I aquired a new lathe in August after looking for about 18 months at reviews of differing lathes old and new,and finally opted for the Jet 3520B .This lathe has all the features I was looking for in my allowed price range(wanted the 4224 but cost to much and to long),but as it happens the model I have chosen does everything I ask of it.The first couple of days I tested the accuracy by turning some 1mm thick finials and miniature goblets,noticed with the first one that there was some misalignment,about 1/2 mm out,so had a look,wasn`t the lathe,was the new backplate for the Versachuck,so moved the backplate clockwise one mounting hole,now its all spinning in line,
Variable speed, on my last lathe Axminster CCBL 1100 this was mechanical through a variable size pulley system,the Jet 3520B has electronic speed control through a 2HP 3 phase motor,the range on the old lathe was 500-2000rpm,the Jet goes in two speeds 50-1200 rpm and 125-3200 rpm,which transforms the amount of things you can do on the lathe,on the lower rev range I can now put big heavy stuff on the lathe without it dancing all over the workshop,just turn the speed down till it stops dancing and the power is still there being inverter controlled,and as it balances up you turn the speed up to suit.
Lathe size,the size of this lathe swung it for me,not to long,but still big enough for turning longish stuff and the swing over the bed,the total length with motor overhang (which most manufacturers don`t put) is 1650mm the lenght without motor overhang is 1473mm,the width is 685mm mearsure at the base of the legs and is 1370 high.
I went for the freestanding tool support as it can be moved out of the way easier than undoing the bolt on extension,ways a ton though,but on a clean floor slides without to much strain on the back.and with this I can turn things up to nearly 2m across (shed size stopping anything larger) instead of about 980mm over the bed extension.
The Axminster AWVSWL 1200B now has the same motor as the Jet,but the Jet weighs in at 326k (About 720 lbs) which is another advantage over the Axminster,Wivamac,Record etc;being 200-300 lbs heavier than the opposition with the same power,being so very stable.
The standard equipment that comes with the lathe is a 355,, tool rest,a substantial nocky outy bar built like a slide hammer,live tail centre which is very heavily built and converts to a ring centre by unscrewing the nose,it has the advantage of a moveable emergency stop button with a magnetic backing so can be placed by the nearest knee (came in handy when I trapped thumb,turned off instantly).
The headstock slides up and down the bed for doing larger turning at the end of the lathe,which helps with accurassy as you don`t have to keep re centering after swiveling headstock.Another thing it has is reversing,which can come in handy for sanding and if you can`t get to something one side when end turning you can reverse it and turn from the other side of the lathe.I`ve built a shelf to fit in the lugs on the legs to store turning blanks/wood which makes it even heavier.