Opinions on the Rigid WL1200 Lathe?

Hi Henry,

My first reaction would be to forget about it. If it's the one I think it is, most likely it's the tube bed type with very little in the way of swing. You'll find that you get tired of that in short order. If all you'll be doing is spindle turning and pens and small pieces, it'll be okay; however, you'll find that as you progress as a turner, you'll want something with much more swing--one that's heavier. If you can afford it, I'd recommend the Jet Mini, which is what I started out with. I spent a good deal more and recently bought the Nova DVR 3000, which is an excellent all-round lathe, but now I wish I'd spent even more and bought something that weighs about

Anyhow, that's just my $1/10 worth... Either way, happy turning!

-- Ali T. Borahan AliSails - Fine Wood Artistry & Custom Woodcrafts Web URL:

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you are better off getting the Jet Mini

Henry,

I used the "brother" of the Rigid lathe and now have a Jet Mini. First buying the Jet instead of the Rigid is like buying apples instead of oranges.

The "brother" is the Craftsman of 10+ yrs. ago and I turned on that lathe for 11 yrs. If you go to my website (turnings pages) much of that work was done on the tube lathe. I loved it; but then I wasn't aware of Stubby or Oneway. : )

On the Rigid you can turn a 28" (I believe) spindle. Half my work is/was reproduction work for furniture repairs and most of that is between 6" and 18" (not counting table legs). You can only do, maybe

The Rigid will turn a 12" dia. bowl/platter where the Mini only does 9" or 10". Here I must add I now have a General and don't use the mini for anything bigger than a cup size turning.

As to the weight, the Jet weighs the same as the Rigid, it's the base that matters. I had built a table/stand (approx. 30" deep by 50"-60" long for keeping tools, supplies close) with 1/2" plywood and 2 x 4's with a shelf underneath where I had 5 cinder blocks. That tube lathe didn't bounce like my General (400lb) does with out-of-balance logs. Also I could move the Craftsman easier; all I had to do was unbolt it and take off the cinder blocks. Moving the General is impossible for me alone and, because the footprint is small, I have to bolt it to the floor to keep it from rocking (with out of round pieces).

Since you don't mention what sort of turnings you'd like to do, I feel you'd outgrow the Jet Mini a lot faster than the Rigid, unless you are only going to do pens, bottle stoppers, ring boxes and smaller bowls.

If money is not an issue, go right for the Stubby or Oneway; you can turn a pen or a monster hollow form the ease on them! IF I can live long enough to find a SugarDaddy, first thing I'm getting is one of these lathes! : ) kidding (maybe)

Ruth

Woodturners Logo My shop and Turnings at

Thanks for that feedback, Ruth! I guess I should have mentioned the type of work I want to get into, which would be about a 50/50 mix of furniture and "Crafts" (bowls, pens, etc). So I'd like the flexibility of being able to do, say, a table leg and then flip over to working on a bowl. I really want to limit the cash I spend now, so the Rigid appears to be a halfway decent deal at under $200 including the stand and some other accessories. I may just go this way, even though the quality is not nearly as good as Jet's line...

Thanks for the help!

Fourteen (14") inches in length, ten (10") inches in diameter.........on a Jet Mini. You'd be amazed at the range of stuff that falls within the capacity of a Jet Mini............

Barry

Can't give you feedback on this lathe but if I were buying a lathe in this range, I would want:

Billh