Thread: Help me decide please

Both have similar capacaties and from my observation at Prossy Turnout are quite capable lathes in their class.

One drawback I have never liked with the Jet is the flimsy outboard attachment of the VS control box and its exposure to knocks. I obtained a grant for the Townsville club to purchase two earlier models of this lathe to use at public demonstrations rather than cart around VL100's on stands. They were great to use out and about and in the clubs workshop but the control box had to be protected.

Hi Griz066,
I have no previous experience with either lathe but going by their spec's from a search and feed back on both models to me the woodfast would be the better machine (as stated by Mobyturns the variable switch positioning on the jet was mentioned and the lack of a safety lock off switch it is a simple toggle) the woodfast for me would be the better choice. Do a google search for both there is quite a lot of information and feedback about them available, hopefully some forum members with either of these will chime in with some first hand experience.
Regards Rod.

The tool rest on the jet is slightly more annoying than the tool rest on the woodfast. Also some jets have alignment issues. But I guess any lathe can.

Originally Posted by Griz066

I am looking to buy a midi lathe and have narrowed it down to the
Jet JWL1220VS
Woodfast 305X
both look very good machines for a similar price.
Any pitfalls I need to know about with either?
Thanks in advance.

Another lathe which may warrant a look is the GPW Midi, though the VS model wont be in stock for another few weeks.

Originally Posted by tea lady

.............. Also some jets have alignment issues. But I guess any lathe can.

According to a few respondents to a similar thread I have running, the Woodfast also suffers from misalignment in some of their machines.

I have only had experience with the yellow Woodfast at my club, so can't comment on the Jet. The Woodfast has plenty of power and the components are well machined. It runs very smoothly, and the castings are also pretty clean. I find the locking of the tailstock a bit difficult, as it seems to need a lot of pressure on the lever to get it to stay put. I have only had a quick look at the new green models and their castings for the headstock don't seem as good, quite rough and porous. Maybe they were just a couple of bad ones (hopefully).

Originally Posted by Treecycle

I have only had experience with the yellow Woodfast at my club, so can't comment on the Jet. The Woodfast has plenty of power and the components are well machined. It runs very smoothly, and the castings are also pretty clean. I find the locking of the tailstock a bit difficult, as it seems to need a lot of pressure on the lever to get it to stay put. I have only had a quick look at the new green models and their castings for the headstock don't seem as good, quite rough and porous. Maybe they were just a couple of bad ones (hopefully).

What he said
Have been using one for about 3 years .
We have 3 evs at our club ( Northern Woodturners ) have not had any problems .

Thanks guys I really appreciate the feedback. I would really love a Vicmarc VL250 EVS but that is over the budget. I do understand that when you buy a Vicmarc you are buying the Rolls Royce of lathes but holy crap at $2317.00 compared to $1119.00 for the Woodfast I can buy a lot of accessories and beer.
Will a novice turner really notice the difference between the 2?

Griz, the short answer is yes, you will notice the difference, but it won't matter anyway. You have chisels to buy, a sharpening system, something to cope with the dust and in the longer term(say straight away) a bandsaw. So if you only have $2.5K, I'd be looking at the EVS woodfast. The two in our Club cop a hammering and are standing up well. One comment you will hear quite frequently on the turning forum is "the slippery slope". Well you are on it old son and heaven hopes that you take to turning in a big way so you don't waste any of it. And another comment worth repeating is Welcome Aboard. We all don't agree on everything here, so you will get a wide range of views. A good thing I think.

Griz,

A novice should easily notice the difference. Whether its worth a 100% hike only you can answer. One thing being near 60, I wonder about the Vicmarc, if my grandkids, great grandkids & probably great great grandkids could enjoy it; the others maybe one generation only?

I have been looking at mini/midi lathes as a replacement for our near 10 yo overworked Nova Mercury. Its had a heart transplant with an after market motor & VS unit sourced from David Drescher. No spares available from Teknatool for the Mercury, but for the life of me I can't understand why they didn't offer a Comet unit but the new Coment wasn’t available then??? The SE QLD WWS unit is good and probably the one mentioned by PowderPost earlier or in another thread. Its not untill you change fundamental things like a motor & VS unit that you fully appreciate the true worth of a lathe, the complete package and its quirks & benefits. The replacement motor & VS is good, quite good in fact - but not as good, smooth or as powerfull as the original.

That is what is hard to quantify for most - how good is the balanced unit. For me its pretty much a lay down misaire – Vicmarc VL150 – no argument on quality, power, feature or capacity. I firmly believe there is no other lathe in that class that even holds a candle to it - certainly for the lathes readily available in Australia.

I struggle like you do to commit to the near $2.5k to enjoy it.

I already have two very capable lathes a 1992 Woodfast M908 retrofitted with M910 EVS + the Nova Mercury. Interestingly the old Aussie made CMG motor on the M908 was still strong as ever when I converted the lathe to VS. The Mercury has a feature I like that the VL150 doesn’t have – a threaded tailstock quill. I have grown accustomed to using it & really do not want to loose that feature. A quick email to Marco – yes we can do that 1” x 10 on the inboard end of the tailstock quill. For the extra few $$ over the quoted purchase price I now have a real dilema. No more excuses.

Research has just about done my head in over the last few weeks and I have decided to up the budget and shell out for a Vicmarc VL150 EVS. I got an awesome deal from David at Timberbits. Just got to wait a week or so until I can collect it from Vicmarc in Brisbane. Thanks for all the advice and I will be sure to post a few pics when she arrives.

I congratulate you on making a decision.

It has been said by others and I agreed over time you will forget what price you paid, once you get to making something.

Originally Posted by Griz066

Research has just about done my head in over the last few weeks and I have decided to up the budget and shell out for a Vicmarc VL150 EVS. I got an awesome deal from David at Timberbits. Just got to wait a week or so until I can collect it from Vicmarc in Brisbane. Thanks for all the advice and I will be sure to post a few pics when she arrives.

Well that was the shortest week ever. David from Timberbits rang me today to say he had asked for my lathe to be ready ASAP and they have done just that I will collect it Friday morning.