Warco 1642 v's Jet 1642

[Ultima357]

Hi everyone. New to having enough spare time for a good hobby and being pretty good at general woodworking, I'm considering taking up wood turning as a hobby. After looking round at what's available and reading a lot, then I've come to the decision on at least a few features, such as variable speed, cast bed and ideally a swivel head. Looking at the Warco 1642 and the Jet 1642, I'm struck by the similarity, save the swivel head on the Jet, but can't reconcile the £700 odd difference in price. Anyone out there have one of the Warco's and can say what they are like?

Not necessarily looking for something new and have also been trawling eBay, but when spending several hundred £'s, I like to have a look at things first.

 

[boysie39]

One of the members on here has had to retire because of his health ,he has or had a lot of top class turning stuff for sale .It might be worth getting in touch with him . His forum name is Woodyturner ,if you can send him a PM .

 

[Ultima357]

Thanks for the heads up. Unfortunately, it would seem that the system requires me to be online a little longer before I can use the PM facility, so will have a search and see what else I can find.

Regards
Neal

 

[Walter Hall]

All I can say about the Warco lathe is that old adage "buy cheap buy twice".

The £700 difference in price between that and the Jet is down to the £700 difference in build quality.

 

[nev]

Thanks for the heads up. Unfortunately, it would seem that the system requires me to be online a little longer before I can use the PM facility, so will have a search and see what else I can find.

Regards
Neal

Yes, you just need a few more posts under your belt (is it 3 or 5??) so by the time you've replied to this ....

 

[KimG]

I have a Jet 1642, it's a top class lathe that I don't see myself ever having to replace, it will turn just about anything, and although the headstock doesn't swivel, it does travel and given a small amount of space you can easily turn off the end of the bed, should you need a larger swing than the over the bed size, the axminster extension for their big lathe will fit, it's much cheaper than the Jet one)

 

[Ultima357]

Thanks for the advice all. The Jet lathe certainly looks good, but I think I'll look for a swivel head style one as I had a back problem a few years ago that still niggles, so not bending over a bed might be an advantage. Take the note that you can hang it off the end though. I see the Axminster range has one which does swivel, so might take a look at that. Does anyone know the country of origin of Jet and Axminster? Warco seems to come from China, so would not expect the top quality from that.
Also seen the Poolewood DSV on eBay which looks good, but not sure of motor bearings being built to take the load and Poolewood are not forthcoming about it either. They only state that it went out of production and spares are not generally available... Doesn't give you confidence.

Regards

 

[Aden30mm]

If its a swivel head lathe it may be worth looking at the Record Maxi 1. I got one a few months ago and is a good solid unit, and works well in my small workshop. You also get a 5 year guarantee with it.

 

[Ultima357]

That does look the business, but a lot of cash ! Still, as they say, buy the best quality and only cry once.....

 

[Aden30mm]

If you haggle you should be able to obtain a new one for about 2K (with the large bowl turning attachment thrown in).

 

[starcott]

i’ve just been comparing these 2 lathes on paper. At the moment the Jet is £740 more then the Warco.
However, looking carefully at the published specifications, the only differences seem to be that the Jet is 24 Kg heavier and 236 mm longer.
They both have swivelling headstocks, both have 42 inches between centres, both have the same variable speed ranges and both have 1.100w motors.
Can anyone suggest any big drawbacks in going for the Warco?

 

[Walter Hall]

Can anyone suggest any big drawbacks in going for the Warco?

Build quality.

 

[wizard]

I bought a new warco metalworking lathe it was so bad i scraped it, and bought a second hand lathe.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I went through the exact same decision process recently and I settled on the Record Variable speed CL4, reasons were:

industrial strength electronic variable speed (I would never have a lathe without this)
swivel head allows 30" bowl turning (I use this all the time and its superb)
heavy stand thats bullet proof
36" centres which is extendable to 48 though I dont expect to need the extra
A really robust bearing design
5 year warranty
typical Record cast iron everywhere.....very industrial strength
good value...I paid in the region of a grand for mine incl stand

 

[starcott]

I certainly would want a good quality variable speed, but how would I identify an 'industrial strength' type?
Would you expect the Jet to have an industrial strength version, but not the Warco, bearing in mind the price difference?
I understand the Jet is manufactured in Taiwan and the Warco is likely to come from China.
The Warco is much heavier than the Record and I would expect its cast iron bed to be more rigid than the Record bed bars.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

For industrial strength read inverter. I think the cheaper ones use a Rheostat?? (Not a sparky). But the difference is the expensive ones are much quieter (MY record is ultra quiet) and they last a lot longer

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

There is another point to be made re Record Power. They have a very long (decades) association with Lathes and wood turning chucks. You might say its their core business in fact. I believe Im right in saying the CL3 and CL4 are acknowledged industry standards in their class. The CL3 doesnt have variable speed though and the idea of manually changing a pulley after infinitely variable electronic speed fills me with horror. But the brand is very well known and well established with superb after sales service plus the long warranty. I have a number of their machine tools and theyre bullet proof. Im a big fan of the company, theyve never let me down.

 

[starcott]

Thank you for all those helpful comments.

They are certainly food for thought.

 

[Vic Perrin]

If its a swivel head lathe it may be worth looking at the Record Maxi 1. I got one a few months ago and is a good solid unit, and works well in my small workshop. You also get a 5 year guarantee with it.

Like Aden I have a Record Maxi 1 and have been using it for about 4 years now. The initial cost was a bit of a shock to the old bank account but in my opinion it has been well worth the initial pain.

I initially brought smaller and cheaper lathes but soon became disappointed with what I could do with them.

I am sure that the Maxi will see me through many more years of turning it is such a robust well manufactured machine.

I am sure that you will eventually make the right choice to suit your needs but my advice would be to go that extra bit you won't regret it.

Regards

Vic

 

[RayUK]

What did you decide in the end? I notice the Warco lathe now has replaced the 1642 with the 1847.