So I picked up my Jet 1442......

[Brian Novotny]

I got it home and assembled it as the selller had alrready taken it apart by the time I got there. After asking 6 times about any problems he promised that I would have no problems....I got it together and the first thing I did was to see if the centers lined up...and they didn't. First thought was that it needed new bearings...no big deal....but upon closer inspection the headstock, though tightened down as much as possible was "wobbly"....I figured out that it was the swiveling headstock mechanism that had made the headstock unstable and off balance. Well, I got my money back plus a 20 pound red gum burl for gas. I will NEVER buy a used lathe with a swiveling headstock.....everytime you swivel that thing you are one step closer to ruining the headstock.......just slide it to the end. So, on Friday I'll have the money for either the new nova 1624 deal or the 16/43 laguna. Now the laguna is local if problems come up and has vs as well as MUCH more stability in the legs. The Nova has a free chuck and bed extenstion I don't need. I already have 3 nova chucks and have had the 1624 good lathe, but the legs are not very stable. The laguna has a 10% off coupon and I'm leaning towards it. I will NEVER swivel a headstock of my own in my life! IF you do it you are damaging the headstock in most cases....at least on the Jet's.... I'm going down to the laguna showroom in the morning.

[Alan Trout]

Brian, if you want to turn bowls I would take the Nova 1624 any day over the Laguna, The Laguna's low RPM is 600 compared to the the Nova at 215RPM. I would hate to rough turn an out of balance 15" bowl blank at 600RPM. It could be very dangerous.

Just get the Nova and be done with it. You will be much happier in the long run.

Alan

[Bernie Weishapl]

There had to be something setup wrong for the headstock to wobble even with it tightened down. I have had 3 swiveling headstock lathes with nary a problem including my Nova DVR.

If I was getting one I would definitely get the Nova 1624 as Alan said the Laguna 14/43 and 16/43's low speed of 600 rpm is way to fast for big out of balanced burls and bowl blanks. You said you would never buy a swiveling headstock well both lathes headstocks do slide and but both do swivel also. If you loosen it to move it to the end of the lathe it could move side to side. Both are reeves drives not a EVS variable speed which are a lot of maintenance. You change speed with a lever which either tightens or loosens a pulley move the belt in or out changing speed.

[Brian Novotny]

I want to check to see if the 600rpm is a typo or not....does anyone know from laguna or from personal experience??? Alot of my friends have the 18/47.....people that own oneways, vics, powermatics.....all right now. They like the 18/47 and I've turned on it and like it too. The problem I had with the jet is a problem that has plagued many woodturners. I have a friend that won't buy rotating headstocks for the same reason. Thanks for the advice, but I'm 100% sure that laguna would take well care of me personally due to many common friends wit the majority of the small staff....nobody wants to wreck their business, AND personal lives. when I owned my 1642 when something went wrong it took days to get the part. With laguna I can be there in a half hour. Their specs are better IMO since the nova stand carries alot of vibration and I want variable speed. I was born a gambling man and I get the overall opinion that laguna makes quality tools, but their service stinks. I would be surprised if I got bad service....plus, I like to go the road less traveled (though the travelloing seems to soon increase...... I know the 1624 inside and out. I want to thoroughly examine the 16/43. It If it's made from the same steel as the 18/47 that's HUGEin itself. Thanks for the heads up. I'm still in the air as NOVA's customer service can't be beat.

[Bernie Weishapl]

A friend of mine bought the 16/43 and yes it is 600 rpm minimum. Not a typo. I would guess the 14/43 at 600 rpm is correct speed as advertised. He now wishes he would have went with the 1624 Nova or the Jet 1642.

[Bill Bolen]

Afraid I have to differ with you on the swiveling headstock. I've had the jet 1442for several years and swivel the headstock on nearly every bowl and box. Never a problem after150 or so. The same applies to my new DVR. I swivel the head on each bowl or box and so far so good. Sorry you had such troubles though and am rooting for you to get what you really want...Bill...

[Jarrod McGehee]

You should buy the Laguna Pinnacle C1!

[alex carey]

600 way to high, i wouldn't do it either.

[Jeff Nicol]

Brian, Some of the lathes that have the swiveling head are in the design and how the mating surfaces are milled after casting. I have a knock off of the jet lathe you had trouble with and it would never stay lined up or true once it was moved. The two faces that meet are not that large and the parts to tighten it back down are not very positive. I just shimmed mine to center the head and tail stock centers and leave it there. Once in while the headstock will move left or right and I have to tap it back in place. But since I use that lathe mostly for miniatures and smaller spindle work it is fine.

The Nova lathes have a much better way of tightening the head back down and the mating surfaces are perfectly milled to each other and that makes all the difference! Improvements in design happen all the time and some makers chose not to and that is why they still get complaints on their tools. Like Bernie and the others have said, for the price and what you get with the DVR your money will be well spent. You could sell the chuck and extension and come out even better if you don't need it.

