I have been needing a lathe with a longer bed length than my Deltas 36” can provide, I want to turn some Shaker chair legs. so after a few months searching, I found that Woodcraft had a Rikon lathe that would take on more than one bed extension to make the total length about 54”. I checked out the reviews on this lathe, most of them were not that good, next I found the Jet JML1220 lathe, it has a 20” bed and by adding the 28” bed extension the bed is almost 50”, which is plenty for my use.
well since I made the wife a dresser to match the bed for Christmas, she offered to pay for half of the lathe for my Christmas gift. I called the Woodcraft store in Evansville, In. to see if they had the lathe in stock, they did not, but there was one in the St. Louis store, Steve, a fellow that works in the store said he would drive over to pick it up for me, ( I can drive to Evansville much cheaper than having it shipped) Steve called me as he was leaving St. Louis and I met him in Grayville Il.,( it is a small town on the border of IL and IN) I picked up the lathe and bed extension from him and saved about $75 shipping cost and by meeting him where I did it saved about 40 miles of driving also, I only had to drive about 35 miles instead of 70.
I think that Steve went above and beyond for customer service, and I appreciate his efforts.
there is also a $75 rebate when purchased before the end of the year.
I got the lathe home, and put the extension on, it went very easy with no problems, it is very quiet running, the bed is true, and the head stock and tail stock meet up perfectly.
the Jet has a 3/4 hp motor, where as the Rikon is 1/2hp. I ordered another tool rest base and I am waiting on that, by using two I will be able to have a 48” tool rest.
so far I am very happy with the Jet, will keep posting as I get to use it more.
-- Smitty!!!
6 comments so far
Scott Bryan
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27262 posts in 1994 days
#1 posted 1609 days ago
I really enjoy hearing stores like this and it certainly sounds like you had a wonderful experience to me. I have never had any problems with Woodcraft or their customer service. I usually shop either on-line or at the Woodcraft in Louisville and have always found the associates to be knowledgeable and more than willing to lend assistance or answer questions. It is good to see that this type of customer service is not limited to just one franchise. I agree that Steve certainly went beyond the “call of duty” and I hope that the Woodcraft in Evansville recognizes that.
Have fun with your new lathe.
-- Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful- Joshua Marine
woodsmithshop
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920 posts in 1718 days
#2 posted 1608 days ago
they were even going to let me take the lathe home and just call the next day and give them the info on my credit card, but I wrote them a check instead. on small items I usually order online, but for large heavy items I am close enough to drive over to pick things up, it saves on shipping, and I can look the item over also.
I just made my first spindle with my new Jet, this is the quietest lathe I have ever run, and oh yeah I’m havin fun.
this is my first Jet product, so far so good.
-- Smitty!!!
kiwi1969
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609 posts in 1614 days
#3 posted 1608 days ago
you guys in America have no idea how lucky you are, to not only be able to get what you want with a phonecall, but to get that kind of service as well is awesome. I wonder if Steve could deliver some things to Manila for me !
-- if the hand is not working it is not a pure hand
Dusty56
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10557 posts in 1860 days
#4 posted 1602 days ago
Three cheers for the employees of WoodCraft stores….my local store has wonderful , helpful , knowledgeable people there as well : )
-- When did quiet and quite become the same word ? I'm guessing about the same time as your and you're did.
woodsmithshop
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920 posts in 1718 days
#5 posted 1602 days ago
Dusty, right on for those folks at Woodcraft, I’ve always had good service, but nothing quite like I got from Steve, he is great.
Smitty
-- Smitty!!!
woodsmithshop
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920 posts in 1718 days
#6 posted 1602 days ago
Kiwi, I don’t know if Steves’ Toyota will float.
-- Smitty!!!
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