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craftsman 15 inch lathe vs jet 1221

H

Hu Lowery

Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
485
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4
Location
Roseland, LA
I have the old craftsman cast iron lathe with reeves drive. Looks like a lot of lathe but flimsy, doesn't hold settings, little torque. I would like to step up to a bigger lathe but that doesn't seem likely to happen right now. Might try to swap an NC mill for a bigger lathe later.

Anyway, I am considering going smaller to a 1221 jet and saving the jet for small work and such when I am able to go bigger. I think both lathes claim one horsepower motors but the craftsman seems to have sears weird calculation of horsepower nobody else uses, not a very stout motor at all. Would the jet actually have a strong one HP motor as compared to say my Dayton one horsepower electric motor?

The jet has electronic variable speed control and reverse. I also believe it is a much stiffer machine. Same spindle thread, and MT-2 taper on spindle and tailstock for both. Smaller diameter toolrest posts on the jet apparently.

I would lose two and a half inches of swing which is a lot since I turn rough blanks. Trimming them more carefully would get some of that back.

Anyone have experience with both to have thoughts? Any thoughts at all welcome.

Thank You,
Hu
 
I've turned on both and the Craftsman that I turned on was a piece of junk compared to the new Jet. It just runs smoother and quieter. It's been a while so I can't remember the difference in power but all of the controls from locking down the tailstock and banjo were far superior to the Craftsman. At least that's my opinion.
 
Hu,

I have the jet 1221vs. It is the new model and a sweet little machine.
It is the prettiest small lathe out there! The new design has nice lines and it has all the features.
It has an index wheel, spindle lock, reverse, the pulley belt is a real,pulley belt.
Changing step pulleys is faster than any lathe I have used.

I use it for demos where I need to bring a lathe and for classes.
It would be a good lathe for anyone doing bowls up to about 11" diameter and small hollow forms.
I have done an 11" diameter crotch bowl and several 6-7" diameter hollow forms in demos. Lathe works great except for being a little slower on roughing.
The 120 pound lathe can't go as fast as an 800 pound lathe and it stalls out on a heavy roughing cut. So takes a it linger.

All in all I think it is the best lathe on the market for under $1000.

The limitations are obvious. 11" diameter over the banjo, 21" between centers, 1 hp, the cheap live center is too wide for returning or small spindles I use a ONEWAY live center, hand wheel is a little small, the tool rest lock, banjo lock , tailstock locks are too short.

I!don't use it often enough to get use to the minimum speeds which are a lot higher than 3 rpm on my big machine. 60 rpm is an ok low speed but when it is on the higher speed pulley the lowest speed is 110 and 220 a little fast but it is what it is.

I did not get the leg stand. I mounted it on an old delta lathe stand that has two cast iron legs an 2x8 maple cross members.
I could put sandbags in the bottom shelf for more weight but that is something I don't need to be adding to my demo kit.
 
The Jet is a far better lathe than the Craftsman. On Craftsman power tools if you divide the claimed horsepower by ten, it will be closer to the truth.

A bit of general information about variable speed mini and midi lathes. It isn't economical for the manufacturers to equip them with three phase AC motors and variable frequency drives. If they did, the price would double or triple. So, what they do is use a DC motor and then control speed by varying the voltage. That is the way that small power hand tools like routers and drills also operate. The variable speed control is basically the same thing as the electronics in light dimmer controls. It works fairly well, but as the voltage gets lower, so does the mechanical output of the motor. There are always design tradeoffs, so behind every silver lining there is a dark cloud. Well, not all that dark -- the way Jet gets around some of the disadvantages of variable speed drive is to use a larger motor to have better low speed performance. This means that at the high speed end there will be an abundance of power. As far as the one horsepower claim, it is probably a lot more accurate than horsepower claims for routers and a heck of a lot more accurate than what Sears claims for their motors. However, stating a horsepower for a DC motor is fraught with caveats because applied voltage, motor current, speed and load torque are complexly related. The best that can be done is to pick one set of conditions such a maximum voltage and 50% load torque will result in maximum horsepower. Increasing or decreasing the load torque will reduce the horsepower output. Changing load torque also changes the speed. It would be better if DC motors were rated by their torque output rather than horsepower (they are for industrial control motors) since the latter terms is somewhat nebulous.

Having said all that, if the Jet 1221 has a version with a stepped pulley and an AC motor, I would go for that version. It would be less expensive and it would always have full power available at the spindle.
 
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Good point Bill

Can't put motor and controller components costing a $1000 plus on a lathe to be sold for $700

What is horsepower anyway?
The little pony down the street could pull my little lathe away now matter how fast it was running.

Al
 
I did demos for 3 days turning bowls on my Delta midi which has about the same power motor and DC drive as the Jet. It's not bad. It takes a little getting used to when roughing because like Al I'm used to my big lathe but I was still able to get them roughed out pretty quick using the low speed pulley where I didn't have to run the motor at really slow speeds. This kept the power up fairly well. Once I got it roughed out I didn't notice a huge difference in my ability to take off a fair amount of wood pretty quickly. It's not as heavy as the Jet so it did tend to vibrate when I cranked the speeds up on anything but the balanced piece. I think the Jet would be a lot better in that sense.
 
I have heard a couple club members complain that the Jet is far too slow in ramping up to speed. One person said somewhat sarcastically during a hands-on class that after flipping the power switch on they had time to take a coffee break and eat a donut before the lathe finally got up to speed.
 
Bill Boehme said:
I have heard a couple club members complain that the Jet is far too slow in ramping up to speed. One person said somewhat sarcastically during a hands-on class that after flipping the power switch on they had time to take a coffee break and eat a donut before the lathe finally got up to speed.
Click to expand...

If they are that impatient, do they already have their tool on the tool rest? It takes 2-3 seconds. They must drink coffee and eat fast. Even Powermatics do not reach speed instantaneously.

I have used a 1221 probably half a dozen times in the last six months for demos lasting 4-5 hours each. I found the slight delay mildly aggravating at first, but quickly adapted and very soon I simply didn't notice. My only significant reservation with the 1221 is the small diameter (5/8"?) of the tool-rest post. The tool rest is perhaps lighter than I would prefer. But startup speed -- insignificant.
 
Thanks Guys!

Good information and good humor! I was in need of both today. Montezuma's revenge, don't know what caused it but at the rate I am going the great news is that I will meet my diet goal for 2015 at about 11:23PM tonight!

The tool post was one of my concerns since the ad's tend to omit the size it is. At 5/8" I think I could pass an end mill down it opening it up to 3/4" which would only be a sixteenth all around and shouldn't weaken things much. That should open up choices and if push comes to shove I can make all the tool rests I want anyway.

Slow starting on the Jet probably won't be much of an issue. With the craftsman I have mastered the art of giving the piece a twirl and getting my hand clear before hitting the power button!

Sixty RPM is high to some but 400 is the advertised minimum of the craftsman and if I want the entire Reeves drive belt in the pulley then lowest speed is closer to an indicated 450-500. I think the RPM markings on the dial are more than a little optimistic but a couple three hundred minimum or more would probably be a fair guess.

Losing torque on bottom is a small concern, didn't realize that was a DC motor, motor controls have never been my area of expertise although I have learned a little about them over the years. Trying to beat a friend out of a Monarch EE, I think the copper in that primitive motor control will scrap out over the price of the Jet!

Thank you all and I welcome further comments, well about anything other than my somewhat delicate condition!(no I'm not a little bit pregnant!)

Hu
 
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