am in the market for a lathe with more horsepower. it has 3/4 H and this Jet has more. I have actually stopped the lathe by working it really hard. so I was hoping this Jet would be a little more powerful.. thanks!!

[@MrUsshuber]

omg... I am So embarrassed, David!!! When you said bowl coring, i thought you meant coring deepish bowls/vessels.. Now I see you meant coring nesting bowls! Oh my.. I think I should delete my prior messages, just so as not to confuse anyone.. I'm sorry about that. But it's funny you should mention this, as I did Attempt to core a bowl, bought a special blade for it. And that was another time my excelsior stopped. It literally could not handle the pressure! I do a lot on this lathe, however, i don't know if it's the HP or the bearings, or both, but it doesn't like some of the crazy things I attempt. I often use crazy shaped logs that may or may not have pits. I am very careful when I work with these, but it shakes all over the place when I am truing them up.. I hope the Jet is sturdier. It is 1/4 HP up.. do you work with any of these materials?

[@MrUsshuber]

Durn, I can't delete my original post.. Well, peeps, don't get confused... I am Not able to core nesting bowls on an Excelsior!! It does not have a high enough HP and is really not built for this tough work.

[@smrotaru]

Thanks.

[@nicholasricchiuto8454]

Here's my comment to you. You clearly are a bright fella, you clearly know a thing or two about turning. You seem like an engineer, someone with highly practical knowledge... They made it out of a casting, to satisfy that price point.... Maybe you should make a forging then.... Maybe just the screw itself could be hardened.... then the two mating surfaces wouldn't need to be that stout... you might actually want the grub screw to bite into a softer surface, or perhaps there's an even a better design solution. It all goes back to what they have that sucker priced at. If you paid another $300, perhaps it could be a forging with a better design where the grub screw bites into something softer with less wear. Look, for that price point you're not gonna get anything but a casting.... But you seem like you have the knowledge to make something more suitable, more beneficial.... GTF out there and make it happen vs complaining about it. Just my constructive critique, you definitely seem like a guy who can make it happen. You ended the video saying the motor is great the belt is great the switches are placed in great position etc. Make the rest of it great and have a capable lathe that lasts 50-100 yrs. "Like they used to build them". -Nick (29yrs) Cleveland OH Make it f_n' perfect. You are 95% of the way there.

[@nicholasricchiuto8454]

Well thank you for the kind reply, sorry I was having a rough day and coming off like an a-hole in my comment. I'm gearing up to buy this lathe and your review was actually really thorough and informative so thanks David! My apologies again for sounding like a d-bag. Happy turning!

[@silvermediastudio]

I was thinking you could reduce the diameter of the tool rest shank then press-fit and cross-pin a steel bushing over it, perhaps with flats ground on to help a hardened cinch lever get a better purchase.

[@larryslemp9698]

I'd watch, listen and learn.......IF I COULD HEAR YOUR DARN AUDIO!!!! Thumbs down!!

[@joro8605]

Jeez Louise dude. No need to be rude!

[@jonny555ive]

C'mon Larry, turn your phone up pull your head out of your butt and stop being a D-bag. Or better yet, just go to a different channel and be grumpy somewhere else. 🖕