JET 12" x 21" Variable-Speed Woodworking Lathe, 1 HP, 115V 1Ph (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.

Jet made a great quality lathe. Was a little nervous ordering this through Amazon, and though it did arrive with what looked like a kicked in hole in the box, the lathe itself was unharmed. This thing is surprisingly quite. Variable speed on the fly is very convenient. The stock spur, plate and live end work great, lined up perfect. Very strong tool guide, and came with two sizes, but could use a larger one. Also a smoother edge on the tool guide would of been great too. My experience with this machine so far has been simple and smooth. Took it out of the box. Put it on a folding table I happen to have in the garage, changed the belt speed. Dropped a piece of fire wood into it, and started turning. It was simple to figure out. If anything changes, I will update. As of right now. Very happy with this buy and very excited to continue turning.

Like most new turners I believe this is a good starter wood lathe. So far I have turned 5 bowls with success. Along with the lathe I bought a PSI barracuda chuck and a drill chuck. I purchased this last August and I did have an issue with the head stock mounting bolts coming loose. I called Tech support for advise and they were excellent. With the help of a buddy I removed the bolts and added blue lock tight to prevent this from happening in the future. If you buy this lathe check the head stock bolts and make sure they are tight. Also verify the tail stock alignment is aligned to the head stock. I set my belt to the middle position. The belt speeds overlap enough to where I think the middle position will work for 99% of turning. Read the manual. The variable speed is awesome and the LED indicator seems to be accurate. What else can I say, don't be afraid to by this lathe. It is an excellent product. If it was made in the states I'm sure I would have not had the issue with the head stock. It is money well spent for a beginner turner.

I've been using my new 1221VS Jet lathe for a couple of weeks now and I am very impressed! I wore out a smaller 10x18 Chinese lathe in four years and decided this Jet model is the one I wanted as a replacement. Not only because of the increased diameter and length capacities, but It has all the features that I didn't have before, such as variable speed, reverse direction, built in speed indicator, spindle lock and indexing feature. Great lathe and I am enjoying more woodturning with my new set up. This one is better quality, made in Taiwan, and all of my attachments from the smaller lathe fit right on with no modifications, 5/8" tool rests, MT2 taper and 1x8 inch threads on the drive and a more powerful motor. Well worth the price and the free shipping saved me $75 - $100, which is an added advantage. Since I already had 3 different sized quality after-market tool rests I won't be using the 2 rests that came with this lathe, they are functional, but in my opinion, would need a lot of filing and polishing to be usable. Five stars all the way!

Really nice lathe but took 3 tries. I took off a star because of the packaging and quality control on one of them. The 1st one I received was in a badly mangled box with missing parts. The Styrofoam was completely crushed and the box was torn and gouged - I exchanged it right away without attempting to try it out. The 2nd one I received also had shipping damage (broken power switch) and a very noisy rear head-stock bearing. This lathe is heavy and a pain to box it back up but I decided it was worth giving it another try. So crossed my toes and exchanged it again. The Amazon return process was seamless and I received the replacement lathe before the scheduled pick-up of the exchanged one (both times). As to the lathe: It runs very quiet and smooth. The second one I had was pretty noisy in reverse but #3 is quiet in both directions. I'm pretty sure the noise on #2 was from the motor brushes and can imagine this would be common for reversible lathes until the brushes seat in. The variable speed is nice but the control is somewhat jumpy especially when going from lowest speed up a notch. In the lowest range, mine jumps from about 50 rpm to 120 rpm with a slight turn of the dial. Not a big deal for me since I'm not turning metal. So far, I've left it in the middle speed range in actual use and am usually in the 500 to 1100 rpm range. I bought the bed extension so I can do table legs or other longer projects. I went this way instead of going for the 14 inch because I can move the lathe around in parts if needed. If I remove the tail-stock and the tool rest, I can (just barely if I'm rested and had my Wheaties that day) haul the machine to another bench or take it outside. I have a very small shop and sometimes need the space. The first machine I received was never tested so I can only say that one of the 3 had quality control issues (the bearing). My only other concern is that I think there should be better packaging for such a heavy item. If you get one in good shape, I think you'll be very happy with it.

Have only had less than a year but it's been a great lathe

Recently purchased a JET Woodworking 12/21 lathe. Went with Jet over Laguna because we read what a great warranty and customer service JET Woodworking has. They have not lived up to that reputation. After using the lathe for a little while we found there was a wobble with the center spur and chuck. The wobble with the chuck was because we were not tightening it down enough. The wobble with the center spur is caused by this ridge inside the spindle (see pic). It looks like a manufacturing defect. We checked with a local reseller and they do not have that ridge in their floor model. We reported this to JET Woodworking and sent pictures. They have denied a warranty claim because they saw some marring of the threads on the outside of the spindle. This has nothing to do with the ridge or the wobble of the center spur but they are still refusing to replace the defective part. So it will cost us $200 to replace a part with a manufacturing defect. This will be the last machine I purchase from JET Woodworking for my shop. I recommend others look at different brands.

I've used this machine for a little over a month now, so it's admittedly still on its honeymoon. First impressions are excellent. Two parts were damaged in transit, but both were replaced promptly with excellent help from the customer service folks at both Jet Tools and Amazon. One reason I chose to purchase a Jet tool from Amazon was the reputation both have for quality service. I've only had good experiences dealing with their service people in the past. The machine is well made; machined surfaces are smoothly milled and fit well. The tool rest and tail stock adjustments are extremely user friendly. The variable speed motor is very quiet and hasn't struggled with any load that I've thus far asked it to carry. Like a few other reviewers, I noted that the drive center and live center were somewhat out of alignment out of the box. I found the four socket head screws that secure the headstock were little more than hand tight. A long-reach allen wrench (5mm I believe) made short work of the alignment issue and secured the headstock firmly. All-in-all an excellent machine that is a joy to use.

Sturdy and vibration free. Variable speed is a great plus. Very enjoyable part-time during self isolation.