Good luck no matter what,

Jeff

[Brian Novotny]

well, I know how messed up that jet was, and so does the owner because I woke up to him yelling obscenities at me over the phone saying that I had broken it.....I didn't even turn anything on it. I assembled it, checked to see if the centers lined up, ruled out the bearings, noticed the HORRIBLY messed up headstock, disassembled and was back on the road returning it in 30 minutes......it was really screwed up and it was a 5 year old jet. I know what I saw, and that I almost lost $500, because his attitude this morning tells me that if he didn't have students there I would not have gotton my money back. I'm going to check out the laguna this afternoon and they said that any warranty issues will easily be handled by me bringing the unit down there and they will do the work to fix any warranty issues I have...since I'm local......I won't get that from teknatool. From an engineering standpoint does 600rpm on an unstable lathe produce the same effects as 600rpm on a lathe with little to no vibration? does that theory make any sense? this is something to look at if it makes any sense from an engineering standpoint since the nova is MUCH less stable than the laguna. I have 3 nova chucks already, don't need or want an extended bed, you can barely give away a nova chuck right now on ebay, I don't want to pay shipping, the mechnanism that lifts the motor on the nova was constantly coming loose and grinding the pulleys, and I don't want to deal with manual speed change, expecially when the mechanism is constantly coming loose and requires constant re-tightening. The 1624 is a good deal and good lathe for the money. If the laguna 16/43 is as solid as the 18/47 then it's a lathe that I would put a new motor on.....I couldn't say that I'd do that with the nova. did I mention that the belt changing mechanism on the nova is pretty cheap? Plus, to do outboard turning on the NOva that will cost you another $300.....something standard on the laguna. Thanks for the advice guys, as it's nice to hear every angle, before you make a descision.......but one mans treasure is another mans trash. I will never purchase a jet, and that's not the consensus around here.....Hey, let's all jump off a cliff!

[Brian Novotny]

before I jump off a cliff, I'm taking a 12"x9" burl down to laguna to test out the 16/43.....who knows, but maybe they're tweeking the pulleys right now....I'm guessing it would be fairly easy to change the pulley to take down the speed.....all I know is that they know I'm coming down with the burl. as they said they would take a deposit for that very same machine if I liked it.....we'll see. I'll get back with my report.......I haven't even bought anything and the level of service so far is pretty outstanding. If I would have had the attitude of "a jet can do no wrong" I would be disasembling a jet lathe to sell off in parts on ebay.....this should be interesting.....I'll be back.....

[Gary Chester]

I've had a Jet 1442 for years and never had a problem, in fact I liked it enough to upgrade to a 2 hp 1642.

I don't mean to be rude... but do you think it's fair to bash Jet for damage or lack of maintenance that was likely done by a previous owner?

Maybe you should have done a better inspection when you bought it.

[John W Dixon]

Not sure it's fair to compare a 5 yr old Jet used in a classroom setting with something brand new. Good luck on your descision however.

John

[Brian Novotny]

I am now eating my words. You told me so. YOU GUYS TOLD ME SO!!!!
The laguna 16/43 is a chinese made POS. So, I took a nice 25 pound log of carob 10"x9" to see what happened when mounted and started. First off the "salesman/for woodturner by woodturner guy" told me that the size of the log was not meant for this big of a lathe......a lathe with a 16" swing mind you. I did not realize how fast 600rpm is until I looked it up in terms of 3rd speed up on the nova 1642. Of course it was WAY too fast. Not only was it way too fast, but usually when you start an off center log too fast it flys off of the lathe. The tailstock on this thing is so flimsy that all 3 times the piece just kinda dropped. Too fast, and the tailstock was really a joke. AND The tool rest would not even tighten down. And when I say it wouldn't tighten down it tightened down, but it still had play in it. A real piece of garbage. They tried to tell me that a lathe with a 16 swing is just not meant for a log this size.....about 10"x10"! and that's the reason they have the 18/47. the guy lured me down there with all the knowledge that I wouldn't want the 16/43 so he could try to sell me the 18/47...I like the 18/47, but don't want to be around when the warranty is out and so is the EVS.
OK, now back to the jets.....Bernie, you seem to have alot of experience with the 1442. In your opinion was what happened to me WAY out of the ordinary? I want to use outboard turning, but not at the expense of the lathe.

This whole thing must be a test from God, because when I decided to upgrade before I turned around and got a returned 1642 at woodcraft for $800.

If I already didn't know that my ex girlfriend is going to suffer deeply when her 10 year old boy ends up in and out of prison/juvenile hall for the rest of his life (he's burnt down a house, stolen so many things it's rediculous....even from the guy that bought him a playstation...ME! Is steeling and taking prescription narcotics, get's pampered by mommy when he's dope sick, and all of this is going to catch up to him because his mom refuses to believe that he's done any of it, even though all of his friends have been caught and say he's a big part of it) if it wasn't for this I would want to find her and take everything SHE owns, which is MUCH less than what she took from me. sorry about the off topic rant.

so, I really want vs so that leaves me with the 1442 or nova says some distributers have the 1642 in vs, which craft supply is advertising, but I don't believe it. I'm close to just buying the delta midi/ a generator, and finding a nice cave somewhere in Utah. What do you guys think about general lathes and do they have anything affordable over 12" as I can't find much on the net. Once again, the speed of the laguna is the least of their problems.....I couldn't believe what a piece of junk it was. the tailstock didn't have enough "power" to hold a piece.....back to glueing random rings.....

[Ryan Baker]

Don't get either. Get the Jet 1642 ... which is a better machine than either of those. No swiveling headstock and EVS. But since you are in the mood for Jet bashing, feel free to disregard this post.