OneWay 1224 Lathe

Do you have any experience with the OneWay 1224 lathe? Is it a good starter lathe?

I've got a Oneway 2436. Top notch quality and I expect that the 1224 will be the same. For a "starter" lathe, I think the Oneway might be over budget as I believe they start around $2500. You can get a lot of lathe with more capacity for the same or less. I would consider the Oneway 1224 if you were a professional or well down the road of turning and knowing exactly what you need, rather than as a starter. The problem is that you will quickly outgrow the 12" capacity if you want to turn a bowl or something like that. It's a pretty small lathe for the money. But, that all said, it's probably the best quality lathe you can buy for that size.

Full disclosure, I’ve never turned on a Oneway lathe and while I’ve heard good things about them, they are way overpriced IMHO. I think the 1224 is like $2500 new whereas the 12” Jet and Laguna lathes sell for around $800. And for $2500 you could get the Laguna 1836 new which is an outstanding lathe (I have the Laguna 2436).

But again, I’ve never turned on one so take what a say with a large grain of salt!

tom

I had a used Oneway 1224 for a couple of years, performed great, no issues.

I wouldn't pay MSRP for one though, a bit pricey for it's capacity.

And I only sold it because I wanted a bit more over the bed capacity.

I have two of the Oneway 1224s. My late wife bought me my first one. I have since picked up a used one. It is my favorite lathe. I have a Oneway 2436 for the big stuff. And a Robust Liberty for the in between stuff. Admitted, the Oneways are a bit pricer, but you get what you pay for. It is a lifetime small lathe.
Joe

Strongly encourage you to find and join a local woodturning group. Likely there will be several 1224 owners who would let you use one for a bit. If you want to turn tops, pens, and rolling pins, it is a lot of lathe. If you want to turn green wood blanks for bowls, which may often start out unbalanced, the extra weight (and perhaps stronger motor) of the Oneway over a Jet will be appreciated and helpful.

I've owned a Oneway 2436 since 1998. I've sold a lot of work off it, which has more than paid for it, and was worth every penny I paid for it. I've only turned twice on a 1224, and the quaility is just as good as their big lathes. Incredibly rigid, butter smooth running. Quality doesn't cost money, it makes money.

I've got Chris Edwards' old 1224 - mostly using it for spindles, boxes, and smallish hollow forms. For that work it is perfect. If I intended to do mostly green bowl turning and pieces pushing the top end of its capacity I'd opt for the next size class of machine (16"+).